Why are Cement Hulls, Bad ? or Are they ?

[Superpickle]

I looked at a Concrete Hull boat and heard some Bad attitudes here about them.. Whats wrong with them ?

Thanks..
Paul...

[Fstbttms]

Many ferro boats were built in backyards to less-than-professional standards; thereby earning the type a reputation for poor quality, deserved or not. That being said, a well-built ferro boat is quite seaworthy, in theory.

[DCClancy]

i believe that partly due to small air bubbles forming on the ferro ( metal mesh ) inside the cement . Weakening the hull with rust on the parts that are supossed to be streathening it. In the newer const. I believe tech. has evolved to where that has been fixed.
You would have to carry a bag of cement with you ........ hard to do in a wet inviroment ?

[danjarch]

Cement boats were the stitch and glue of the seventies. As Fstbttms pointed out they were often built by guys in their back yards, and more then a few tried their hands at design as well. Either from scratch or by modifying an existing design. This compounded poor construction with equally poor designs.

Add in that since no big production company ever made a big production run of them, they are few and far between and generally people are nervous about what they aren't used to. This also means fewer people who know how to work on them or repair them. Also insurance companies are skittish about covering them so it's both harder and more expensive to get either loans or insurance on them. And last but not least because all the aforementioned problems, some marinas don't allow them either.

The irony in all of that, is that if your looking for a cheap cruising boat and aren't worried about having more then liability insurance then you can find some really good deals on ferro boats. But then you add the problem of finding a good surveyor that knows about ferro boats to make sure your getting a good deal.

[TQA]

Originally Posted by Superpickle

I looked at a Concrete Hull boat and heard some Bad attitudes here about them.. Whats wrong with them ?

Thanks..
Paul...

This is the best source of info The World of Ferroboats

Look at the for sale list to see some stunning looking ferroboats.

But you can also find some real sheds where the builder runs out of money and finished the boat with any old wood, slaps on some house paint and then does no maintenance.

Where ever the cruisers gather there are usually one or two big ferro boats. I say big because ferro seems to work best in the 45 to 70 foot range, smaller ones are too heavy.

[Superpickle]

I was Almost put completly off this boat by some Negetive remarks from some here.
I have done a bit of Research and find that this may be a VERY good boat.

1981 Windboats Endurance Ketch Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Those that are Obviously Not in the know, asking "Where will you Scuttel it" and " A Portable Reef" made me think it was very bad, Although I was also told Insurence may be hard to get and Expensive.. I will check into that.

But, it seems the "Windboats Marine " is a Good company and still in the works.

Thanks for the Link to some very good info..

Paul...

[Faster]

I've seen a Ferro boat that was undistinguishable from fiberglass in terms of finish - it is possible - I've seen that one in 30 years..

This particular model appears (in pictures) to be spacious and quite nicely finished, at least inside.

But, and there's still a but; a couple of points:

- Its a large boat (yes, for a small price) Besides generally getting what you pay for, which in a 40' boat isn't likely to be much, if this boat attracts you due to its price you may well be hard pressed to keep up with the required maintenance budget. Moorage, storage, size, length and strength of gear are tied to boat size and displacement, not purchase price. If you can just afford to buy it, can you afford to keep it?

Second, this one may be a comfy liveaboard, but the free standing (read heavy) junk rig does not lend itself to recreational sailing, or sailing upwind with any efficiency at all.

Finally, at 26 TONS this is one heavy 40 footer. Even the 80 hp engine seems a bit marginal to me, and I'd expect you'd be using it a lot.

Note, btw, that none of these issues has anything to do the fact that it's built of ferrocement. Whether it's one of the 'good ones' is still to be determined. And yes, insurance may well be a factor.

[solar]

No comment

[danjarch]

First, I'll second what faster said. If this is a good deal for you because it lets you buy more boat then you can afford then it's going to bite you in the rump since it will still need all the usual stuff that goes along with owning a 40 foot boat.

Second, one more thing to consider is that the reason the price is so good is that ferro boats take a long time to sale and even then sale for a lot less then fiberglass or wooden boats of the same size. So just be aware that once you go to sale the boat, your going to have to keep paying slip fees until it sales and it will sale for less then comparable boats built in fiberglass or wood.

[seabreeze_97]

I dunno. The rusted rebar-in-cement seems to hold up pretty well in the bridges and supports that live in salt-water environs, literally, for decades, and they don't get painted every couple years. While the dynamics may differ, the columns handle tons of weight, varying tidal forces, storms.... I mean, they can last over 100 years, and in a day when some are claiming 40 year-old fiberglass is too old, I'm not so sure ferro-cement is so bad. Heavy, but hey, hoist up the big stuff and enjoy the stability.