Ferro Cement boats
 

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

Ferro Cement boats
 

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


Just don't ground it! FC will grind away in a heartbeat, well, almost.
G

Ferro Cement boats
 

On Jul 19, 1:38 pm, 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.


That depends on what you mean by "truely check." An industrial
ultrasound scanner will be able to survey the steel armature of a
ferrocement hull. A skilled operator will be able to spot any
thinning, corrosion, or broken welds.

I would definitely use a surveyor who was expert in ferrocement
construction... this will be expensive.

Consider the overall cost of ownership, I'm sure that ferrocement
boats look like a bargain on the market, but the overall boat market
is tanking and maybe you should think about whether or not you'll be
able to sell it *at all* in future years. If you plan to live aboard
the boat for the rest of your life, that's OK. But it seems to me that
there are many many attractive bargains in conventional fiberglass
boats right now.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Ferro Cement boats
 

You are on the right track here, but not necessarily with ferro cement.

You should not be putting more than about half of what you could scrape
together into the boat. You'll need the rests for repairs, upgrades, and
the unexpected. Not selling the house and renting it, or selling it and
putting the money away is sound thinking.

You are looking at a boat in the right price range if you can buy it without
selling the house. The price is cheap because the owner probably couldn't
give it away. Almost nobody wants these things and you'll probably have to
sail it uninsured. That doesn't mean an FC boat of the right design and
construction can't be a solid and seaworthy craft, just that the vast
majority of them effect the resale and insurance market.

Fibreglass boat prices (the real prices; not what you see in the ads) are so
depressed these days that you ought to be able to find a suitable boat for
about the same price. A huge part of the value of boats is the cosmetics.
The "owner finished" may be a big part of the cost equasion in the case of
this boat. Be sure you are comparing fiberglass boats of comparable finish
and systems and not just size.

I have a 32 foot boat ready and able to take me on some extended trips.
Moored right in front of the marina where my son works is a wooden Hereshoff
12 /12 daysailer that was purchased for four times what I could expect to
get for my boat in the presentmarket. Most of the cost of boats is surface
finish.

A good FC boat should be:

Fairly large since this makes the weight inefficiency less of a performance
issue.
Have good form stability (for the same reason) which generally means a
fairly traditional hull of a type originally intended for inside ballast.
Square welded mesh (run from chicken wire).
Professional construction.
NO rust showing anywhere. Rust expands. The slightest bleed means big
trouble.
Everything except hull comparable in quality and finish to any alternative
glass boats you are considering.
At his point in time, chances are overwhelming that, if the builder knew
what he was doing, he would have chosen a different material. Something to
think about.

Don't let this boat become the justification for doing somethign you can't
manage. Find at least a couple glass or steel boats you can manage and
would be happy with and see how low you can push the price. Don't worry,
that FC boat will still be there. As I said, nobody wants these things
unless they are uniformed dreamers.

"Strong as wood, light as steel."

--
Roger Long

--
Roger Long
"Josh Assing" wrote in message
...
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

Ferro Cement boats
 

On Jul 19, 12:37*pm, "Roger Long" wrote:
...*As I said, nobody wants these things
unless they are uniformed dreamers.

"Strong as wood, light as steel." ...

I mostly agree with Roger on this, but I've seen several very good FC
boats in the New Zealand, Oz, Coral Sea area. So, there are some
exceptions to the rule that stone boats are unwanted. Still, even
with a good one with a good survey insurance will be hard to come by.
Insurance companies like to insure things that they can understand
statistically. In practice that means that if it isn't a grp
production monohull it's going to be a challenge to get coverage at
reasonable prices.

-- Tom.

Ferro Cement boats
 

On Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:38:01 -0700, 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

Helped a good friend bring a professionally built 44 foot FC
pilothouse ketch from Jacksonville, Fl to Pensacola. He got rid of it
a few years later. Something to do with being unable to obtain
insurance. You need to check that out.

I'm told that if the hull has the proper frame and mesh reinforcement,
is continuously, once started, and monolithically constructed, it will
be sound. How to make sure that actually happened........?

Frank

Ferro Cement boats
 

On Sat, 19 Jul 2008 10:38:01 -0700, 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


I have a good friend who has a 55 ft. F.C. boat and his experience has
been:

The boat is heavy for it's size and requires more sail area then a
lighter boat. On the other hand it sails well when other boats are
reefing.

He hit a rock at about 7 knots and knocked a hole in the bottom. Said
things got sort of exciting there for a few minutes. Was able to beach
the boat and repaired the damage using some sort of "epoxy stuff" to
use his words. That was more then a year ago and no problems with the
repair to date.

The boat has a very low resale value. In his case he is 78 years old
and doesn't care, but you might.

Other comments:

If the boat has integral fuel tanks it is possible for the diesel to
soak through the hull. Have seen a couple of boats with that problem.

As regards to "sailing off". I would suggest that unless you have
"sailed off" before you do not sell the house for the first couple of
years - rent it. A large number of people lose enthusiasm for the
boating life style after a couple of years.






Bruce-in-Bangkok
(correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

Ferro Cement boats
 

On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 07:17:07 +0700, Bruce in Bangkok
wrote:



As regards to "sailing off". I would suggest that unless you have
"sailed off" before you do not sell the house for the first couple of
years - rent it. A large number of people lose enthusiasm for the
boating life style after a couple of years.

Good advice. In considering moving to Florida we decided such
a plan best. Perhaps we will lose our enthusiasm for Florida.
A 2-year trial seems about right.

--Vic

Ferro Cement boats
 

Thanks Roger.

In our searches; most boats the size we want;we can't afford out of pocket.
I've looked at some "inexpensive" fiberglass boats; but they were so abused, I
could find soft spots & delamination in fairly importantspots.

this boat does need some help -- but we're not "jumping in and going" so my
though is that if the hull is solid - we can do the minor upgrades "over time"
so it won't be a huge burden.

The hull was professionally built -- only the inside was "owner finished" --
however, he looks like he was a damn fine craftsman as everything is very solid
and well fitting.

-josh

On Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:37:27 -0400, "Roger Long" wrote:

You are on the right track here, but not necessarily with ferro cement.

You should not be putting more than about half of what you could scrape
together into the boat. You'll need the rests for repairs, upgrades, and
the unexpected. Not selling the house and renting it, or selling it and
putting the money away is sound thinking.

You are looking at a boat in the right price range if you can buy it without
selling the house. The price is cheap because the owner probably couldn't
give it away. Almost nobody wants these things and you'll probably have to
sail it uninsured. That doesn't mean an FC boat of the right design and
construction can't be a solid and seaworthy craft, just that the vast
majority of them effect the resale and insurance market.

Fibreglass boat prices (the real prices; not what you see in the ads) are so
depressed these days that you ought to be able to find a suitable boat for
about the same price. A huge part of the value of boats is the cosmetics.
The "owner finished" may be a big part of the cost equasion in the case of
this boat. Be sure you are comparing fiberglass boats of comparable finish
and systems and not just size.

I have a 32 foot boat ready and able to take me on some extended trips.
Moored right in front of the marina where my son works is a wooden Hereshoff
12 /12 daysailer that was purchased for four times what I could expect to
get for my boat in the presentmarket. Most of the cost of boats is surface
finish.

A good FC boat should be:

Fairly large since this makes the weight inefficiency less of a performance
issue.
Have good form stability (for the same reason) which generally means a
fairly traditional hull of a type originally intended for inside ballast.
Square welded mesh (run from chicken wire).
Professional construction.
NO rust showing anywhere. Rust expands. The slightest bleed means big
trouble.
Everything except hull comparable in quality and finish to any alternative
glass boats you are considering.
At his point in time, chances are overwhelming that, if the builder knew
what he was doing, he would have chosen a different material. Something to
think about.

Don't let this boat become the justification for doing somethign you can't
manage. Find at least a couple glass or steel boats you can manage and
would be happy with and see how low you can push the price. Don't worry,
that FC boat will still be there. As I said, nobody wants these things
unless they are uniformed dreamers.

"Strong as wood, light as steel."

--
Roger Long

Ferro Cement boats
 

I mostly agree with Roger on this, but I've seen several very good FC
boats in the New Zealand, Oz, Coral Sea area. So, there are some
exceptions to the rule that stone boats are unwanted. Still, even
with a good one with a good survey insurance will be hard to come by.
Insurance companies like to insure things that they can understand
statistically. In practice that means that if it isn't a grp
production monohull it's going to be a challenge to get coverage at
reasonable prices.

I'm going to do a search for insurance -- since this will basically be "our
home" I don't want to go w/o insurance... that's a deal breaker for me.