ferrocement

It is fairly to easy to tell by it's gooey composition and the fact it generates in blisters and pockets in the surface coating. The point I was getting at is that when a cement boat has brown streaks on it people are quick to say the armature is rusting through due to poor quality of construction without any thought or knowledge to other potential causes.
 
The price of the hull materials has little to do with it. First, in a boat that is of a reasonable level of finish the cost of the hull materials is a very small proportion of the total cost of build.

For example, the cost of the winches alone on a steel or aluminium vessel will be of around the same magnitude as the cost of materials for that vessel. The timber for a nicely finished interior in such a vessel will also be of same magnitude as the hull materials. The hull material cost is insignificant in the whole picture. And boats built of these other hull materials do not suffer the dramatic loss of value that ferro cement does.

As an example, a bought in quality professional rig on a 40 foot boat will probably cost around three times (or more) the price of what one could buy a complete second hand ferro boat of same size for. Put that same quality rig on the ferro boat and the ferro boat with the new rig will still be pretty much worth just 1/3 the cost of the rig - it is the ferro that drags the price down, and it is the risk in that construction that does it, not the cost of the hull materials.

Of course, it does change a bit if the boat is fitted out with home built fittings, no bought in rig, sails, etc, so a very low quality boat. However, much the same argument applies, one can build an equally cheap boat in other hull materials.

Again, I am not knocking ferro. Second hand vessels constructed of it provide a very cheap way for people to get a boat. But the sense behind building a new one can only be driven by passion for the material (and that is fair enuff) not from rational sense as an equivalent boat that will hold its value much better (and be of more reliable material) can be built of other materials.

John
 
Thanks for the enlightenment on the 'rust' streaks. My boat has a few of these, not many, and certainly the result of it being 25 years old.Yes, there are little bubbles here and there. You described it perfectly. I had been lying in bed last night thinking, 'Gawd, maybe the chickenwire is a gonner afterall!' /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
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As an example, a bought in quality professional rig on a 40 foot boat will probably cost around three times (or more) the price of what one could buy a complete second hand ferro boat of same size for. Put that same quality rig on the ferro boat and the ferro boat with the new rig will still be pretty much worth just 1/3 the cost of the rig - it is the ferro that drags the price down, and it is the risk in that construction that does it, not the cost of the hull materials........

.......Again, I am not knocking ferro. Second hand vessels constructed of it provide a very cheap way for people to get a boat. But the sense behind building a new one can only be driven by passion for the material (and that is fair enuff) not from rational sense as an equivalent boat that will hold its value much better (and be of more reliable material) can be built of other materials.

John

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Well put John, I don't disagree one bit. Your first statement illustrates how a person can get a boat with high end equipment and rigging at a bargain bin price. That's exactly what we did.

Your second statement statement only makes me think, who buys a second hand boat thinking they can sell it after enjoying for a few years and come out ahead at the bank? Only builders of new boats for the specific purpose of selling them focus on the real time market value. The purchaser of a second hand boat is buying for the enjoyment of being on the water, and if you pay less for a boat you will probably sell it for less than a boat that you would have invested a lot more into initially.

Here is a photo of our boat taken yesterday:

100_0401.jpg


This is a repaint and bottom job after six years of cruising the Gulf Islands. It is the third paint job the boat has had in it's life and the second one by us. If we were to sell it today we could incorporate the paint job into the price, but we will never recover any work done in the past. The boat is what it is right now, and I don't think any used boat purchaser believes that they will ever make a profit on their boat if they plan on sailing it for a season or two. So, if a good boat with a quality rig can be purchased for a deal, regardless of construction, then the purchaser is actually minimizing losses he will no doubt incur over the period of his/her ownership.

Oh, and the time for building new cement boats was in the 70's.
 
She looks absolutely georgeous. Congratulations!

If we go for the boat we are thinking of, it will be because she would suit us for the next tens of years rather than a couple; therefore even if we never sold her we would still be paying very little per year for a lot of boat.
 
Yes she is a Samson. The builder designed changes (approved, I must add) to the bow that incorporated the extended support under the bowsprit which solved that bulbuss guppy look that most Samsons have. The hull is a C-Shrike with a C-Falcon superstructure. The aft mast is still being repaired.
 
Congrats

She looks great, what paint system did you use?

Read somewhere about sand/grit blasting ferro doing considerable damage, is this the case? Do you have to do all the preparation by hand.

Ferro certainly does appear to offer an economical means of sailing a much larger boat than would be the case with GRP or even steel.
 
Most Samsons built in the Uk have the clipper bow. Do you have concrete deck with a plywood cabin/superstructure. If so is the plywood covered in GRP?.Also interested to know which paint type/system you have used both on the hull and deck and on the inside of the hull.
Paul
 
Never sandblast, all done with palm sanders. The fairing is epoxy resin with microballoons and anti-sag. Yes, the decks are cement (as all should have) and the superstructure is glass-over-ply. The paint system we use and have for all our boats is Interlux Topsides and Interlux anti foul. For best results you must use their primer. The decks are done with Endura. This time, since we were addressing bilge and sewage problems, we cleaned the bilges out and painted them with FerroCon epoxy paint. This is the same paint my machine shop floor is painted with.

And CodStewart, I was following your purchase with jealousy. That's a fine boat you found!
 
Dont be put off by the people who dont own ferro boats !! l have a beautifull example that was built over a timber mould. It is very light (3.5 ton) for a 30 footer. At close on 40 years old it will be interesting to see how the newer boats stack up at the same age. A point that is constantly over looked in the great ferro "debate" is a fair comparison. That is how does a similar boat of the same age and price in other materials compair. To state the rust bleedingly obvious, wood rots, steel rusts, and even GRP can delaminate or or soften. It is both cheap and easy to fix ferro boats, with the materials available just about anywhere in the world. You can spend a lot more money on other types of boats but that DOES NOT mean that you are going to get a better boat. By the way, flash boats make theives eyes light up all over the world. Food for thought if you really want to "Go Sailing" !!
 
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