[Omatako]

As fstbttms said, many ferro boats were built in backyards to very tight budgets so the re-bar frame would be constructed in stages, left to rust, bound with wire, left to rust, plastered with random-composition mixes by unprofessional people to random thicknesses, etc, etc.

There were a lot of ferro boats built in factories by professionals using exacting standards, state-of-the-art anti corrosion processes and the result was a number of excellent boats.

How do you tell the difference? I don't know except to say that badly built ferro boats are mostly obvious. If you see a really good-looking one, that's where the problem starts. You will have to do a decent amount of research to convince yourself that it isn't just a stroke of luck that a bad boat looks great.

It's a risky business but that is why they are sooooo "affordable". they're really hard to sell.