Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[o_q]

Originally Posted by thefantasea

Jeff's exhaustive sermon on ferro cement leaves little, if any at all, room for questions.

68 pages later...

[BillAU]

G'day Ferro Mates,

I'm still looking for a good Ferro Cement boat. I have a few on my watch list, one of which is a Hartley 60'er and she's no El-Cheepo, I really like that boat but I'm wondering, is a 60' Hartley Tahitian to big for one person I believe Peter has a 60'er that he's doing repairs on and I believe there are a few other folk on here that own/live aboard 60'ers. So if you live aboard a 60'er what do you think, is a 60'er manageable for single handed sailing

Cheers mates,

Bill
Australia

[Kevin84]

Depends entirely on your abilities and how she's set up. Line handling during docking could get interesting. While sailing, as long as you have an autopilot and all your lines are led aft to the cockpit, you can probably handle her. Me personally, I don't think I'd be comfortable singlehanding a 60 footer

[DumnMad]

Hi Bill. Too big for solo sailing and too heavy for bringing back to berth without perfect conditions and some line handlers.

I've seen some solo sailers with boats this big but they've spent a lot of money on winches and furling sails.

[pdbms]

Bill,

You need to answer the question, " what do I intend to use it for?". If you intend to moor it and live aboard, then it's probably way too much space. If you intend to put it in a marina, you will be paying for a 20M+ pen. Think about the expense.

If you are intent on crossing oceans then it may be perfect.

It is a large vessel for solo work, but with autopilot and the correct routing of lines, self furling sails etc it can be done. As to coming alongside, you may require assistance dependent upon circumstances, current, breeze etc.

If you have a lot of experience this size boat won't be a loot of trouble. If you don't have any experience, it will be quite a handful.

Regards,

Kevin

[Steve Pope]

If you are confused then she is really too big, any boat can be sailed single handed given benign conditions, it is when you start out in those conditions and they change to more normal / average ones that you will be tested. They are good boats though especially for living on.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by Kevin84

Depends entirely on your abilities and how she's set up. Line handling during docking could get interesting. While sailing, as long as you have an autopilot and all your lines are led aft to the cockpit, you can probably handle her. Me personally, I don't think I'd be comfortable singlehanding a 60 footer

G'day Kevin,

Yes mate, the boat does have an autopilot, as for all lines coming back to the cockpit, that I'm not sure about. Guess I'll need to go check her out in person.

Cheers mate,

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by DumnMad

Hi Bill. Too big for solo sailing and too heavy for bringing back to berth without perfect conditions and some line handlers.

I've seen some solo sailers with boats this big but they've spent a lot of money on winches and furling sails.

G'day DM,

After the purchase price, I don't mind spending a few bob on gear that would help me safely manage the boat. As I said in my earlier post, I guess I need to get-up to inspect the boat, before making my decision. There's also a real nice 42' Tri in the same area so I could kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

Cheers mate,

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by pdbms

Bill,

You need to answer the question, " what do I intend to use it for?". If you intend to moor it and live aboard, then it's probably way too much space. If you intend to put it in a marina, you will be paying for a 20M+ pen. Think about the expense.

If you are intent on crossing oceans then it may be perfect.

It is a large vessel for solo work, but with autopilot and the correct routing of lines, self furling sails etc it can be done. As to coming alongside, you may require assistance dependent upon circumstances, current, breeze etc.

If you have a lot of experience this size boat won't be a loot of trouble. If you don't have any experience, it will be quite a handful.

Regards,

Kevin

G'day Kevin,

My sailing experience is pretty limited. My previous sailboat was a plastic Careel 22. I would use the boat as a full-time live aboard, most time laying on the hook. I would enter marinas only when I had to. As for, way to much space, I doubt it, I like my space and comforts and I believe I've earned it I would move from port to port as the mood took me, spending my time on the East Australian coast, the Top-End and perhaps SE Asia. Your point about pen size cost/expense is well noted, that and the replacement cost for sales, rigging and other gear is putting me off this boat...A little bit As I said in earlier replies, I don't plan on spending much time in marinas but who knows what would happen down the track.

Cheers Kevin,

Bill
Australia

[kutoroka]

Bill,

I spent some time on a 56' Steel ketch. Effective bow thrusters would be an absolute requirement for me on a 60' boat and would make it considerably easier to single hand into tight situations.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by Steve Pope

If you are confused then she is really too big, any boat can be sailed single handed given benign conditions, it is when you start out in those conditions and they change to more normal / average ones that you will be tested. They are good boats though especially for living on.

G'day Steve,

Point taken on confusion mate, I also believe she would make a beaut comfortable full-time live aboard boat, anyway she's a couple of thousand KM away from me, so I would have to arrange things at home so that I could get away to go over her...Arranging those things would not be easy so we'll see how things iron-out.

Cheers Steve,

Bill
Australia

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by kutoroka

Bill,

I spent some time on a 56' Steel ketch. Effective bow thrusters would be an absolute requirement for me on a 60' boat and would make it considerably easier to single hand into tight situations.

G'day mate,

Yes, I too would like a good bow thruster, a good water-maker...And bilge keels, for beaching the boat when her bum needed doing but none are listed on the spec sheet Like the man said...There's no perfect boat. The 1984 60' Hartley looks to be in great nick, has just returned from a trip to Thailand and is better priced than similar boats listed in NZ. We'll see how things work-out

Cheers,

Bill
Australia

[Talbot]

Sailing a 60ft boat is purely a matter of having the right equipment. I would want power winches and a lot of other tweaks to make it easy to control single handed. (a first rate autopilot is essential).

However, berthing in a marina is a different matter. Not impossible but single handing a berthing when the wind is blowing off the berth, is not easy.

[atoll]

i currently live on a 63 ft boat,which is great for a family of 4 in terms of space,even better in a warm climate,but if you really want to cruise,and single hand do yourself a favour get something in the 35-40 ft range,and learn to live with the space you have.

we have also circumnavigated in this vessel,and in reality to safely operarate a vessel of the size you are looking at,3 people would be a minimum.

bottom paint and maintanace,fuel consumption will be a constant drain!

a haul out and paint costs in the region of $3000,and that is doing it myself.

your engine is going to be in the 150 hp range,using 8-12 liters per hour,or around 250-300 liters a day @6-7 knots,that is at a $1.50 a liter,going to cost you $400 to go 150 miles up the coast!

your mainsail will weigh in the region of 50-60 kgs,and your genoa the same,pull those up,and reef a few times a day,this takes all the joy out of sailing if you are on your own!

do your self a favour look at something manageable and affordable,that is not going to drain you phisically,emotionally and financially.

[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