We love Ferro cement but beware !

A great read here
http://www.mcallen.lib.tx.us/books/circumna/ci_21.htm

with the quote

"After launching, she weighed fourteen tons, which went down to twenty-three tons when fully loaded, about ten percent lighter than the original wooden vessel."

I read Bobs book "Blue Water", and never picked up that the boat he was on wass ferrocement.

 

Rwatson,The original Awahnee was wood,an Uffa Fox design if i remember right,he made the Ferro version with more beam and of course it was heavier and it was not as fast but certainly not slow.I wonder where she is now.
Ok,maybe i shouldnt have made the sissie comment,my point is that there are a lot of folk who have their theories about all the dire things that can happen to ferro boats such as if water gets at the armature as if this is a problem unique to them completly ignoring the fact that it is equally as big a problem if water gets to the core of a glass boat or a wood boat rots or a steel boat rusts unchecked,these are maintainance issues,and not worse with ferro boats.Its a good thing the internet wasnt around back when Awahnee was doing her thing,if they had gone on one of these ferro bashing forums they would have been mislead to believe that if they hit anything the boat would dissintegrate under them,i would find it hard to believe that they didnt hit any chunks of ice down there but the made it back intact.
Steve.

 

Boat fan, are you a closet sissie by chance?

-Tom

 

Are you retarded by chance ?

 

You didn't answer my question so I'll assume it's "Yes".

Poor you. I would encourage you to come out.

No, I'm not mentally challenged, but thanks for asking.

-Tom

 

I no longer answer your juvenile , idiotic " questions "

You are a retard .

 

No, no boat fan, you misunderstood my reply my friend.

I am not mentally challenged.

Now you, it appears, are not well.

All the best, stay cool.

I'll miss our tantalizing dialogue.

-Tom

 

Maybe they did , maybe they didn`t hit ice , Steve.

I don`t think that all that many people believe that the boat would " dissintegrate " after any localized impact.

A lot of them claim sinking , however.

I have always liked Hartley Tahitian , but would never feel at ease with ferro.

Really , after all that work on the armature , and hiring a crew to plaster and fair the hull , it`s no cheaper , it`slow to build , and heavy , so what have you gained by going with ferro ?

A big , thick hulled ferro barge still has appeal though ....Except when you need to move it....

 

BF,i agree about the Tahitian,and that is a particularly nice looking example but i have got to ask,why would you not feel comfortable with one in Ferro? is this based on real experience or is it based on what you have read. I do agree though that it would not be my first choice of building method today.
Steve.

 

I don`t know who built it .
I don`t know How well it was built.( How "good" was that armature from day one , and how sound is it now ?)
(It would constantly be nagging me in the back of my mind.)
I would prefer a Tahitian with a steel , strip planked , even plywood hull.
I don`t like what chloride does to a ferro hull ...from the inside out.
I don`t like polyester / glass either , osmosis is just as unpalatable to me , similar problems really.
I don`t like the weight.
I don`t like the cold interior of ferro.( mind you , not steel either. )
I don`t like the low resale , nor the fact that they are harder to sell .(You need a buyer that likes ferro.)
So ...you have already wiped out more than 50 % of your potential chances of a sale.....
I don`t like the fact that the fitout is just as expensive , on what is , by and large , considered a cheap boat.(See above)
I don`t have doubts about my ability to repair a wooden hull.Not so with ferro.
I don`t like any secondary cold joints / bonding on ferro.

There you have it .

Again Steve , what have you gained by going with ferro?

Feel free to add the reasons for your statement above to the list.

I`m not knocking ferro.
Just saying there is better ....for me.....One must go with what one is comfortable with.

 

"One must go with what one is comfortable with."

Well said...really that is what it is all about, but please.....listen to others always when building boats, I know that there is a lot of crap on this site, but the knowledgeable people do stand out after a bit of reading, and remember, a well designed boat is no more dear to build than a crappy design, yet the good design will always sell faster and for a better price.

 

Bf,what im trying to get at here is where the cause of your discomfort with ferro comes from, ie,does it come from real experience with the medium such as having owned and lived with a ferro boat and actually had the problems you worry about or if its based on the endless bs that you have read on forums such as this put foreward by people who have no real experience with the medium either. I was recently working with some young guys who had no idea that Ferro boats even exist and when i showed them photos of the one i built (before they were born) they were amazed.If they were introduced to Ferro on a forum such as this they would be poisoned forever whereas now they at least woulnt be scared off if they stumbled on a good deal on one.
Steve.

 

There you have it! Wood, the ultimate boat material; easy for the home builder, durable, light, strong, flexible, pleasant to the eye and touch, available in a vast range of types and finishes, easiest of all materials to maintain, and when it’s time to go, nature will take care of it.

Best of all, a wood boat is attractive enough to bring the next owner on board and even if neglected, people will go to amazing lengths to preserve and restore it. What's not to love?

 

So how many are building in ferro now?

 

Most likely none and thats fine,anyone would be foolish to do a new build in ferro these days,not because its a bad material but because of the unfounded poor resale value. Look, im not a rabid supporter of any particular boatbuilding medium,i just happen to be a boatbuilder with a lot more actual experience in ferro construction than most on these forums as well as having owned one and am continually amazed at the continual flow of verbal dhiarrea (sp?) i see on this and other forums by folks whos opinions on the subject are derived from reading said dhiarrea. I happen to feel that if a person dosnt have real experience on this topic or any other,their opinion is worthless.
I dont offer advice or opinions on the metal boatbuilding threads because i am willing to acknowlege to myself that it is not my area of expertise,i am interested in them though an would ask questions of those i feel are knowlegable.
Steve.