SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Any thoughts on a 1970 "Seasmoke" 40' Sloop?

6K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  BillAU 
#1 ·
I'm getting ready to come home from the middle east soon and looking for a new home on the east coast. Before I came over here, I lived aboard a Hunter 31 in Bremerton, WA so I know I enjoy living aboard and love sailing so I decided I'm doing it again. So my plan as of today, is to sell my boat in WA and buy one a little larger and live aboard her. I'm searching for inexpensive vessels and I found one that I could easily afford, and she is in need of work, so I'm thinking if I'm lucky, I can do some customization in the process of refitting her. The one I'm interested in is a 1970 40' Seasmoke. I haven't seen any of these before, so I'm wondering if anyone has any general observations or knowledge about strengths and weaknesses inherent in the design.


Thank you,

Michael Cahoon
Sloop Nanoose
 
#4 ·
Generally not considered to be. There are a few good ones out there but the majority are not worth spending money on. Their resale value is virtually nil due to their rep (due to all the junky ones).

At one time ferro boats were huge bargains due to their rep, even the good ones, as they all got tarred with the same brush but now you can get needy fiberglass boats so cheap that ferro is not really worth considering.

That is unless you can get one of the good ones for the price of the junk from an owner who is tired of trying to sell it. :)
 
#7 ·
Smackdaddy,

I'm actually planning to be doing this acquisition on the East Coast, and I see that he is based here in the Puget Sound. But I do appreciate the recommendation! I have my current vessel Nanoose docked here in the Puget Sound and am anticipating selling her, so if I find she has issues when I get home I will definitely be in touch with him!
 
#8 · (Edited)
G'day mate,

The Seasmoke's were designed by Samson Yachts, Hartley now sell the Samson plans.
If you're talking about this Seasmoke on YachtWorld, then I think it would be a good buy at $7,500, you'll most likely pick it up for five grand. I only wish it was being offered here in Australia for that price, I would have bought it six months back...Oh well, I'll keep looking this side.
BTW, Colin Brooks has written a great book on FC boats, Ferro Cement Boats, imho, it's a great book and well worth the selling price of $45 :) Colin Brooks has been designing, building, surveying and repairing FC boats for 35 years or more...Yes, he gets his hands dirty :D and he's the man I listen to on the matter of FC boats ;)
Good luck with things,

Oh! The Seasmoke...Were I in the States...I would buy it in a heart-beat at that price :)

Bill
Australia
 
#9 · (Edited)
Bill, I think you'll find that ferro boats here are not generally up to the standards found in Oz and Europe. There they were largely built by pro's while here they were largely built by hippies & dreamers.

I knew John Samson and Chris Deiner, his foreman when they were in their heyday in production in Richmond. John was an interesting eccentric and a hell of a promoter but he had some screwy ideas about boatbuilding. For example, there is a C-Quin for sale here that they built. It's one of the better ferro boats around but it floats a FOOT or more below its lines. Chris told me that John wanted to eliminate all the areas that could trap water in the hull. He had read about how they would sometimes fill these areas with pitch in old wooden boats so he decided to imitate them, but with CEMENT. You can imagine how much weight it would take to sink a 44' boat a foot or more - Tons!

That was done by the main promoter and one of the better builders of ferro boats here. The ones I've seen from Oz & Europe were to a much higher standard - perhaps only because they were the ones that had successfully made it here. :)

There are a few well built ones here - I know of a C-Breeze on the island that is very nice and I've seen an Endurance 35 that was indistinguishable from glass but they are the rare exceptions here. Even the better built ones tend to have kinks in the sheer and/or other very basic flaws.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Faster
#13 ·
I had written this long post (oops, this one turned out too long as well)_ about my experience with ferro cement, but I lost it - I guess it was so long that I had to re-log on, and I lost it in the process - lucky for you guys.

Anyway, I had a 32' Sampson designed gaff-rigged cutter built by a wonderful guy, Jean Claude (most people called him JC), on his home island of Mauritius. She was built in 1979, and except for work on the standing, and running rigging - because JC made a stop in Tortola, and found his new home - got married and had a beautiful child, and the boat sat in the mangroves, somewhat neglected - but otherwise, she was in great shape.

I bought her, "Bonne Esperance" for $6000, and sailed her hard for nearly 2 years, made some minor improvements, and sold her for $12,500 right after Hurricane Marilyn - I wasn't planning on selling her, although I knew I wanted a boat that was a little more....nimble, but he made me an offer I couldn't refuse.

I have nothing but positive things to say about ferro cement - because my experience was so good, and because she was built very well by the guy I bought it from. Tough as nails, and with the wooden mast, long bow sprit that was rusting, sending some rust streaks down her sides, she was often admired - I think because it made people think of either a pirate ship, or Popeye, I'm not sure which. Frequently, people would get off their beautiful "million dollar yachts" (anything that was new, shiny, and big), and dingy on over to talk about my boat.

I got slammed a bunch of times in anchorages, mostly in Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke, because back then, there were no mooring balls. One time a Beneteau 501 slammed so hard that it cracked their fiberglass, and crunched a stanchion, but "Bonne Esperance" received nary a scratch.

I think the advice from many of the posters, that surely know more than I, to get someone that knows FC boats to look her over. The only thing I can think of which could be bad, is if the steel meshing that's used to build these boats, if that got wet, rusty, that would be a bad thing (duh, right?).

Good luck, and smooth sailing
 
#14 · (Edited)
Michael, I advise you to buy Colin Brookes book, Ferro Cement Boats, Offered for sale from: Hartley boat building books and instructional CD's

In his book (3rd Edition) Mr Brookes states in Chapter 4, Quote:

It is NOT normally the amateur constructed boat that is the problem factor but the amateur DESIGNED boat that is the root cause of most adverse FC boat stigma.
End Quote.

Like I stated above, you should buy Mr Brookes book, reading the book will help you no-end to what, and what not, to look for in buying a FC boat. (I am in no-way affiliated or associated with Hartley Boats, Colin Brookes or Ferroboats.com I just know Colin Brookes book is, imho, a great book and should be owned by everyone who is thinking of buying or owns a FV boat. I own a copy :))

The following quote is from: http://www.ferroboats.com/repairs.html

Quote: One of the great advantages of a ferroboat hull is....if it was built reasonably well in the first place, almost any damage is repairable. End Quote.

To get a better idea of what other FC boat sellers are asking and getting for their boats, you should check: http://www.ferroboats.com/notices 12.html

Were I in your position, I would be asking the seller,
Who built the Seasmoke :confused:
Is there a build certificate for the Seasmoke :confused:
(If the Seasmoke was Pro built, the yard should have issued a build certificate for the boat)
Did the builder stick to the plans while building :confused:

The plans for the seasmoke would also be handy to have ;)

Bill
Australia
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top