Quote:
Originally Posted by mayberrybfd
So i would like to hear of the drawbacks of Ferrocement boats. Seem like were it ever sink it would go down Really Really Fast.
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In years gone by they were popular with the
boat building crowd because:
- they could be built relatively
cheap
- skills set required was minimal
-
hull price was then 50 to 60% (my estimate) of the the total
price
After all those years the drawbacks are:
- many builders did not got the building right, producing hulls that were less than sound
- a badly built
hull cannot be made OK again
- fitouts of ferro boats were often way below par due poor choice in materials and/or lack of skills of the
builder
- mechanical solutions (ie steeering, propulsion) were often eh... agricultural
- other solutions were often very
budget focused, meaning less optimal for a sailing
boat
- very few
insurance companies are willing to ensure ferro hulls. And particular this point has driven the prices down IMO
- value of a concrete hull is nowadays more likely close to zero, or even negative
- value of a complete ferro sailing boat only slightly more
- therefore, if one owns a ferro boat, over capitilising is almost a certainty
Good points:
- many very good boats are available at very good prices
Common myths:
- all ferro boats are bad
- ferro cannot be repaired after an incident
- all ferro boats sail like a dog, but indeed some do sail like that
- all ferro boats are ugly, but indeed some are
-
maintenance is
cheap on a ferro boat (yeah, a good hull is OK without
paint, but all the other
gear needs the same
maintenance as every other boats needs)
Indeed ferro boats sink after being holed, and the rate of sinking is not the issue. The sinking is! Nearly all
keel boats with a hole in the hull, go down.
Disclaimer: I had a ferro boat for nearly 20 years
A quick search produced many previous threads, just listed 2 of them:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...it-214570.html
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...use-26450.html
addit: just noted Reefmagnet's comment: "can take a hit but NOT a pounding". He is right!