[spinnaker]

G'day all,

I am in the initial stages of planning a permanent pier for my 8" Meade LX-5 - which will be followed by a permanent observatory around it as/when finances allow.

My plans were originally to pour a large concrete base, onto which I'd bolt a steel pier which is as yet to be fabricated. But I've now started to wonder if it might be easier simply to pour the entire pier from concrete?

I would appreciate the opinions of the experts amongst you - which way should I go? Is there anything intrinsically better about a steel pier over a concrete one, or vice versa?

I should mention that I live about 25km from the nearest city lights on a small block of land (so have a pretty dark sky), and we're not planning on any moves from here for at least the next 15-20 years.