Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Catalpa1

All im going to say is I I have lived- aboard and cruised on my ferro with my young family for the last 4 years and have never felt in any trouble on her. She has circumnavigated with the previous owner, we went through Cyclone Yasi on her and she is a fantastic yacht to be aboard in less than ideal weather.

Yes there were a lot of dodgy home built ones , but I work in the marine industry and have seen my fair share of crappy steel and timber hulls as well.

Maintenance is VERY easy if u have at least 2 brain cells and we spend a hell of a lot more time cruising then practically everyone else in the marina.

But if you would like to buy an overpriced piece of fibreglass to sail and look at the same anchorages and sunsets that we do, go right ahead, we enjoy the laugh...lol

my other boat was a 48ft tahitian ferro,their is a big difference to a 60ft boat

[Catalpa1]

Sorry, should've mentioned that mine is a Wilf O'Kell Zeus 45ft

[Feral Cement]

If your previous experience is all with under 30' boats, I would recommend against a 60 footer, whether ferro, fiberglass, wood, or steel.

[NorthPacific]

Well not to be technical but practical, I have swiss friends who have a Colin Archer Design Ketch 44ft. It has been crossing the oceans for 20 years hot and cold climates. It is bloody immaculate inside and out. Unless told you would not know it was FC. Now my friends are both shipwrights and built the boat for 15 years before setting out on the life of cruising.

They are seriously thinking of selling and settling on land, if anyone wants a boat that has a proven pedigree that is built very strong, is maintained to the highest standards this would be the way to go. Every few years over the last 15 they have wintered in Prince RUpert, so I known them and their boat. If they had been selling 2 years ago before I started my spending spree to get my 35 ft fibreglass boat ready for offshore I would have bought theirs in an instant.

Professionally built boats tend to be put together better, but how many horror stories are there from steel, and plastic boat owners. Buyer beware, but don't demonize one construction method over another, knowledge and above all luck is what makes a good buy.

Anyone interested I can provide a link to their boat?

[BillAU]

Thanks for all the advice mates, it's much appreciated. Atoll, Thanks for pointing-out the cost and providing some figures. I do have a few other FC boats on my list, from 36' to 45', some are in NZ and some are in Oz, so I'll see how things go...I also really like this NZ FC built English FISHER Design but I can not get away at present...Being a 42' motor/sailor it may make a better choice for my use.
Sorry Catalpa1 but I miss your point in your first post. Quote: All im going to say is I I have lived- aboard and cruised on my ferro with my young family for the last 4 years and have never felt in any trouble on her. She has circumnavigated with the previous owner, we went through Cyclone Yasi on her and she is a fantastic yacht to be aboard in less than ideal weather. End Quote.
I believe "most" visitors and posters to this thread are FC boat lovers, we do get a few FC knockers, most of whom don't seem to know the first thing about FC boats but most of us really like FC boats...That includes me

Bill
Australia

[Catalpa1]

Sorry Bill, I read the first few pages in this topic and saw the the very usual misinformed people providing info on things they know nothing about and finding figures that "justify" their argument. I was simply trying to point out that for all the ******** around ferros, I wouldn't trade mine for anything!! I'm guessing that as usual, the thread has gone off topic somewhere and I should've read all 70 pages of crap lol

[atoll]

Originally Posted by BillAU

Thanks for all the advice mates, it's much appreciated. Atoll, Thanks for pointing-out the cost and providing some figures. I do have a few other FC boats on my list, from 36' to 45', some are in NZ and some are in Oz, so I'll see how things go...I also really like this NZ FC built English FISHER Design but I can not get away at present...Being a 42' motor/sailor it may make a better choice for my use.
Sorry Catalpa1 but I miss your point in your first post. Quote: All im going to say is I I have lived- aboard and cruised on my ferro with my young family for the last 4 years and have never felt in any trouble on her. She has circumnavigated with the previous owner, we went through Cyclone Yasi on her and she is a fantastic yacht to be aboard in less than ideal weather. End Quote.
I believe "most" visitors and posters to this thread are FC boat lovers, we do get a few FC knockers, most of whom don't seem to know the first thing about FC boats but most of us really like FC boats...That includes me

Bill
Australia

happy to advise!,just as a fact and figures note.

the 48 ft hartley tahitian ferro sloop that i had and sailed from madagasgar to turkey with was powered by a 75 hp engine,and would happily motorsail to windward at 5-6 knots using 60-70 liters in a 24hour period.

easily handeled by a couple,or solo,in comparison to my 63 footer,which the engine is twice the size,the sails are easily twice the size,and the vessel almost twice the weight,but only slightly faster in cruising mode(6-7.5 average)

so when comparing lenths bear in mind the comparison is exponential.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by atoll

happy to advise!,just as a fact and figures note.

the 48 ft hartley tahitian ferro sloop that i had and sailed from madagasgar to turkey with was powered by a 75 hp engine,and would happily motorsail to windward at 5-6 knots using 60-70 liters in a 24hour period.

easily handeled by a couple,or solo,in comparison to my 63 footer,which the engine is twice the size,the sails are easily twice the size,and the vessel almost twice the weight,but only slightly faster in cruising mode(6-7.5 average)

so when comparing lenths bear in mind the comparison is exponential.

G'day Atoll,

With that 60'er, the engine is a 150hp John Deere (1700hrs) and she burns 11L/hour @ 6Kts, so your fuel burn figures are spot-on
I wonder how well that Fisher in NZ would sail, without the motor
Think I'll hang-out for the right-for-me Hartley South Seas

Cheers Atoll,

Bill
Australia

[caps38]

We spent 3 years refitting our 50ft ferro and love it. She was built in 1973 and has been around the world twice. We have sailed from Maryborough in Queensland to Alotau in PNG. Pete and I think 60ft is a large boat for one person unless you have your rig set up for one. It is a lot of boat but we can handle ours with our auto pilot and it depends on your sailing experience also. Its sad that so many people bag ferro. We saw many steel and fibreglass boats in the boat yard with problems. Every medium has issues as long as you get the hull checked. We hope you find what you want.
caps38

[awab]

hello me again after a long absend period,
I had not much time to work on Ozma last fall. I had to make some work on AWAB and had a wonderfull winter in the Bahamas.
Back in Hampstead, NC in spring I been active on Ozma again and very succsessfull.
some more pics here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/awab/
I took the anchor winch apart with no problem and only waiting for a seal to put here back again. My perkins after recondition the injectors runs like a champ.
I installed 2 new diesel fuel tanks in the engine compartment.
I took the interior out so far I did not liked it and cleaned up everything.
Next fall I will go back and think 2 more month work and Ozma should be ready for the water. This does not mean the interior is finished but technical they should be no problem anymore.

can somebody share his opinion about how to treat the undership.
I got it cleaned quite well with a hot water pressure cleaner. Everthing what s left is very strong. I was thinking to treat as a primer/ sealer the cement with CPES and then antifouling. For you thoughts I would be thankfull.

all the best
peter

[BillAU]

G'day Peter,

Good to see you back again, looks like things are coming together with your boat and from the pictures, most of the hard work is behind you
Sorry I can't advise you on hull prep but I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

Cheers for now Peter,

Bill
Australia

[paulajayne]

Originally Posted by awab

hello me again after a long absend period,
I had not much time to work on Ozma last fall. I had to make some work on AWAB and had a wonderfull winter in the Bahamas.
Back in Hampstead, NC in spring I been active on Ozma again and very succsessfull.
some more pics here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/awab/
I took the anchor winch apart with no problem and only waiting for a seal to put here back again. My perkins after recondition the injectors runs like a champ.
I installed 2 new diesel fuel tanks in the engine compartment.
I took the interior out so far I did not liked it and cleaned up everything.
Next fall I will go back and think 2 more month work and Ozma should be ready for the water. This does not mean the interior is finished but technical they should be no problem anymore.

can somebody share his opinion about how to treat the undership.
I got it cleaned quite well with a hot water pressure cleaner. Everthing what s left is very strong. I was thinking to treat as a primer/ sealer the cement with CPES and then antifouling. For you thoughts I would be thankfull.

all the best
peter

Lots of good info here:-

Ferrocement Boat Owners Association - Crew.org.nz

[Yachts66]

Originally Posted by atoll

happy to advise!,just as a fact and figures note.

the 48 ft hartley tahitian ferro sloop that i had and sailed from madagasgar to turkey with was powered by a 75 hp engine,and would happily motorsail to windward at 5-6 knots using 60-70 liters in a 24hour period.

easily handeled by a couple,or solo,in comparison to my 63 footer,which the engine is twice the size,the sails are easily twice the size,and the vessel almost twice the weight,but only slightly faster in cruising mode(6-7.5 average)

so when comparing lenths bear in mind the comparison is exponential.

True, but also remember there are two lengths involved here. LOA and LWL. Of the two, LWL is the far more meaningful number. The speed of your boat is roughly Sqrt LWL * 1.34 for the typical sailboat. So, if your LWL is 36 the square root of that is 6. Multiply that by 1.34 and your theoretical hull speed is 8.04 knots. The theoretical hull speed is not the cruising speed, but the maximum speed your displacement hull should go. Power requirements to exceed that speed go up logarithmically.

[NickinOff]

Wow! This looks like an old post but I thought I would reply.
My ferrocement boat is a Hartley 28 which is more like a 30 with the bowsprit and later-added fluted back-end. It was professionally built in Tasmania by a leading family of ferrocement boat builders.

Everyone that sees the boat does not believe it is ferrocement as it is so smooth. Not a mark, scratch or dent to be seen. Only the roof is wood.
It has a dirty great big 20 HP Chinese industrial engine, offering a sound ballast. Great for gliding slowly into the marina pen but can do 8-10 knots.

The boat has been professionaly surveyed three times with excellent reports over its 18 year history of three owners - I'm the third.

I have had no problems with insurance and actually chose from several companies. I have been living aboard for 18 months and take it out every month - fantastic.

The backyard builders have certainly crushed the reputation of ferrocement boat building and if you want to buy one - come to Tasmania.

It is always better to ask people who actually build, own and use the product. Not many skyscrapers are made out of fibreglass or wood. Check out the foundation pad of a house to see if they use anything except ferro cement Dams are made of . . . .

Wow, I have made a solid concrete case for "Ferros".

[pdbms]

Originally Posted by NickinOff

...snip

I have had no problems with insurance and actually chose from several companies.

Nickinoff,

For the benefit of other Aussies with ferros, can you list the names of the insurance companies, please?

When I was looking, I could only find Northern Reef Insurance based in Spain, with an agent in New Zealand. Whilst their reputation is questionable, their policy is acceptable to marinas. That was basically my only criteria when selecting a policy - to be able to park it in a marina. if not for that, I probably would not have insured her.