On Sat, 11 Oct 2003 22:31:04 +0100, steveb wrote:

P.C. Ford lifted the trapdoor, peered around and
wrote:

He was a promoter of ferrocement in the 70's.

What is wrong with correctly laid and built ferrocement hulls.

I am sure there are proper uses; the technique has been used to
created barges in the past.

There was a craze for ferrocement in the 70s. (A decade that also
favored disco, polyester clothing and bad hairdos.) Rationality
returned when it was discovered that they were not as cheap as touted,
difficult to fair, have dubious longevity and are next to impossible
to insure.

P.C. Ford lifted the trapdoor, peered around and
wrote:

Rationality
returned when it was discovered that they were not as cheap as touted,
difficult to fair, have dubious longevity and are next to impossible
to insure.

Hmmm, the way I hear it is slightly different. They are cheap to build, but
ppl forgot that the cost of the hull is probably a third or less of the
total, and so many builds were skimped.

Also, the actual skill of many amateurs probably left a great deal to be
desired. But it isn't true that the good ones can't be insured, and they
certainly can be surveyed.

Remember you will get an awful lot of very strong boat on the cheap (if you
buy a good one) just don't expect to make money on resale. And also
remember that ferro-cememnt isn't new. It was first used, I believe, in the
mid 19th century

steveb