Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[wolfenzee]

I worked for a company that installed epoxy floors and as an off shoot they installed a cement floor using a polymer in the cement mix instead of water. It resulted in a much stronger more durable surface, I believe this would also work in this application and should be investigated.

[Yachts66]

That book was not available. These books are? How do you guys rate them?

Ferrocement boat construction by Chris Cairncross (1972)

Hartley's Ferro-Cement Boat Building by R T Hartley & A J Reid (1111)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding (1970 First Edition) by Jay R. Benford (1970)

Ferro-Cement Boat Construction, by Jack R. Whitener (Jun 1970)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding by Jay R. & Husen, Herman Benford (1971)

Fitting Out Ferrocement Hulls by Robert Tucker (Mar 1977)

How to build a ferro-cement boat by John Samson (1968)

A manual of ferro-cement boat building, by John Samson (1969)

How To Build A Ferro-Cement Boat by Geoff Wellens (1968)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding by Jay R. Benford and Herman Husen (1971)

Ferro-Cement Boat Construction by Jack R. Whitener (1973)

Ferrocement yacht construction by Chris Cairncross (1972)

Ferro-cement: design, techniques, and application by Bruce Bingham (1974)

I've eliminated the expensive books costing over $100, just because.

Thanks for you input in advance!

Thomas

[Shanaly]

i agree, the internet went wrong when the term 'entrepreneur' was lost by the French

[Shanaly]

"The problem with quotes on the internet is the difficulty in verifying the authenticity of the quote and crediting its source."

Abraham Lincoln[/QUOTE]

i agree with the above, and I believe the problem started when the French lost the term 'entrepreneur'

[Boracay]

I built my Harley RORC 32 using Richard Hartley's plans and his book.

It was quite a few years ago now but most of the techniques are still valid. It's one book I would recommend.

Sadly, my copy has gone to that great library in the sky.

I still have Bruce Bingham's book though. Nice to look through again after all these years. Covers the basics.

[John Webb]

HI Guys,
My first yacht was an Adams 52, constructed from Ferro Cement, it was built by a famous sailor and contributor to both the Skipper Magazine and Cruising helmsman in fact I believe he was the editor at one stage of one or both,
My Yachts name was Honeywind a sloop and was built by Andrew Bray, he wrote a complete article on the construction and launching of this vessel and he showed no compromise in the standard of the build and as above with the epoxy coating over the 12mm square galvanize mesh being only 2mm. At 52ft long she weighed aprox 22 tonnes and was very fast. She sailed the south pacific, NZ, New Caledonia and the Solomon's for more than 20 years and in 1994 when I sailed her back to Australia across the Tasman I was caught in a severe low and was pitch poled at night and the same night was rolled over in a 360. She righted herself and I finished the journey back in Australia with a lot of cosmetic damage but structurally sound.
In retrospect I have seen Ferro yachts sink at their moorings when slabs of "Concrete" fall off, so I think it is fair to say that whatever one buys check it out thoroughly, because there are some outstanding Ferro builds as well as some floating coffins available for sale.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Shanaly

laying up is the key process and must be done within 24hrs and usually needs 3 teams of plasterers. expensive in oz, ideal and cheap in philippines. good thinking!

This is not so, many boats, in fact all Hartleys were built with the 2 shot system where the outside is done first then the inside several weeks later after water curing the outside.
Steve.

[BillAU]

Originally Posted by Yachts66

That book was not available. These books are? How do you guys rate them?

Ferrocement boat construction by Chris Cairncross (1972)

Hartley's Ferro-Cement Boat Building by R T Hartley & A J Reid (1111)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding (1970 First Edition) by Jay R. Benford (1970)

Ferro-Cement Boat Construction, by Jack R. Whitener (Jun 1970)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding by Jay R. & Husen, Herman Benford (1971)

Fitting Out Ferrocement Hulls by Robert Tucker (Mar 1977)

How to build a ferro-cement boat by John Samson (1968)

A manual of ferro-cement boat building, by John Samson (1969)

How To Build A Ferro-Cement Boat by Geoff Wellens (1968)

Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding by Jay R. Benford and Herman Husen (1971)

Ferro-Cement Boat Construction by Jack R. Whitener (1973)

Ferrocement yacht construction by Chris Cairncross (1972)

Ferro-cement: design, techniques, and application by Bruce Bingham (1974)

I've eliminated the expensive books costing over $100, just because.

Thanks for you input in advance!

Thomas

G'day Tomas,

I think the book, Hartley's Ferro-Cement Boat Building by R T Hartley & A J Reid would be a good, up-to-date, value for money, FC boat building book that would suit your needs. The book, A manual of ferro-cement boat building, by John Samson would also be a good book, even if it is a bit dated now. I can not comment on the other books you mention. Both Hartley and Samson FC yachts are still going strong and if you look around the net for a used FC yacht to buy, anywhere in the world, you'll find most FC boats being offered for sale are either Hartley or Samson boats and they all seem to be dated 1970's or earlier...To me, that says a lot for the seaworthiness of Samson and/or Hartley designed boats.

Bill
Australia

[Cormorant]

Originally Posted by BillAU

... One book I can recommend is, "Ferro-Cement Boats", by "Colin Brookes". ...

I see a copy of that available online from Crouch Rare Books in Godalming in the UK, via ABE Books. Listed at about US$31.

See if this link brings you there.
Brookes - Ferro Cement Boats - AbeBooks

Otherwise just try abebooks.com

[BillAU]

Tomas, in the book "Ferro-Cement Boats", by "Colin Brookes", Mr Brookes gives his and Hartley's reasoning for going with "twisted wire netting" (Chicken-wire) over "welded square mesh". It seems their years spent in building and repairing FC boats, has proven, using Chicken-wire in the armature helps avoide FC hull's worst enemy, Voids.
The author says, using Twisted Wire Netting" on/in the armature, the builder can greatly avoide creating "voids" in plastering the FC hull and they can achieve a thinner, fairer and stronger hull.

I have no plans to build a boat, I'll buy my finished FC boat , but if I was planning to build a FC boat, I would stick to the instructions given by the author/s and go with "Twisted Wire Netting" on the armature and forget about using welded mesh.
I also believe it may pay you long term to contact Hartley Yachts and ask if they have the plans for a FC pontoon suitable for your purpose, you never know, they may well have plans you can use for your house-boat.

Bill
Australia

[rpeebles]

How about a Hardi Plank hull? Can anyone answer this question?

Build a boat using Hardie Planks? - Boat Questions and Answers.

Thanks, Roger

[nsabardin]

7 years later, I just wanted to post on this historic thread. ;-)
I'm actually gonna look at a FC 43 in 10 days. Looks like a nice boat 90% restored. I'll keep you guys posted.

[James S]

Good call nsabardin....and welcome to the forum.

[rpeebles]

Originally Posted by nsabardin

7 years later, I just wanted to post on this historic thread. ;-)
I'm actually gonna look at a FC 43 in 10 days. Looks like a nice boat 90% restored. I'll keep you guys posted.

Details please! Thanks, Roger

[Old Salt]

Hi there. I agree with everything Jeff has said. Plus over time the reinforcement rusts away and you hit the dock a little hard one day and tinkle tinkle the hull falls apart.

Would recommend you find an early GRP boat which can be virtually indesructable and built to standards that even today give you a great boat. Look at early Pearsons, Formosas, Tyler hulls (UK) etc.

Go for your dream

Roger