modern materials: lots of fiber reinforced resin and lots of aluminum. Not a lot of hammering caulk into seams these days. That said, salt water is really corro

modern materials: lots of fiber reinforced resin and lots of aluminum. Not a lot of hammering caulk into seams these days. That said, salt water is really corrosive and it gets aerosolized and all over everything. Fresh water boats are a lot less maintenance intensive. solar power instead of sails: A sunny day is about ½ HP per square yard of deck for a few hours. A 37 foot sailboat might get you about 15 square yards of deck if you really covered it, so < 10HP. Said boat might have a 40HP diesel for getting about. I can't say how many horsepower the sails make, but the boat I'm thinking of definitely has more sail power than engine power. (Pacific Seacraft 37). That said, if you aren't planning to survive an ocean, but rather plan to have a pleasant day on a canal or a pond, an electric boat would be an excellent choice (though I'd just use batteries instead of solar) and are available.