Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[DumnMad]

If the hull is 40 years old and no sign of rust seeping through the hull then its likely good for another 100 years. On my boat the only rust is from deck gear. Had it 12 years and never needed hull maintenance just ani-fouling every now and then.

Great thing about properly built ferro is its low maintenance and longevity. You do need to check it has anodes protecting the prop and rudder.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Lawler

...
Can a 45yo ferro boat be meaningfully surveyed?
...

You might be interested in: “Testing Cement Hulls for Defects”
➥ https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...cts-65086.html

Or: “Surveying a ferro-cement boat” [I got a ‘Warning’ - Firefox detected an issue and did not continue to www.ferrocement.org ]
➥ https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sourc...N_dTD9z83p9git

[Lawler]

Thank you Gord and DumnMad!
Maybe I should go inspect it.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Lawler

This thread is awesome and very long. Honestly I haven’t read the whole thing.
I need a consensus opinion:
Can a 45yo ferro boat be meaningfully surveyed?

I don’t have forum rights to post the URL, but if you go to yachthub and search for “Finace Avaliable” spelt just like that, you’ll find a 64’ S&S ferro boat in need of a clean. It’s been for sale a long time, and likely needs a clean even more now than it did when photographed.

I gather it was sailed to Melbourne from New Zealand in 2022, so it’s *been* useable.

I’m looking for a spacious liveaboard with ocean-crossing capability, and my budget is more than they’re asking, but not a lot more.

This boat could certainly fit the bill- but can I ever know if it’s *safe*?

X-ray is the only way to be sure.

[Talbot]

If you are that cash strapped, be aware that a boat of that size is going to be very expensive to run. Running and standing rigging, sails, fuel, even antifoul are going to make your eyes water. And that size is going to be a problem in any alongside berth.
I have nothing against well built ferrous hulls. If it was built by a well known yard. However the odds of problems with a DIY are much too high for me to trust with my life.

[Fore and Aft]

Lawler I will give you some free advice from someone who has repaired and been around ferro yachts. I don't survey them because rightly or wrongly most ferros I see have reached the end of their life. Straight away if you look at those photos posted online you can see a worn out 45-year-old yacht that is going to cost more than she is worth to get sailing again. My biggest concern is the sure sign of ferro cancer in the photo showing the yachts name plate. If you look closely, you can see bubbling paint and rust. Thats a sure sign that moisture has reached the steel reinforcing and is corroding it. Rightly or wrongly in my experience you find one area like that then there are others. The timber belting also looks rotten and is hanging off the bow. Has anyone else zoomed in on the forestay? Half the rust stains from on the bow deck seem to be coming from that one fitting. So, the what's the rest of the rigging look like? Then there's the old sail covers and from the glimpse of the sails they look ready to replace. What's going on with the engine, are there receipts for the reconditioning or is it a good old Dulux overhaul. If you look at the engine room, it looks like a nightmare. Hoses hacked off and nothing has been cleaned or tidied up.
If you want my professional opinion the $60,000 is probably close to the disposal cost not purchasing price. The last ferro yachts I watched being wrecked involved an excavator, dump truck and boat yard that allowed the scrapping to happen. It's not a cheap exercise and 65-foot ferro is going to be some effort to scrap properly.
Cheers

[NevilleCat]

Yeah I reckon that boat is done.
If you must get a local ferro boat I would probably only look at one built by Kahn Walker in Geelong, there's a few of his Rebel 34 designs around, often epoxy coated and one at least glassed externally. Better size and sailing ability.

[banyandah]

We built a ferro South Seas in '73 then sailed around the world for 17 years, more than 200k miles, still own the boat. A 45 year old ferro was either well made or has skin on the inside. Ferro rots from the inside out starting where saltwater sits inside, like up against a frame. If you're serious, out of the water, super strong blast and look for cracks, more importantly look for raised patches where the mesh is rusting. If only a few spots are found, it's easy to fix. Break away the rusted mesh area then pinch andcrack crack away the solid concrete to expose good mesh, then remesh that area and scree.
Check out our website for more info and tasty treats.
https://jackandjude.com/
Cheers,
J&J
Seeing the other replies, we agree, bad inventment little return for a lot of money and tons of work.

[TrentePieds]

Talbot said: "If you are that cash strapped, be aware that a boat of that size is going to be very expensive to run. Running and standing rigging, sails, fuel, even antifoul are going to make your eyes water."

Samson Marine, based in a southern suburb of Vancouver, B.C., who fifty years ago littered the banks of the Fraser River with hulls that were never completed, sold their designs on a pitch that ferro boats are cheap.

T'aint so. The cost of the bare hull of a boat might be 10% of "sail-away" cost. The remaining 90% is "fitting out cost" including such essentials as rigging and sails. But sail-away cost is only the admission fee. Then comes the Ownership Costs - forever and ever and ever - because rigging and sails and many, many other things, are "consumables".

A handy rule of thumb is that the OWNERSHIP costs increase according to the THIRD POWER of increases in length. Therefore - as a rule of thumb, but a quite reliable one - LONG TERM OWNERSHIP COSTS of a 60-foot boat will be EIGHT TIMES (2 X 2 X 2) as much as ownership costs of a 30-foot boat because the 60-footer is 2 times as long as the 30-footer.

TrentePieds is 30 feet as her name tells you. To own her I allocate Can$1,000 per month. And believe me - it gets spent :-)! Thus, for a 60-footer, it is reasonable to assume that you would need to allocate $8,000/month. EIGHT GRAND!!

I wouldn't want to spend that on a forty-year-old ferro hull! A GRP hull, maybe, but only if my "unearned" income - investment income - was at least that much - AFTER tax!!!

TrentePieds

[HankOnthewater]

Originally Posted by Lawler

This thread is awesome and very long. Honestly I haven’t read the whole thing.
I need a consensus opinion:
Can a 45yo ferro boat be meaningfully surveyed?

I don’t have forum rights to post the URL, but if you go to yachthub and search for “Finace Avaliable” spelt just like that, you’ll find a 64’ S&S ferro boat in need of a clean. It’s been for sale a long time, and likely needs a clean even more now than it did when photographed.

I gather it was sailed to Melbourne from New Zealand in 2022, so it’s *been* useable.

I’m looking for a spacious liveaboard with ocean-crossing capability, and my budget is more than they’re asking, but not a lot more.

This boat could certainly fit the bill- but can I ever know if it’s *safe*?

Is this the link to the boat in question?
https://yachthub.com/list/yachts-for...aliable/295705
I still have a soft sport for ferro, after having owned one for nearly 20 years. I repaired many other ferro boats as well.

I think the few posts above all are in agreement: don't take that risk. Size would be the biggest drawback, that is because of its size, very costly to repair, maintain, fitout, and keep it at a dock/marina.

There many other project boats for sale, that are smaller, less costly, less risk to own, and better resale value.