Josh Assing wrote:
My wife & I have been talking about moving onto a boat & sailing away
for a long time -- the biggest stumbling block to buying a boat the
size we'd need for liveaboard is $ -- we'd have to sell our house 1st
& then buy the boat.

however, we happened upon a FC boat that we can afford w/o selling
the house.

I've spent about a month reading about FC boats and it seems that
there is a common thread:
If the boat was home built -- run away
if the boat was professionally built - there's a very good chance
it's solid as hell.
The only way to truely "check" the construction is to cut away the
hull & examine the steel beneath.

The hull was professionally built in Canada -- and then "owner
finished" the interior. The standing rigging is overkill (bigger
than needed, which is fine with me); the running rigging needs some
tlc here and there.

So now I'm looking for people that have had experiences with FC boats
(good or bad) to get an idea if we want to make the leap. We would
be taking the boat on shake down cruises for the next year while
still working & sell the house; once done -- sail off. So anyone
with off shore sailing experience in an FC boat -- I'm very
interested to hear from you.

Thanks
-josh

Hi Josh, here goes-

I have sailed for a few years on a 47-foot ferro-cement yawl owned by
Rolls-Royce, and built by their apprentices as a training excercise in the
mid-seventies.

"Merlin of Clyde" is, as you would expect, quite heavy for her size,
displacing around 23 tons, and I can tell you that she is a good boat to
keep out of the way of when racing, as one or two racing types have found
out to their cost in recent years!

She has been used for the past twelve years or more as a "team building
experience" for RR employees at all levels from senior management to
apprentices and students, and has sailed round Britain without mishap.

Built with utility rather than luxury in mind she was nevertheless extremely
well equipped above and below decks, and has been maintained regardless of
expense, naturally, since she carries the flag of one of the world's leading
engineering companies. She sleeps 10, in 2 cabins.

My own opinion, gained from the experience of sailing other types of boat,
mostly fibreglass constructed, is that if the boat has a pedigree such as
Merlin's, you need have no fear of ferro-cement being an inferior material,
but do be careful, as many of these hulls were constructed during a period
when the price of oil-related products such a resin was rocketing skywards,
and many of them were built in backyards and on waste ground out-of-doors,
by amateurs.

As a live-aboard, ferro-cement can be a sound enough investment, though
annual maintenance is probably double that of a similarly-sized fibreglass
yacht, but then the initial outlay should be considerably less. You also
need a much more powerful engine to push this mass thru the water. "Merlin"
has a 160hp Volvo and makes around 7 knots in any sort of headwind.

Of her type, she looks simply superb when newly fitted out and launched,
having flawless topsides and smooth underwater hull.

I need hardly add that all ancillary equipment and sails have to be really
heavy, .particularly winches and related hardware.

BTW, "Merlin" is currently for sale by Clyde Marina, Ardrossan, phone (44)
1294 607077.

No, I have no financial interest in the yacht whatsoever!

Dennis.