Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[BillAU]

G'day Peter,

I have been searching the net for some time for information on removing diesel/oil stains from cement products but all I can find is info' on removing diesel/oil from concrete and Ferro-Cement is NOT concrete as we know it.

I believe Ferro-Cement, properly mixed and cured, is waterproof. i.e. It will not permit water to permeate from the outside to the inside or water on the inside to permeate to the outside. Diesel with FC is a different problem.

Have a look at a few old, uncared for Ferro-Cement boats sitting in any marina or on a mooring, if there is water in the bilges, taste it, you will find the water is rain-water, not sea-water.

Some will say, it's the paint that keeps the water out of FC boats but that's not true. Most of those deserted Ferro-Cement boats have lost all their paint a long time ago but they are still floating and most if not all, have dry bilges. If FC, as mixed for boat building, was not waterproof, those FC boats would be on the bottom a long time ago.

As you are well aware Peter, concrete is made up of a ratio of mixed cement, sand, and aggregates or gravel.
I believe it's the aggregates or gravel in driveway concrete that permits water to wick through.
Ferro-Cement has no aggregates or gravel in the mix. It is simply cement and clean washed sand, there is no aggregates or gravel.

We have a brick house with a cement tile roof, (cement tiles are similar to FC) we built the house well over 30 years ago and in the 30+ years we've lived here, with all the rain and storms we've had, not a single drop of water has got through the cement tile roof to damage our home.

As for listening to experts, yes Peter, I do listen to experts but I first do my homework on those giving the advice, then I decide if I should listen to them or not, and yes Peter, I will take the advice given by a person who has been successfully working full time in the industry/field for 30+ years over a bloke who has two days, or no experience in the game I'm seeking advice on.

Others can call me a cautious old fool BUT...If I need to fly somewhere on a 747, I like to have a pilot at the helm who has been flying 747's for several years...The more years experience my pilot has flying 747's the happier/safer I feel.
I guess there are, (somewhere in the world) people who would not care if the pilot had only flown paper kites in a park before stepping aboard to pilot a 747, they would still be happy to fly with him but I'm not one of those people...Given the choice, I chose, every time, to go with the bloke with years of success under his belt, the more years successful experience he has, the more I'll listen to him. As I'm no expert with Ferro-Cement boats, I apply the same rule when seeking information/advice on anything to do with Ferro-Cement boats.

Good luck with whatever route you decide on taking.

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by haiqu

Now stop procrastinating and get yourself a yacht before you're too old to enjoy it!

Rob

G'day Rob,
I already have a yacht that I enjoy, a plastic-fantastic Careel 22, (Kittyhawk) I'm trying to sell it and when I do, I'll buy my FC boat
Rob, Your boat looks like a Hartley South Seas, is it?

Cheers mate.

Bill
Australia

[haiqu]

Hi Bill,

As it says on the left side near my name, it's a Queenslander. Well OK I abbreviated it to keep that all in one line. Nominally they're 35' but the rego says 10.35m (34').

These days they're all called Tahitians. Originally the South Seas was 38', while the Queenslanders were smaller. Depending on how the pilothouse is built they can all look fairly similar.

From Forum 72 ...


Tasman-Queenslander-South Seas-Tahitian etc Similarly the 'Tasman', 'Queenslander', 'South Seas' and 'Tahitian' series of motor-sailers were also only length variations of the same design, and with many being extended you had for example 'Tasmans' built as long as 'Queenslanders', 'Queenslanders' built as long as 'South Seas' etc . So this series also underwent a similar system of name-change to just 'Tahitian 27', 33, 37, 45 and 50 etc. - Colin Brookes

Rob

[BillAU]

G'day Rob,

I'm waiting on a couple of sellers getting back to me, one is about a Tahitians 45 he has on offer, the other is a 47 Wilf Okell, when I get the info' I need from the sellers, I'll be taking a long trip to give the boats the once over.
The last FC boat I looked at in Sydney was a heap of junk, a reef waiting to happen, we'll see how things work-out for these two FC boats.
Have you seen the Hartley South Seas 45 on eBay.au Rob? What do you think that one would be worth?

Cheers,

Bill
Australia

[haiqu]

Hi Bill,

That one's worth every cent the owner is asking. It would be too much boat for me as a single hander with little sailing experience, but as a second yacht in a few years I'd probably jump at it.

I noticed he's willing to accept a trailer sailer as part payment, that might suit you too. Down the page he says he'd accept $29k which is very reasonable for a yacht of that size with a new engine and paint.

There's a bit of an inconsistency in the story though. If he's being relocated overseas, what does he want with a trailer sailer?

Make him an offer. With all major systems renewed that would probably see you out with very little maintenance. BTW I love the duckboard, gonna add one of those to my yacht.

Rob

[Mattyb]

Thought I might add my new purchase to the thread. A beautifully built 1990 Sampson c shell 36. The timber joinery inside is amazing!!! Loving it already although she needs a lot of tlc the hull is in perfect nik! Can add more photos if anyone interested. Located in remote wa australia hence the jinker for a haul out at low tide

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Mattyb

Thought I might add my new purchase to the thread. A beautifully built 1990 Sampson c shell 36. The timber joinery inside is amazing!!! Loving it already although she needs a lot of tlc the hull is in perfect nik! Can add more photos if anyone interested. Located in remote wa australia hence the jinker for a haul out at low tide

Yes please - more photos! What part of WA?

[haiqu]

Sweet ride there Mattyb. You sure have some huge tides over that way!

Rob

[Mattyb]

Yeah we get 5 meter tides here. I am in Karratha in North west WA. I had an S&S 34 in Perth which I had to sell due to relocating as I couldnt find a mooring. Then happened upon this beauty with a mooring :-) Will get some photos of the interior during the week.

Oh and she has the best wine glass rear end on her !!

[Mattyb]

oh and thats not rust running down the hull, that would be red dust from the iron ore mines. the cabin used to be white lol gets in everything that stuff!

[haiqu]

Much work over there? I could use the fun tickets.

Might see you on the great Australian circumnavigation.

Rob

[Mattyb]

Depends what you do Rob. There is a bit but if you dont have mining experience it is hard to get into and costs a lot. Im a labour business manager for a construction services company so have bits and pieces. Will pick up more toward the end of the year.

[Wotname]

Very nice Mattyb.

[haiqu]

Electronics tech, also have a HC licence and forklift.

Yeah, same story I hear everywhere. People take care of their mates and family first in hard times.

Rob

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by haiqu

Hi Bill,

That one's worth every cent the owner is asking. It would be too much boat for me as a single hander with little sailing experience, but as a second yacht in a few years I'd probably jump at it.

I noticed he's willing to accept a trailer sailer as part payment, that might suit you too. Down the page he says he'd accept $29k which is very reasonable for a yacht of that size with a new engine and paint.

There's a bit of an inconsistency in the story though. If he's being relocated overseas, what does he want with a trailer sailer?

Yes Rob, I was thinking along the same lines mate.

Make him an offer. With all major systems renewed that would probably see you out with very little maintenance. BTW I love the duckboard, gonna add one of those to my yacht.

Rob

That Hartley 45 on eBay dosen't have a shower...45' of space and no shower installed...I wonder what he installed in place of the shower
There are a few low priced but nice Ferro-Cement boats for sale around the world, I also have my eye on this one, a 1976 Samson 46 Sloop, it's in Rio Dulce, Guatemala and I've been watching it for about six months now but I can't get away to check-on any boat at present. Commitments at home prevent me going anywhere at present.


There's also a real nice, already fitted-out for single handed sailing, Hartley RORC 39 on offer in New Zealand, asking price of $35,000NZD (There's a whole slew of good FC boats in NZ on offer)
That Hartley RORC 39 may be a better choice for me, I need to face the facts, at 70 come January, I could be getting to be a bit long in the tooth to handle a bigger sail-boat, hell Rob, I'm even thinking of going after a 39' FC powerboat, no sails or rigging to worry about mate but I'm not dismissing a good FC sail-boat just yet


All my time spent at sea was on merchant ships and large fishing boats, all the boats were diesel or diesel/heavy oil powered vessels, not sail-boats, my experience with sailing is pretty limited.
Like you, I want a boat to live aboard full-time, I plan on selling my home and everything else that ties me to land and go live-out my days on my boat. I would most times be alone with my little dog and would be found somewhere around the coast of Oz but I may also want to take a trip up to our neighbours in SE Asia, or out to the Islands in the North and/or South Pacific.
Hell, I may even move to SE Asia or NZ and fly back to Oz when I had to, it's cheaper to fly from NZ to Melbourne or places in SE Asia to Melbourne than it is to fly Perth to Melbourne
From what I've been told from mates in Northern NSW and QLD, the wind up there is not very dependable so they go for powerboats as powerboats better suit their needs. i.e. Seldom if any wind and no upkeep/maintenance for sails and rigging. They reckon having no mast/s sails or rigging to maintain/replace saves them a lot of cash (30,000 +) they can spend that cash on diesel over time.


My three kids all live overseas and have lives and families of their own so the only people I would have aboard would be a few mates from VIC' looking for a free fishing/crabbing holiday when the weather was good, my mates are not seamen and their wives are not sea-women.


If I do go for a larger sail-boat, (40' +) I could always fit power winches to help me with the sails and I would definitely need a power capstan...All operated from the cockpit


Nice FC Samson you have there Matt, we look forward to a good stickybeak at everything so do please keep the pictures coming


Bill
Australia