Being a landlubber with a dream, I really haven't any idea what a
ferro cement boat is like. It seems that every
hull composition has it's pros and cons, and there is really no consensus on which is really better than any other.
I really like the Penobscot Quoddy I posted about a while back, and it's a 'compsite'
hull. Further
research on it revealed that it is a
wood boat, but each piece is encased in
epoxy and vexar (whatever THAT is).
1975 Penobscot 32 Quoddy Pilot Sloop Boat for Sale (26593) in Jefferson County, WA - Specs and Photos - POP Yachts
Then, there's the Formosa's I've been seeing, but it seems they all have leaky coach houses (still haven't figured out why it's a coach house, not a cabin), plus there's the fiberglas problem of the dreaded blistering-aka the pox.
The ferro boats seem to go for less
money, and look quite well done, except some of the home-builts done by amateur methods.
Steel rusts, and worse, often from the inside out. But, they are tough, easy to
repair, have the advantage of not having
deck hardware putting holes in it to leak. Just a constant grind n
paint program.
Aluminum is hard to
paint, suffers from
electrolysis with other metals, galvanic action, and is spendy to
repair and build.
Wood rots, and from what I can gather, they all leak. But it's easy to repair, and is esthetically
classic and pleasing.
So, really, I got no clue as to what could be called the 'best' hull material.
The
skipper of the Kia Ora says he prefers ferro-cement, and makes a decent case for it.
Brent Swain, swears by
steel, and makes an excellent case for steel (which I kind of concur with).
Fiberglass seems to be the most common today, but doesn't take impact very well, and is somewhat noxious to fix.
Wood boat aficionados swear their boats are more 'alive' than the others.
So, for a noob like me, it's all confusing!!
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