Build Standards

When choosing a vessel, both new and used buyers should consider

• the material the dive boat is constructed from
• the quality of the original builder
• the cost of running repairing and maintaining the vessel
• resale options and resale value.

Vessels can be constructed in timber, GRP (glass reinforced plastic), GRP covering foam, aluminium, steel or any combination of them all. Each material has it’s peculiar strengths and weaknesses and requisite maintenance. In general terms the more traditional style vessels are made from the traditional material of timber. Typically this means a dive boat is cheaper to buy, requires more maintenance and the resale value will be small.

The more modern boats are GRP or aluminium, which are a higher initial purchase outlay usually because of the costs of skills to build them. They are lower maintenance and have a better resale if they are properly maintained. With the continued improvement in aluminium materials and the required skills to construct dive boats in this material, a larger percentage of liveaboards are adopting this more durable option.(The high speed ferry market has been using aluminium in ferries for almost 28 years now with little sign of fatigue in the hulls where the vessel has been constructed by a competent builder.)

In places where there are tradesman skilled in the use of materials such as aluminium and GRP their use is more prevalent. Hence it is no surprise that craftsman with timber skills are fading in these areas.

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