Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[jacquie21670]

Hi all, I'm surprised at the number of ferro boats out there. Takutori, your boat is beautiful and your workmanship second to none. We have had two Hartleys. One 33ft Queenslander and a 38ft Southseas. Both lovely boats. We now have Merlin, a Samson C-Breeze 55ft ketch, and we love her. We have just had her on the hard and fully painted. She was built by a professional boat builder, but she was for him. Unfortunately he died before he finished. She spent the next 3 years as a floating apartment in Sydney Harbour. In October last year, we sailed her home to Brisbane and are busy fitting her out for our big trip.

It always really annoys me when people say any damage to a ferro and its scrap. There is not boat that is easier to fix and very few problems that cant be fixed on a ferro. Our Southseas hit a buried pylon during a very low tide, and constantly passing ferries drove a hole at least 15cm in diameter through the hull. Two fire pumps got her towed to a ship lift and seven days later we were back in the water, no worse for wear.

I'm not sure how to post pitures, but I'll post some of Merlin when I work it out.
Jacquie

[TAKUTORI]

Thanks for your kind words, the one thing every boat owner enjoys is recognition for their hard work

We have just gone through Hurricane Hanna, actually it was a strong Tropical Storm, but it was our first and to us it seemed what a hurricane might be like. After much apprehension, worry, planning and preparations we are very relieved that we survived unscathed. Actually the boat suffered no damage whatsoever. We were tied to a T-head dock which started coming apart in the strongest winds. We recorded 69 knots in the strongest gust. I took some pictures of before, during and after.
TAKU TORI - The adventures of Bill, Sandy & Sarah aboard S/V TAKU TORI- powered by SmugMug

Jacquie, I took a look at your sites and pictures. You have done wonders to your Queenslander. It's probably the nicest Queenslander I've seen. Hartley were among the best ferro boats around. She'll take you far.

Don't worry about what others say about ferrocement they are proven world cruisers. The boat is only one part of safety and enjoyment at sea.

Back in Australia I once had a 69 Toyota Landcruiser, which I bought for $3000. I overhauled many things and repainted it. One weekend we took it up into the Dargo High Plains; we battled narrow, steep tracks and blackberry bushes that scratched the sides. When we arrived at the top of this one hill, there was a guy in new $90,000 Landcruiser Saraha looking at the same scratches on his vehicle. The point is: we both enjoyed the same sunset ...his just cost a lot more to achieve.

[cooper]

Hey guess what ....I still have my landcruiser !!! I have had it for 27 years...and its still going ..and yes I bought it for $3000. Right now it sitting by my new boat with the gas bottle and tools on it, but it is still my normal transport....and I confess...I have a ferro boat too
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[Bill Lown]

Hi there, I have just taken a part share in my brothers C Mist - currently in Yamba, NSW and will by christmas have brought it back to NZ.

Will be looking for advice on some updating I want to do to the boat, eg hot water system and improve internal electrics including lighting.

Boat built in UK in 70's sailed to west indies and through Panama to Aus over a 5 year period - been in Aus ever since. This all done by my brother and his family.

Are there any C Mists in Auckland or near by and can we make contact to give me some insight.

[Alan Wheeler]

Hi Bill, well you have come to the right place for info. The C-mist and many of the Samson boats are a lovely design. Is this the clipper bow with Bowsprit?
I look forward to some photos sometime soon I hope.
By the way, there is a NZ forum that have many Aucklanders participating Crew.org I don't know if there are any Samsons up there in Auckland, but certainly some of the crew on crew will know and tell you.

[Bill Lown]

Thank you for that, I have some photo's, just need to work out how to post them.

[TAKUTORI]

Well we left the United States last year and cruised Taku Tori down the East coast to Cuba, Cuba to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to Bancho Chinchorro, Roatan, Honduras and now in Pamana awaiting our transit through the canal to the Pacific.

We have replaced the dodger and some cushions, but haven't had to touch the hull.

It was interesting to travel along beside boats that cost $600-$700,000 However, we all shared the same sunsets and destinations!

[ken and carmen]

hello I have recently acquired an unfinished professionally built 45 ft Samson C-Breeze. I am an experienced boatbuilder with wood and fiberglass, but no experience with FC. Things i need to know: does the hull need to be sealed before painted? and im looking for good adhesives for bonding the interior structure to the inside of the hull.. and any do's and don'ts in the construction process.

[Boracay]

I built a Hartley RORC 32' a long time ago.

I believe that you do need to seal the ferro to prevent it being touched by bilge water. A mixture of diesel and sea water is reputed to be very destructive on ferro.

I used a very thin epoxy (soaks into the microcracks) as primer and tar epoxy as topcoat but this was a long time ago, there may be better products now.

I do not believe that you can glue to ferro as you would to fibreglass. It will most likely pull the cement off the reinforcing.

I bolted everything to the frames with 3/8" gal bolts.

Come to think of it I still like bolting everything to the frames with 8mm bolts.

[pdbms]

Can I get someone to tell me what is the difference between FC and epoxyferro construction? Are they different, from a longevity / strength point of view?

[scaredycat]

Hi Marlene, Congratulations on your lovely boat from another Adelaideian.
There has been a lot of good information posted previously, so I won't bother debating those issues. My experience of sailing a Hartley 32 RORC over 20 years has been nothing but pleasure. Well mostly - stormy winters nights on watch aside. Many wonderful cruises around our gulfs and KI and a couple of trips to Tassie.
One such trip, a few years ago, we pulled in to Portland after a severe blow (July). Every boat in the harbour had been torn from moorings and blown onto rocks in Portland harbour. As you can imagine, a huge amount of damage. What I remember most from looking at those boats, was the hull damage. There was every type of hull from steele to wood. Every one of them was severely holed by the rocks except one - the ferro. Yes, the lower bow was caved in, but the mesh (chicken wire), had prevented complete holing. It meant that you had at least some chance of preserving watertight integrity in similar emergencies. It gave me a new respect for the slow, heavy but very seaworthy ferro.
As has been said, the quality of the boat depends very much on the build. There was a ferro builder in Adelaide in the 70's, who had a wonderful reputation. He built hundreds of boats and was a real expert. All his boats were fair to the extent that most folk would not pick them as ferro. If your boat was built by him, you won't have a problem.
Fair winds,
Greg

[Ngairini O'Kell]

Ferro-cement hulls were my fathers business and he speaks highly of them. If you want any more info please email me at Ngairini@hotmail.com or Wilf O'Kell on okellewdm@hotmail.com cheers, Ngairini

Originally Posted by marleman

My partner and I are currently researching live-aboard yachts, and despite doing a search of this site I have not found any mention (or discussion) of ferro-cement hulls.
We have spoken to a couple of people who own them and who say they can be very capable (although warning that there have been some very bad 'backyard' ones built) however others speak of them like the Black Death!

I would appreciate the opinions of those in this forum,
Thanks,
Marlene

[Ngairini O'Kell]

Wilf O'Kell hails from NZ, Auckland to be exact From his daughter, Ngairini

Originally Posted by mudnut

Wheels."Now ya cooking!!"Ok.Yes a lot of those names ring a big bell in my hunt for a /the boat for me.The one I was talking about was a wilf O'kell design,"where does he hail from,seems to be a lot of those for sale over here,some actually look ancient and very romantic.Im also looking at a boat called "Birdsong"Its in the boat point web site for Oz/NZ.Its not ferro but if ya take a look It might show ya what style of boat Im after.Im just looking to sail PNG,torres strait,and maybe asia up to Thailand.Its old,wooden,but with a lot of class.similar to the Roy Hawkins thats for sale in NZ,Ithink Beacon have it on their books.Sad about the furry one ,but wev'e all heard those stories of loved ones finding their way back home.thanks anyway Wheels.

[Ngairini O'Kell]

Hi this is strange, but I am Wilfs daughter and when we were building the ferro cement yacht 'Pania' in Bundaberg, I was about 10 also. We probably met!Anyway drop me a line if interested in chatting or talking to Dad okellewdm@hotmail.com Cheers, Ngairini

Originally Posted by Whiptail

Hey Mudnut, with regards to Wilf O'Kell - he used to be in Bundaberg (may still be!) and designed and built a lot of ferro boats in the 70's and 80's. I remember as a young tacker going with my father to help plaster a hull for him, being research for the schooner the old man would later build. Wilf even came down with his team for the plastering of ours, no doubt encouraged by the keg on the verandah afterwards. We had the hull done in one shot and all in daylight hours and what a party that night! Pity I was only about 10.
As for the strength of ferro - our schooner was left on a mooring in Nelson Bay for a couple of months, and on return to Mooloolaba we slipped her for maintenance, finding a patch of gouges below the waterline. After a few phone calls the marina finally admitted that the mooring line had busted in a 40 knot blow and the old girl had ended up on the rocks, only discovered the next morning after bumping on the chop against the rocks for half the night. They just fixed the line and tied her back up hoping we wouldn't notice. The end result was a few cosmetic gouges that didn't expose any metal, so a bit of filler and some paint was all she needed.

[Feral Cement]

I'm looking at a pro-built (South Africa) Hartley 45 with several rust spots along the waterline. Is this the sign of a poorly built and/or deteriorated hull? The boat is CHEAP but not worth it if I have to spent years patching.

What to look for and what to avoid? Thanks!