From bakewelld@mala.bc.ca Mon Jun 26 10:17:09 1995 Return-Path: Received: from malad2.mala.bc.ca by mail.eskimo.com (5.65c/1.35) id AA11478; Mon, 26 Jun 1995 10:16:58 -0700 Received: by mala.bc.ca (MX V4.1 AXP) id 159; Mon, 26 Jun 1995 10:16:45 PST Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 10:16:45 PST From: bakewelld@mala.bc.ca To: martinm@eskimo.com Message-Id: <00992736.67AAE2A0.159@mala.bc.ca> Subject: Re: looking for wisdom on ferrocement as a cruising hull material Status: RO X-Status: A X-News: malins.mala.bc.ca rec.boats.cruising:636 >From: Martin Mikelsons >Subject:looking for wisdom on ferrocement as a cruising hull material >Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 06:36:16 GMT >Message-ID: >I am considering the purchase of a 36' ferrocement boat to be cruised >primarily on Puget Sound. I would like to hear from people with personal >or professional experience with this hull material. I don't know about your designer or builder, but we own a 50' ferro (Valkyrian II) presently anchored in Nanaimo harbor. We lived aboard her for 2 years (at anchor) before moving ashore (my wife went in for major surgury and was unable to climb into and out of a dingy for a long period of time. You can e-mail your comments/questions to me at bakewelld@mala.bc.ca >The owner claims the boat was professionally built in 1983 by an >outfit/builder/designer called "Sampson" to lines inspired by the Ingrid >38. Does that ring a bell to anyone? He also claims the reinforcement >is stainless steel mesh in contrast to the usual chicken wire. Is this a >generally accepted building technique? It is not generally accepted because steel mesh is very expensive compared to chicken-wire. The only concern would be the mesh size. Dave bakewelld@mala.bc.ca ========================================================================= From martinm@eskimo.com Mon Jun 26 12:24:03 1995 Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 12:23:51 -0700 (PDT) From: Martin Mikelsons To: bakewelld@mala.bc.ca Subject: Re: looking for wisdom on ferrocement as a cruising hull material In-Reply-To: <00992736.67AAE2A0.159@mala.bc.ca> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO X-Status: Thank you for the speedy reply. I hope your wife recovers quickly. One question that I have is how a ferrocement hull responds to impact with floating objects like logs. Do you have any experience with a collision under way? ========================================================================= From bakewelld@mala.bc.ca Mon Jun 26 15:30:45 1995 Return-Path: Received: from malad2.mala.bc.ca by mail.eskimo.com (5.65c/1.35) id AA13695; Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:30:38 -0700 Received: by mala.bc.ca (MX V4.1 AXP) id 27; Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:30:18 PST Date: Mon, 26 Jun 1995 15:30:19 PST From: bakewelld@mala.bc.ca To: martinm@eskimo.com Message-Id: <00992762.3587C960.27@mala.bc.ca> Subject: Re: looking for wisdom on ferrocement as a cruising hull material Status: RO X-Status: We have bumped a number of logs while cruising in the San Juans, Gulf Islands, and on the West coast of Vancouver Island. We have'nt sustained any damage from these. We have however been backed into by a fishboat while at the dock. It knocked a chunk out of the side of the hull that was about 2.5' high, 1.5' wide and about 1.5" deep. We were able to repair the damage with little fuss, a little concrete, and some mesh. There were no significant cracks in the hull as a result of the impact. We had the shipyard examine it and did an X-ray just to be sure. The reinforcing frame and mesh were fine. On the downside however, a friend of ours (Harvey Stockdale) had a 38' ferro boat (Tequilla Joe). He was powering north along the east side of Texada Island (Georgia Strait) into about 25-30kts of wind and a 4-5' sea, when he ran into a deadhead. He was holed about 4'back from the bow, and just below the waterline. His boat sank in about 10 minutes. He was able to climb into his zodiac and make it to the marina at Grief point. He now has a fiberglass trimaran and is located at Ivy Green marina, just south of Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. Ferro is a long used (they started using it during WW2), inexpensive material for hull construction. The singlemost disadvantage is that most (if not all) are built by amature boat builders. Because of this, there is no real consistency to their construction. Some are built to very exacting standards. Some are thrown together by people who know little about building boats (and could care less about learning) and whose only objective is to build a quick boat. For this reason, ferro is usually very cheap to buy and hard to sell. On the plus side, if you have found a good one (and there are lots), you will have an excellent boat for an excellent price. If you are in doubt then don't buy it. Otherwise, get a survey and make sure that the surveyor has some knowledge about reinforced concrete construction. Better yet, look up ferro construction at your local library. The more you know, the better you will be able to judge the true value of your investment. If your local library does not have anything on ferro construction, then write me back with your snail address and I will send you some photocopies of stuff that I have. Good luck, Let me know how you make out, I admit to being curious and would like to know. Dave Dave bakewelld@mala.bc.ca =========================================================================