Regarding being blown about in the wind, in my experience, there is little difference…..both are blown off course when the wind blows hard, and both are hard to manoeuvre in the wind.  The Sea Otter may be lighter (but that rather depends on how much gear you carry with you, and I carry a lot!) but it also has a v-shaped hull, full of water ballast, which aids manoeuvrability and stability. 

Incidentally, the v-shaped hull helps enormously when mooring on the banks of shallow canals, such as the Lancaster, which I am presently on.

But the main reason I decided to opt for a more expensive aluminium boat…….I hate rust !  

My Sea Otter is now approaching 3 years old.  My Nannni engine’s guarantee will soon be running out, but the boat looks as good, if not better, than the day it was launched at Crick.  If I was the owner of a more normal steel boat, I would now be considering having the hull re-blacked, and all the inconvenience that entails.  Instead I imaginarily bung a few hundred quid back into my coffers, towards the initial higher cost of the boat.  Whether or not I fully recoup it may well depend how long I live, but if I need to sell the boat, a totally rust-free boat MUST attract more interest, and for sure the resale value of a Sea Otter is anyway much higher.  I see brand new boats, from the cheapest to the VERY dearest manufacturers, with brown stains gradually building up from steel hinges, steel frames, steel hatches, steel hand-rails, and ……pretend rivets !  On a Sea Otter, ALL the metal (except for the stainless steel water tank) is aluminium, and I see absolutely no evidence of corrosion of any description.  Even the engine bay is as bright as the day it was built, without any need to paint it.

Paul mentions a factor I had never considered, that of an aluminium boat being more difficult to modify at a later time.  I don’t know much about that, but I have attached a photograph showing bulkheads in place during the building of my boat, so you can perhaps judge for yourself. 

I also include a photograph of the finished product at Stratford. 

I need also to tell you that the guys at Sea Otter are the nicest you’ll meet anywhere.  Right from the directors down to the sparks and carpenters.  They all work together to build a boat exactly how YOU want it !”