Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Thanks,
Shaun

"imagineero" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Thanks,
Shaun


I had a friend in Los Angeles harbor who had a ferro cutter. Samson hull,
built hell for stout (railroad tie for her stem and keel, completely encased
in concrete), the finishwork primarily built like a house with douglas fir
and pine heavily soaked in Cuprinol. Even had a full-sized household type
refrigerator in the galley. The boat was very heavy and under-rigged -- it
wasn't happy with less than 25 knots of wind, would stand on her feet
through 45 knots and all sails up. No matter how much chop and wind there
was outside, down below it was quiet as a tomb. A 50 hp diesel pushed her at
hull speed through any conditions I ever saw on that boat, steady as a rock.

Don't know that all ferro boats are like that, but it was quite comforting
in my early "return to sailing" days back in the mid 90's. It was also very
frustrating trying to sail in Southern California's typical "Light and
Variable" winds. Comparatively, my CT41 ketch would sail at hull speed with
10-12 knots of wind and all sails up.

Karin

In article .com,
"imagineero" wrote:

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap!

They're cheap....

Not too much else can be said generally, as so many were built by
amateurs of varying capabilities, and most are pretty old now.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's NEW Pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

imagineero wrote:
Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Thanks,
Shaun

I haven't "lived" on a ferro yacht, but have spent some considerable time
sailing on one.

This one is owned by "the world's greatest aero engine manufacturer" and as
such is used as a training and team-building sailing experience by their
training department. She sails from March through to October regularly, is
immaculately maintained, has a full-time skipper, and looks better now than
when she was newly-built by their apprentices as a project in the early
seventies.

She is heavy, displaces around 30 tons on a 47-foot LOA hull, and has a
delightful motion when sailing (you can use the heads in comfort in a force
eight gale). She is powered by an newish 160hp Volvo diesel, manouvres well
for her size/weight, has raced recently, but not very successfully, and
sleeps 10. She is ketch-rigged. She covers around 8-10,000 nm per year and
has been round Britain and cruised extensively to Scandinavia in the past 8
years.

As a liveaboard, I reckon you would find such a vessel hard to beat, so long
as you maintained her and didn't skimp the annual refit/relaunch. As an
ex-racing man I was surprised how well she sailed.

If you can pick up such a vessel at the right price, whatever that is, and
put up with the fact that these yachts were not built for speed, but
comfort, I reckon you would land yorself an ideal liveaboard.

Hope this helps!

Best of luck!

Dennis.

imagineero wrote:
Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Theoretically they can be a solution for a cheap and strong
hull if properly constructed, that is, poured in one session
from inside, vibrated through the steel frame and mesh to
ensure no voids and finished by a team of professional
plasters to get a smooth finish with sufficient layer
coverage of the steel to avoid later rust leaching - not an
easy task.

The main trouble is, as another poster comments, too many
were amateur built without always conforming to the above
and you're never going to know unless you do a destruction test.

I saw one once that was exactly that - a destruction test. A
professionally built Endurance 35 (Peter Ibold design) that
went aground on rock on a falling tide and got broken up
when an onshore storm blew up on the change of tide. I went
down to look at the pieces next low tide and found a section
of topside where the inner and outer skins flapped open,
hinging on the mesh - they had been plastered separately
from inside and outside and the cement had not bonded in the
middle.

"these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap"

You answered your own posting ^^^

===================================
"imagineero" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Thanks,
Shaun

"imagineero" wrote:

Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

I know a man who built one and lives on it. He hasn't finished
putting the rigging on it yet, so it is a sailboat that just motors.

I would say that the advantage is that you can build your own pretty
cheaply and to your own specs.

The disadvantages of course are that if you buy one that someone else
has built, it is somewhat the same as buying any home built item (not
just boats but anything) where you can't see whether it was
constructed properly.

Rosalie B. wrote:
"imagineero" wrote:

Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

I know a man who built one and lives on it. He hasn't finished
putting the rigging on it yet, so it is a sailboat that just motors.

I would say that the advantage is that you can build your own pretty
cheaply and to your own specs.

The disadvantages of course are that if you buy one that someone else
has built, it is somewhat the same as buying any home built item (not
just boats but anything) where you can't see whether it was
constructed properly.

I am sure a good surveyor could help.

On 27 Jan 2007 21:13:53 -0800, "imagineero"
wrote:

Hi all,
not wanting to start a holy war or anything, and not really too
interested in hearing the cons of ferrocement boats - im sure we've
all heard plenty of that already ;-)

Ive heard a couple of people say that ferrocement boats have some
merit as a liveaboard, but i havent been able to work out what it
is.... od they have a steady motion on the water? Are they quieter
than other boats?

Id really be interested in getting feedback from anyone who has lived
aboard a ferrocement boat and has something good to say about it....
these boats come up for sale every now and then in aus, and usually
cheap! While every indicidual boat has its plusses and minuses, it
would be nice to know a few general things about them~

Thanks,
Shaun


I sailed one from Jacksonville to Key West and I don't think I would
want one. This one was a professionally built 44' pilot house ketch.
Owner lived on it for a while, but sold it because he could not
properly insure it.

Also had a slip neighbor that had a homebuilt flush deck, double ender
sloop, about 32' He, his wife, newfoundland dog, and new born baby
lived on it. Couldn't see any real advantage other than they probably
could not have afforded a boat of any other material. On their maiden
voyage (Gulfport, MS to Cozumel) were caught in a storm, dismasted,
resqued by a freighter, and the boat sank in tow on the way back.
Never saw them again.

Frank