Ferro Cement for Dreamers

[Lepke]

If you are ok with ferro cement and want what is probably a project. Saw this ad in Boats & Harbors:

[double u]

“free millstone around your neck“...

[Yellow bird]

Depends on how much they pay for taking the boat away?
But they must pay me a lot.

[senormechanico]

Might be worth it if you need an artificial reef or floating breakwater.


Concrete Ships: The Powell River Floating Breakwater

[Boatwright]

Jokes aside, there have been many successful ferro-cement hulls built.

One that I am personally familiar with, built in 1975, first cruised the Caribbean and is now a Coast Guard certified school ship located in Traverse City, Michigan. She is out on Grand Traverse Bay as the Malabar every day during the sailing season.

http://http://www.oceannavigator.com/November-December-2017/A-ferrocement-schooner/

The trouble with many ferro-cement projects is the low cost of producing the hull which turns out to be only a fraction of the completed cost. Many projects have been started, but when faced with the complexity and cost of completion are never completed.

It's hard to turn down a free boat, but realize that getting from a free hull to a finished 57 footer will require thousands of man hours and tens of thousands of dollars of gear and equipment.

[anacapaisland42]

The statistic I heard was that the hull only accounts for 10% of the cost of the finished boat
Bill


It's hard to turn down a free boat, but realize that getting from a free hull to a finished 57 footer will require thousands of man hours and tens of thousands of dollars of gear and equipment.[/QUOTE]

[SVTatia]

Another drawback is what you don't see...it rusts from the inside out. I saw one on the hard that was seeping out bilge water.
Well built and well maintained they are okay, but hard ro get insurance though.

[captlloyd]

If negativity had any value some of you folks would be wealthy. You’ve never even seen the boat.

[MJH]

My neighbor sold his Ferro cement 57' Bill Crealock design sloop this summer for only $40,000; due to his poor health the ad said. It was a beautiful boat with vey graceful lines. He built it himself in southern CA and sailed it up to Puget Sound. All my dealings with him convinced me he was a very knowledable and meticulous tradesman. I never had the pleasure of sailing on the boat but another neighbor told me it was a very comfortable ride. The boat sold very quickly.


~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[gbowen]

I think this is a very big boat and will be really too big to finish and maintain. Hauling it out and anti-fouling it is a big job. I have seen big ferro boats just abandoned because the owner was deceased and nobody wanted to take on the boat. There is an artificial reef in Juneau made of ferro boats. I knew one of them and it was a very well constructed vessel. The owner decided he wanted to live in Ireland and abandoned the project.

As far as ferrocement boats are concerned, I am an enthusiast and have built two. You must grout these boats. It is not a big job and makes the difference between a great boat and a crappy boat. There motion is outstanding with the distribution of mass as it is. Easy motions rather than jerky.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Lepke

If you are ok with ferro cement and want what is probably a project. Saw this ad in Boats & Harbors:

Lepke,
Shame on you. There are no free lunches or boats, especially ferro. I have seen a couple well made but most have been someone's ill investigated pipe dream. I guess Sampson Marine can be blamed for the dream of a cheap construction method.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by gbowen

I think this is a very big boat and will be really too big to finish and maintain. Hauling it out and anti-fouling it is a big job. .

Hauling out and antifouling is easy, you simply open the wallet.

[billgewater]

I understand that that the oldest floating boat is a ferro cement boat built around 1837 by George Lambot in France. It is a material that if built properly (and that's the issue often), does not rust nor does it burn.

I have seen a ferro boat that had a major gas started fire on board and it completely gutted the boat. The hull survived without any issues and the vessel was re furnished.
Try that with a glass or metal boat.

We make bridges and multi story buildings from steel reinforced cement don't we?

[Maclir]

In civil engineering construction projects the recommended minimum cover to steel reinforcement is 50 mm. In ferrocement hulls a cover to steel is maybe 1 mm. Otherwise the hull it too heavy, therefore ferrocement reinforcement rusts and spalls the cement. Unless it is protected by some magic coating.

[zemurray]

Watch the documentary “Following Seas”. Probably the most hardcore sailors I’ve ever seen, and they built a cement boat by hand and sailed it around the world several times. In the end, the hull did finally deteriorate.