Ferro Cement Hulls ?

[Adelie]

As a guess this is the longest running thread on CF, first post is #1325 and was from the first several months of the forum.

[rubis]

My C Breeze 50 costs 445 000 dollars today to built, at 50 dollar per hour
over 296 weeks LABOUR ONLY
And they dare reselling them for dirt? 7 years of hard labour??

But hey…
my babby is insured with full NRMA since 1995, for the same value today that it was in 2002 how that for concrete keeping value?
Bullet proof (pirates repellent)
Iced waters proof
Coral proof
warm proof
cold proof
mooring tidal noise proof
water proof (dusty bilge) all bilge pumps dried out, lack of use
weight spread all over the hull, preventing wife deterrent pendulum motion
gentle behaviour no need for loss of crew having to seat on the edge
Could go for ever, sold pop moulded plastic boats to Sunday corporate yachties in shares or complete units as part of the aggressive marketing retaliation against real boats, (regret it) acting for petroleum by- products mega conglomerates users (Bénéteau Jeanneau and others equally mold quickies, all lacking of real marine soul)

[Fore and Aft]

Rubis is that insurance for agreed value or market value? You could be in for a suprise if she sinks and you make a claim.
Cheers

[zenith_adelaide]

Do nrma take on new insurance policies on ferro boats?

Originally Posted by rubis

My C Breeze 50 costs 445 000 dollars today to built, at 50 dollar per hour
over 296 weeks LABOUR ONLY
And they dare reselling them for dirt? 7 years of hard labour??

But hey…
my babby is insured with full NRMA since 1995, for the same value today that it was in 2002 how that for concrete keeping value?
Bullet proof (pirates repellent)
Iced waters proof
Coral proof
warm proof
cold proof
mooring tidal noise proof
water proof (dusty bilge) all bilge pumps dried out, lack of use
weight spread all over the hull, preventing wife deterrent pendulum motion
gentle behaviour no need for loss of crew having to seat on the edge
Could go for ever, sold pop moulded plastic boats to Sunday corporate yachties in shares or complete units as part of the aggressive marketing retaliation against real boats, (regret it) acting for petroleum by- products mega conglomerates users (Bénéteau Jeanneau and others equally mold quickies, all lacking of real marine soul)

[Michael Cobbe]

I know a Kiwi couple who did a circumnavigtiion in a Ferro boat.

[rubis]

Zenith,
If your O"Kelll boat is worth 2000 dollars a foot , and has been nodded and winked as such by your local Dr Death the surveyor, you will be most certainly accepted
I had another post saying I would be in for a surprise if my boat sank ??? I suppose the guy is an expert in insurance,or in sinking as all these other cement experts here but all I can say that my boat went Mary Celeste for a few miles, breaking its moorings and creating havoc along its 2 days path, NRMA just paid for the rampage and the towing back well no other accidents in all these years, can help too

[zenith_adelaide]

Originally Posted by rubis

Zenith,
If your O"Kelll boat is worth 2000 dollars a foot , and has been nodded and winked as such by your local Dr Death the surveyor, you will be most certainly accepted
I had another post saying I would be in for a surprise if my boat sank ??? I suppose the guy is an expert in insurance,or in sinking as all these other cement experts here but all I can say that my boat went Mary Celeste for a few miles, breaking its moorings and creating havoc along its 2 days path, NRMA just paid for the rampage and the towing back well no other accidents in all these years, can help too

Thanks rubis. I'm assuming you're saying that if it surveys well, then they will probably insure it? Not sure what the $2000 foot refers to though.

[Fore and Aft]

Rubis the point I was making is that if you are paying premiums based on your ferro being worth a $100,000 then if she sinks you might only get paid out market value of your pride in joy. That’s the reality and I have seen it happen a fair bit.
As for finding a dodgy surveyor to over value your yacht that sounds crazy to me. I am not sure many Surveyors would want to risk getting black listed by an insurance company by over valuing an old ferro yacht?
Cheers

[rubis]

I am insured on what the boat is worth today after evaluation of the items fitted in the labour is not taken into account as you should know after 50 years of ferro presence in Australia there is no ferro market value anywhere in the world
The ferro scene is unfortunately riddled by incompetent and pennyless fairweather jacks who by their sole presence on newsgroups managed to destroy the ferro industry with constant persistant divagations
The market value of a ferro today is only based on the desperation of their cash strapped owners who could never finish the work required to make the boat a boat, when the wife has already deserted them
You find hulls in backyards, you find hulls floating around, you find pennyless taking refuge in these floating hulls that will never afford the cost to finish the craft
You will find the same with steel buckets but never in mass produced plastic buckets as they are delivered FINISHED to a standard (french most of them)
Those have a market value the rest of the fleet is what you see is what you get that is why any ferro fully equiped, hull glassed or not and costing today 10 000 dollars the foot should be on the second hand market at least around 2000 dollars FERROS are the most expensive boats to build, their prohibitive price stopped mass production since the mid 70s when along came the aggressive mercantile plastic gurus Jeanneau first and all the rest like Bénéteau and Dufour even the chinese came to the feeding frenzie, selling buckets to would be sailors taking families on board for the sabatic year or doing Sydney Hobarts with carbon sails no market value either on superyachts the cost millions and when the race is finished they lay abandonned on a sand bank somewhere in the back of a grotty harbour I was asked to market French Kiss, contender of Bond, at 90 000 and never found anyone interested in miles of plastic and carbon
Beside the market value of plastic is going to fall when they will ban plastic from the oceans I would rather trust eco friendly cement because it does not destroy the chain from plancton to mammals
No market value for ferros Fore and Aft only beauty and taste value
I suggest you watch the web site of a ferro built in the 70s
the name is Le Toumelin This boat has been classified National Heritage YES a FERRO

[jeepers]

Originally Posted by rubis

I suggest you watch the web site of a ferro built in the 70s
the name is Le Toumelin This boat has been classified National Heritage YES a FERRO

Very impressive...

http://www.toumelin.com/informations/fiches-technique/

The Gallery of Photos says it all..

I recently was researching some other Tallships
Came across the story & demise of the Astrid whom went aground. Ireland
She was salvaged and inspected.
Money was paid for salvage. Volunteers etc committed
Estimate to repair, renovate & refit was raised .
She was scrapped because there was no place willing to take her after completed.

[jeepers]

Originally Posted by rubis

I suggest you watch the web site of a ferro built in the 70s
the name is Le Toumelin This boat has been classified National Heritage YES a FERRO

Very impressive...
Fiches technique - 3 mats goélette Le TOUMELIN

Fiches technique - 3 mats goélette Le TOUMELIN

The Gallery of Photos says it all..

I recently was researching some other Tallships
Came across the story & demise of the Astrid whom went aground. Ireland
She was salvaged and inspected.
Money was paid for salvage. Volunteers etc committed
Estimate to repair, renovate & refit was raised .
She was scrapped because there was no place willing to take her after completed.

[speedcat]

Originally Posted by Internet Sailor

Wow... I guess if you've got a ferro question, this is the thread to ask it in! Fourteen years old and still going! Is that a record?

Hello. I just signed up. I'm currently restoring a Westerly Tiger but am looking ahead to my long-dreamt boat building project of the future, which will probably also be a liveaboard.

I recently came across mention of Patrick Cotten's ferro boat designs from the 1970's in the writings of Reuel Parker, describing FISHERS HORNPIPE, a boat which was 45 years old before a hurricane wrecked it. Cotten's designs are described as spacious, stable, and often incorporating interesting features like raised aft decks.

Now, in a permanent liveaboard for northern climes (I'm in the UK) things like spacious, stable and raised decks that improve the living space start to become more important than a boat that can belt along in a F5 with a bone in her teeth. (This would be nice, don't get me wrong, but... priorities.)

However, having done some googling, I can't find any additional information online. No website, very few owner blogs (all out of date), and very little mention in general outside of Reuel Parker's articles. Apparently Mr Cotten is still alive and living in Washington state and his company, Harmony Charters, still exists, but they have not responded to my enquiry, which was to ask if any of his plans are still available.

Does anyone know anything more? I'm not dead set on building in ferro, yet, but would certainly like to see some examples of Mr Cotten's plans, if only for inspiration. But I'm also trying to cost the material to see if it still works out cheaper than the alternatives in wood/epoxy or steel.

Thanks

I think this thread/post is really old, so sorry about hijacking if that is true.

I imagine Patrick is busy and I am near positive that he's no longer chartering. I believe they sold their last boat last year.

That said, if there's a real/lasting interest I can see if I can reach him. PM me.

thanks

[rubis]

I am now with my 3rd ferro boat, a Samson C witch brigantine.I have been living on board, designed and built them , in all have 50 years relation with the material and its maintenance and managed my survival to it

I see a lot of technical bla bla re-served by people enlightened by their recent readings on this forum but with no experience in the craft
skip plastic factory fast production buckets, buy something serious even better: build one and know everything and what you have put in it

[banyandah]

Speedcat
Check us out - launched in 1974 - lived aboard 15 years, around the world, then sat on the land for another 15 while we built our house, now another 20 years going around Australia.
https://jackandjude.com/
Contact us via the website