Search for Ferro Cement yacht

[redhead]

Our boat was yard built in Richmond, BC 1979-1981. Steel ribs 24" apart, rebar welded onto the ribs every 2" then 4 layers of steel mesh on the rebar. 6 plasterers worked on the boat, curing in a temperature controlled area for 30 days. 4 carpenters were then let loose inside for 6 months, using oak and cedar mainly.

LOA 63
LOD 57
Beam 16'6"
Draught 9"6"
Engine 120hp Isuzu 6 cyl

She has had 3 owners previously and the last was a real jackass who spent as little time and money on her while chartering. We found her up on the Sunshine Coast (BC) looking pretty seedy. We bought her cheap and have invested quite a few boat dollars getting her back in shape. Her sails are massive and old so we havent' been able to replace them yet. Sooo, we basically are a motor sailor until we can replace them.

She is very sea kindly, massively roomy down below. She will be our life's work for many years to come, but we go where we want here on the US Pacific Coast. I can't see sailing the Bahamas or the Keys with this draft, but we are going North this year and hopefully down to Sea of Cortez this winter.

Like any boat ours is a compromise, but the more we learn about the capabilities of ferro cement, the more respect we have for it, when it's done right!

[Steve Bean]

My ferrocement boat has been afloat since she was built over 40 years ago; does not appear to be sinking or rusting away.

[boat driver]

Originally Posted by HopCar

A concrete boat! Are you out of your mind? Do you know what happens when you throw a chunk of concrete in water? At least when you throw a chunk of fiberglass in water it.... oh wait, never mind.

Kiptopeke’s Concrete Ships; A Long Journey to Obscurity | Abandoned Country

these are the WWII vessels built in the 40's and traveled the world.
not sue the size relative to the Chinese but close.

[Augi]

Here is one I saw that I think is still for sale:

62' Custom Ketch Yacht For Sale - Rubicon Yachts

I am a relative newbie to sailing and know nothing first hand about ferro cement boats.

If the above at the link does not sail well, it would at least make a nice condo at the dock, on a mooring or permanently at anchor.

[fatherchronica]

I was never a fan. I grew up in construction and considered ferro cement to be best for high end curbs possibly. In the early 1970's my mother was living aboard a 33 foot French built cold molded double ender preparing for a cruise South. She went to the launch party of a So Cal built ferro cement boat and was friends with the owner/builders. One of the early issues of Cruising World had that same boat on the cover, anchored in a beautiful French Polynesian bay. Every piece of rebar in the hull was located by prominent brown rust lines. That was before they found out that the rebar needed protection. In CaliforniaSSR I have seen coated rebar in construction projects for years. I knew a painting contractor who in 1974 bought a hillside Frank Lloyd Wright house in Los Angeles for chicken feed because the rebar was rusted out of it and the foundation was failing. But, the first yacht to circumnavigate Antarctica was a ferro cement boat, my friend Sam Asher said that if he had had to wait afford a non-ferro boat he would not have been able to spend a couple years cruising the Western Central American coast before settling down to owning a business and having a family. I met a boat builder in Ventura who said that he would not have been able to afford to round Cape Horn when he was young without having built a ferro boat. That all said I personally would not do it. Once I hired a dump truck driver with a Bobcat to break up a 16x24 foot garage slab with 12" deep footings. It turned out it was 12 inches thick end to end. He couldn't even mar the surface. I began swinging an 8 lb. sledge hammer across a corner until after maybe 10 minutes it cracked. Then I chipped into the crack with a digging bar until I exposed some rebar which I cut with a sawmill. By the end of that Saturday he had taken 3 loads to the dump and I had broken and cut the whole thing up by hand. At some point he became able to get the bucket under the slab and while we could not see that it had moved at all it made breaking it easier. I was always stronger and more determined than I was smart. I was late 30's one back surgery under my belt and two to go. Also when the Northridge earthquake hit in 1974 I was in contracted to remove giant footings and retaining walls that were shattered through and through and saw 2 foot thick parking garage walls bent over like Slinkys. I was so freaked out for awhile that I dreamed about buying a lot and building giant swimming pool and putting a houseboat in it. Now we live on the beach about 2 minutes at tsunami speed from the Cascade fault. Last stupid thing, we have a lifeboat in the yard because the tsunami safety spots are 20 minutes away for old folks running with dogs and cats.

[category4jay]

Originally Posted by redhead

Our boat was yard built in Richmond, BC 1979-1981. Steel ribs 24" apart, rebar welded onto the ribs every 2" then 4 layers of steel mesh on the rebar. 6 plasterers worked on the boat, curing in a temperature controlled area for 30 days. 4 carpenters were then let loose inside for 6 months, using oak and cedar mainly.



LOA 63

LOD 57

Beam 16'6"

Draught 9"6"

Engine 120hp Isuzu 6 cyl



She has had 3 owners previously and the last was a real jackass who spent as little time and money on her while chartering. We found her up on the Sunshine Coast (BC) looking pretty seedy. We bought her cheap and have invested quite a few boat dollars getting her back in shape. Her sails are massive and old so we havent' been able to replace them yet. Sooo, we basically are a motor sailor until we can replace them.



She is very sea kindly, massively roomy down below. She will be our life's work for many years to come, but we go where we want here on the US Pacific Coast. I can't see sailing the Bahamas or the Keys with this draft, but we are going North this year and hopefully down to Sea of Cortez this winter.



Like any boat ours is a compromise, but the more we learn about the capabilities of ferro cement, the more respect we have for it, when it's done right!

Thanks for sharing. And good luck.

[category4jay]

Originally Posted by category4jay

Thanks for sharing. And good luck.

Any more pics you can share?

[lordgeoff]

Originally Posted by category4jay

When I was a lot younger I met a guy who was building a 70’ +/- ferro cement boat in I believe Oregon City, Oregon. The year was around 1978. The hull was complete and he was working on the interior. Seems he had a long way to go before he put her in the water. I know it’s a long shot but I’m curiou s to know whatever became of that project. Any super sleuths out there that can find out anything? I’ll buy ya a cold one. Thanks.

If you are looking for Ferro cement yachts I would search backyards at random.
Ferro was a popular DIY back in the 1970s and most did t get out of the backyard.

[dannc]

A man spent many years building a cement boat in his back yard in Orlando, Florida. We could see the boat in his yard as the house was next to a busy road that we would travel.

He did finish the boat in 1980-1982 time frame and hauled it to the sea... I have always wondered what happened to him and his boat...

Later,
Dan

[psk125]

Originally Posted by category4jay

Agreed. And thanks. I never thought the words “cement” and “hull” should ever go together in one sentence. I just remember this massive hull sitting in a yard a long way from any water. Who knows maybe it’s still sitting in the exact spot even today.

If you're trying to find out what happened to that particular boat, and think it might still be where you last saw it, a quick scan with Google Satellite should tell you. Their shot of our yard shows the 18' boat we have stored in it. Anything bigger would be quite obvious.

[category4jay]

Originally Posted by psk125

If you're trying to find out what happened to that particular boat, and think it might still be where you last saw it, a quick scan with Google Satellite should tell you. Their shot of our yard shows the 18' boat we have stored in it. Anything bigger would be quite obvious.

I will give that a try. Needle in a haystack but hey ya never know. Thanks.

[redhead]

Originally Posted by category4jay

Any more pics you can share?

there are a few pictures in my profile. mostly of the refit.

[Fore and Aft]

Thanks Boat Driver for posting that link. I love obscure maritime history.
Cheers

[Wotname]

For any one interested in unusual stories about big ferro yachts, then the following will surely be of interest. CF's yachtrodney built a 75', 75 ton ferro boat over 15 years and then discovered he had to cut it in half (longitudinally) and transport to the launch site before rejoining it in the water. All done successfully!

The full story here http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ars-11518.html

[Fore and Aft]

Thanks for that link Wotname, that’s just mad when you look at those photos. I have seen something similar done on a plywood catamaran. The wing deck clearance was too low so the owner run a skilsaw around both hulls and inserted another 600-800mm plywood panel to increase the wing deck clearance. It was a rough job and made the cat look way to high in the water.
Cheers