Fer-A-Lite

I read your reply on that thread within a few minutes of you posting it.

Let me be more precise in my question.

What is the one material that you have a passion for?

 

I am building boats to sell them.
My passion is saved for other things.
Though on a classical, rugged, go anywhere boat I could imagine to invest some passion too.

When one is long enough in the business, I doubt one has another favourite than wood, when just emotion counts.

So, what do you want to hear?

 

Just wanted to make sure.

And I agree, there is not a better material for the soul than wood.

If I lived in a colder climate I would have another wooden boat. As it is we use it extensively on the interior of any of the boats we have refurbed.

Nothing like a well executed wood interior to enhance the feel and comfort of the average plastic bobber.

 

Hi Darr, Found this website by accident, last post was 9-5-2010, just wanted to add my 2 cents! Sure hope there a some sailors out there that are thinking about building a sail boat of some kind, I hope I can be of some help and answer some questions about Fer-A-Lite and WirePlank, as I was a builder of a 50' Motorsailor using both products. The boat was built in Upstate New York from 1973 to 1981. Launched the summer of 81. Brought it to the west coast of Florida in1982. I sold it in December of 2008. Hopefully it's on it's way to Alaska. I must mention that I did 95% of the physical building. I also designed my motorsailor, I did have some help in that area. Please feel free to contact me anytime.....SportyDog

 

Ahoy SportyDog,

Good to hear from you, and thanks for posting your first hand experience with Fer-A-Lite and Wire Plank. If memory serves me you were involved in sales or manufacturing in the marine industry as well.

I know you have become a power boater now, but if you ever want to feel the pull of a sail give me a call, we keep Sam McGee down at Davis Islands and always looking for an excuse to go sailing.

 

What a coincidence.

For months this thread was dead. Now we discuss that stuff on another thread, and surprisingly a "new" member signs up, just to make a positive remark.

yeah, life is full of wonders...........

 

Daniel-- hows things up in maine??
anyay i like the product...i had wanted to try the same thing using long strand fiberglass filler..(which iS not bondo)

Mwho has better knowledge--the person who works with it--or the person who doesnt..i know that Darr has worked with the material...i cant say if you have--but if so,

 

truth is- i could take any material and say its useless--in fact i think materials go in this order--and no one will change my mind until the sun goes out either so dont bother...(chuckle)!

1. steel
2.fer-a-lite
3. composites (core-cell)
of course it all depends on the what type of boat you want to build and its intended use--but did anyone notice that wood is not on the top of my list- why?..because its hard to work, it holes easily, it rots, is prone to borers, and you cant get strong wood anymore...and thats just to name a few--so people have tried many different ways-!!--theres cold molded-diagonal, triple plank- planking-stip planking, tortured ply, etc etc - in fact more fancy ways have been invented(out of desperation) to mold wood to more effiecient shapes because conventional techniques and traditional designs are dinosaurs now.
but heres the thing: If no one tried them because they listened to what others said..no one on here would have steel boats or fiberglass or any other material other than reeds..

i could attack any material...

there- reductio ad absurdum!!

 

Yes a new member has signed up, Reason? to try and help those that want to know more about fer-a-lite and wire-plank, So why so negative Apex1?? Have you used either product? I believe that all boat building materials and methods have their positive and negative sides. As a builder of several boats or a single boat, the builder must decide what is best for him. I chose the two products after much research and investigation of different methods from Maine to California. Strickly speaking of hull construction, this was the best way for me to proceed in the building of my boat. But remember that's only about 10% of your boat building project. The next major material is Wood! I just love all the different types. I used a lot of Teak and Mahogany, I was lucky that I was able to find these woods. So Tugboat, you are absolutly correct, The World of boat building can not do without wood.

 

Yeah,

I still believe in St. Nikolaus...........

And you are right about wood (except for the availability), and tugboat again was wrong. He seems to know not one single boatbuilding material well.

 

sportydog,
"I sold it in December of 2008"...just as a matter of interest, how did the sales price for the boat compare to others of the same age and size?

I surveyed a fer a lite boat in Sydnety in about 1986 at Woolwich, she was well built from new, but had some surpeficial racking...it was a concern for myself and the purchaser, it would be interesting to see how it went over time.....the boat was below standard market value......

 

Sale of a Fer-A-Lite Boat

In 08, I pretty much thought I would never get what I wanted for my 50' MotorSailor and I was right. I priced the boat at what I thought it would sell for plus about $20,000 more to negociate with. At the time, there were larger yachts in the yard, only 4 were custom made. One of steel, 1 of fiberglass 1 of wood/epoxy(WestSystem) and mine of Fer-A-Lite. All priced within my range.The others were production models. There were several of these that were comparable in size/layout/rigging. most were priced way below market book. Owners wanted to sell! My surveyor set my value between $180 & $210. I knew he was too high. Of the group in my class (Size/layout/rigging/etc.) only one other boat (Production Model of a 52' yacht),sold during my time at the marina. His book value was at $235, he reduced it to $90,000 to get the sale. I wasn't that fortunate, mine went for a little over $60,000. I believe Idid well for the year of 2008, a lot of deals were made, a lot of sailors/investors made some great buys. The most important aspect of selling any large yacht, it has to look very good, with the appearence of being well maintaind and that the systems in the yacht work well. My biggest reason for selling was my health and that I was getting up in age. Hope this answers what you asked about...Regards

 

John
It wasn't a 50 foot Adams by any chance?

I don't think the material will ever take off in Australia again and it can't make survey since there's no proper material testing and no proper material data sheet. No-one will sign off on it.

I see Richard made some good posts to this thread. Darr is fighting an uphill battle.

Racking and buckling stresses are a concern with a thin mesh embedded in an 'elastic' matrix. That's why I wanted to see the youngs modulus (stiffness) for the matrix material for both tension and compression.

 

Don't know if you are writing me SportyDog, the thread was sent to my email?? if you were asking me about the yacht I built, was my design 50' overall, 46' on deck, 40' at the waterline, 14.5 beam. It was not a Adams 50. The key factor about Fer-A-Lite, is that the mixture uses polyester resins, and there are over 200 types of polyester resin. All boats, yachts, watercraft made with polyester MUST BE SEALED! Most boaters, marinas etc. know the value of sealing fiberglass boats. Polyester is micro-porus, Epoxy is NOT. As most boaters know, epoxy is more expensive and as a result will cut back on it use. Anyway I hope I have answered your concerns.......Regards

 

We actually recommend utilizing the wire plank method, which is what SportyDog's hull is made of.

We are just not seeing the issues here in North America that you folks appear to be seeing down under. Perhaps it is attibutable to the fact that you folks water spins backwards, I just don't know

I am not sure what type of material testing is lacking.

If you build a hull out of fiberglass, the same materials are used in Fer-A-Lite

If you build a hull out of steel, the same materials are used in the composite construction.

How do you check the condition of the inner laminates on a fiberglass hull, you would use the same process to check the condition of a Fer-A-Lite composite hull. Let's say a moisture reading for example.

The material is accepted by the Coast Guard for charter use, so what else do I need to test?

We have never had a problem getting insurance on a Fer-A-Lite boat, it is after all a fiberglass boat, same thing with the survey for value and or insurance. Allstate and Progressive have both insured Fer-A-Lite boats with a survey, Allstate currently insures ours.

The majority of the boats built with Fer-A-Lite over the past 38+ years are still around, still sailing, still circumnavigating, going on extreme expeditions to the north and south, and one of them was recently involved in setting a number of records.


On a side note: Mike, I did find some paperwork regarding a group in Sydney that were briefly marketing the material for Platt. Still can't find anything on the 50 ft. Adams you keep talking about however.