Ferro Cement Yacht

Discussion in 'Sailboats' started by JohnDolora, Mar 18, 2014.

  1. JohnDolora
    Joined: Mar 2014
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    JohnDolora Junior Member

    Please can anyone help identify my Ferro cement yacht. She is 38' x 10'4'' x6'
    Built in the UK probably in the 80's somewhere on the south east coast.
    I bought her as a bare hull in 2009 and was told she was one of 3 laid up.
    I have fitted her out as a Gaff cutter and commissioned in 2010.
    Any help at all will be most appreciated.
     

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  2. Tad
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    Location: Flattop Islands

    Tad Boat Designer

    Could be almost anyone......She's a bit narrow, but nice looking. The rounded stem profile reminds me of Alan M. Pape, now passed away but he used to live in East Looe, Cornwall.
     
  3. JohnDolora
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    JohnDolora Junior Member

    Thanks a lot Tad, I'll check out some of his designs.
     
  4. Andy
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    Andy Senior Member

    Hi John, my boat in the other thread was designed by Chris Petrie, but sh is much beamier than yours (although the lines of yours are almost what you would get if you scaled the beam down in CAD...). In answer to your q about insurance, try Yachtmaster Insurance as they have a ferro specific policy which is very good.

    Andy
     
  5. JohnDolora
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    JohnDolora Junior Member

    Thanks Andy, your boat does look very similar to mine, and makes me wonder if they come from the same drawing board. Is there anyway I can get in touch with your builder and designer? Yachtmaster Insurance need the builder and a new survey so I'm frantically searching all possibilities.
     
  6. Andy
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    Andy Senior Member

    Ferro Cement Marine Services built mine, they were based in Burnham on Crouch. You'll need a survey whoever you insure with I think
     
  7. Steve W
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    Location: Duluth, Minnesota

    Steve W Senior Member

    Nice looking boat John, it does not look like anything from any of the big name designers of ferro boats, it may not have been designed for ferro but be adapted from a wood design.

    Steve.
     
  8. JohnDolora
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    JohnDolora Junior Member

    Thanks Steve and Andy, I've been researching many designers and have a theory which has yet to be proved. There was a Laurent Giles design from the 30's called Dyarchy of which I have a lines drawing. My yacht is a 14% reduction to the inch, which makes me suspect that someone has copied it for a builder to make. There was designer called Percy Dalton who did his own drawings for builders and I have tried to investigate further, but to no avail.
    I have contacted a Ferro surveyor who will be coming to check Dolora out next week, so we'll see if he can shed any light.
     
  9. JohnDolora
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    JohnDolora Junior Member

    Dyarchy

    Here is the lines drawing of Dyarchy
     

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  10. Steve W
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    Steve W Senior Member

    Yes, that makes sense as Dyarchy was a famous boat due to being in Hiscocks books and people tend to copy famous things. Nice boat.

    Steve.
     
  11. handsondeck
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    Location: lake superior

    handsondeck Junior Member

    Ferro Cement , an interesting building material. Bob and Nancy Griffiths book Blue water is a great testimony, their boat Awanee circumnavigated twice plus. If done correctly I would think very durable. Thank-you
     
  12. Steve W
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    Steve W Senior Member

    It is as durable as any material, there have been some absolutely stunning boats built of the material and some real horrors. Ahwanee was very rough but obviously a very tough boat anyway.

    Steve.
     
  13. handsondeck
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    Location: lake superior

    handsondeck Junior Member

    Ferro Cement sailboats

    Steve, I don't know a lot about ferro cement, but is it a viable and practical option for the home builder . Knowing how bob and his wife nancy cruised i cant imagine it could be nothing but rugged as hell. Blue Water has always been one of my favorite books. They truly cruised the world with very little fanfare. Unlike some I can think of. When Bob died if I'm not mistaken Nancy hauled freight out of Hawaii to the south pacific. My name is Clyde Fair Winds Steve. PS We have a little Alberg 30, sails on Lake Superior.
     
  14. Steve W
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    Steve W Senior Member

    No, its not really a viable material anymore, it was marketed as a material anyone could build with which led to a lot of boats that, while mostly rugged and sound looked like hell. The problem being that none of the materials involved have any self fairing properties so in actual fact it takes a high level of skill to build a nice fair boat.

    Steve.
     

  15. CT 249
    Joined: Dec 2004
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    CT 249 Senior Member

    I think Giles did a smaller version of Dyarchy themselves, so this could be an "official" Giles design rather than an unauthorised smaller version. I no longer have their design book to confirm this.
     
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