ferro-cement

ferro cement hull

23 Jan. 2006
Many thanks for the prompt reply. I will contact these people through their commecial attache here in Manila.
Best regds/FOsorio

 

Jay Benford (Benford Design Group) has several ferro designs, though I've never seen a multi hull in this material. He has also a fine book on the subject, try his web site.

 

Hey FOsorio..... Indonesia have cheaper Ferrocement... must be the intensive curroption... try buying 500kg pack much cheaper..... check your local house builder for cement and steel knowledge..and later ask you friend the boat builder......

There's a vietnamese got a hole of the side of his ship..... he got to the nearest Indonesian village of Natuna to buy his repair kit, rested a while enjoy the cementing before he depart...

Actually he stuff the bag of cement to the hole and wet it with sea water.... the hole seal and off he goes......... one of the successful repair stories just to let u know..................................CHEER

 

I'm very sorry for the extreme delay - I had thought they would scan and OCR easily... but no such luck. My best attempt at an ocr version (only a year after you were kind enough to send them to me to post ) is online at http://www.boatdesign.net/ferro/

--Maybe if I just adjust the clock on the server...

 

So that ferro boat I mentioned earlier...well I just bought her. Lots of research later and here is what I know:

Built 1978 professionally by Ferro Cement Marine Services in England. Fitted out By Arthur Holt Ltd. in Heybridge. No interior or exterior rust from mesh visible, in spite of old coatings. She was holed (a tiny one) after bouncing around on a rock for a couple of hours which a surveyor said would have destroyed a wood or GRP hull. The hole allowed an examination of the mesh, and after supervising the repair, the surveyor announced the mesh was in very good condition after 30 years, with little sign of degradation. He also noted the fairness of the hull (achieved with epoxy fillers and coating at time of build). The repair is very good - nobody casually examining the hull has been able to locate it. She has integral frames and floors in ferrocement, which adds significantly to the impact resistance and strength. In short, she seems very well built (as confirmed by the surveyor) and needs only cosmetic work. We are re-epoxying the bilges, and to get rid of any grease etc the bilges were washed down with bilgex and steam cleaned (helps any diesel evaporate).

Learning new stuff like this about maintaining any material is part and parcel of progress I suppose - just look at GRP folks who now know (after many of them blistered and delaminated) that secondary bonded repairs can be problematic, and that they should have used different resins and techniques in the first place. Same with wood and steel boats. I said it elsewhere and I'll say it again - I honestly believe that a well built and maintained boat in any material is as good as any other well built and maintained boat in any other material. I say this as the owner of a well built cold molded FLying Dutchman, and a Yachting World Dayboat (clinker), so no bias. The key is to understand what you are dealing with and research deeper than manufacturer hype. Yes, there are many badly built (and designed) ferro boats out there, and most were amateur built. But look at all the rotten wooden ones lying around. Or rusted steel ones (never minding the fact that poor welding will make a steel boat as fragile as an eggshell). And, although there is (statisitically speaking) a greater chance of finding a bad GRP boat than anything else, marketing hype somehow manages to quosh this. I looked at a Bavaria in Scotland recently, and it was honestly the worst piece of build-quality I have ever seen in a professionally built boat, or even some amateur builds for that matter. Never mind the fact that many other Bavarias were recalled after a Match 42 lost its keel through under-engineering and poor build quality, and another one failed its survey when brand new. The increasing number of boats which lose keels or other catastrophic failure through structural inadequacy is almost exclusively GRP, and people have lost their lives. Its not exclusive to racing boats either. Almost every GRP boat I have sailed on, esp the ones over 10 years old, have had (at least) some kind of mild to moderate structural issue. So anyone berating ferro had better have a look at their own boats first...! With this in mind, its amazing that GRP boats are so easy to insure (or not when you realise that its all market driven). There are at least 2 ferro insurers in the UK however, and the premiums I have been quoted are not at all bad, and attitudes seem to be changing for the better.

So if you want one, whether ferro, GRP, wood or steel, make sure it was well built in the first place, is well maintained, and educate yourself thoroughly in the boat and its materials.

 

Heres some on the water shots from a couple of weeks ago...

 

very nice Enjoy....

 

Francis, have you found anything yet? I am trying to decide whether to design Xmaran (a 14m LOA trimaran) with ferro. Most of the conventional wisdom seems to indicate that I should not, but I'm not looking for speed so much as stability and ruggedness.

 

Another option for you would be Fer-A-Lite

40% the weight of cement.
Stronger than cement.
Better flexiblity than cement.
Will withstand repeated impacts.
If it is damaged, easier to repair.
Does not allow water migration.

Fer-A-Lite is neutrally bouyant.

Manufactured by my company in Tampa Bay, and sold around the world.

 

G'day Francis,

I too like Trimarans and FC yachts but in 18 months of research, I have never come upon a single FC Tri.
As for a FC mono, I believe one of the Hartley 40' to 50' boats, built to your requirements, would be right up your street.

Good luck with things,

Bill AU

 

LOL, in fact, there is one just down the street! http://www.sailsamal.com/
Ellen & Kjartan sailed the boat from Vancouver to Davao(and elsewhere). I don't know if they are considering selling, but you can reach Ellen through their site & ask. They could probably help you with finding plans, as well. There are a lot of ferrocement boats & projects around British Columbia, as well. Hope this helps.
Mike

 

G'day,

I did visit that site/link (http://www.sailsamal.com/About.aspx) but could find no mention of Tri's, (Trimarans) A nice mono sure enough but No Tri's, and that mono would not suite the needs of Francis. i.e. He wants a cargo carrying work boat...Not a cruiser.

 

Yes, sorry, I should have specified. I've never seen/heard of a fc tri. (I read your post but not Francis's earlier one. My bad.)

 

This One Is For Hartley South Sea 38 Owners

G'day mates,

Would someone on the forum know what size the sails, Main and Jib, are on a Hartley South Seas 38? (Sloop Rigged)
I would like the measurements for the Luff, Leech and Foot for both the Main and the Jib.

Thanking you in advance for your help.

Bill AU

 

Now renamed the Tahiatian 38 I belive.
http://www.hartley-boats.com/tahi37.html