ferrocement sailboat plans

• Garden Planning
• Garden Tools
• Gardening Techniques
• Ornamentals
• Pest Control
• Raising Cattle
• Raising Pigs
• Raising Rabbits
• Raising Sheep And Goats
• Raising Chickens
• Raising Ducks And Geese
• Raising Turkeys
• Power Equipment
• Self Reliance
• Sustainable Farming
• Food Policy
• Food Preservation
• Homemade Bread
• Homemade Cheese
• Seasonal Recipes
• Garden And Yard
• Herbal Remedies
• Energy Policy
• Other Renewables
• Solar Power
• Wood Heaters
• Green Cleaning
• Green Home Design
• Natural Building
• Environmental Policy
• Sustainable Communities
• Biofuel & Biodiesel
• Fuel Efficiency
• Green Vehicles
• Energy Efficiency
• Home Organization
• Natural Home
• Free Guides
• Give A Gift
• Gardening Tools
• Raising Ducks and Geese
• Garden and Yard
• Other Home Renewables
• Fuel Efficiency News, Blog, & Articles
• Green Vehicles News, Blog, & Articles
• Energy Efficiency News, Blog, & Articles
• Home Organization News, Blog, & Articles
• Give a Gift
• Land For Sale
• Diversity Commitment
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

How to Build a Boat Out of Ferrocement

Building a concrete boat may sound pretty freaky . . . but it works and the job is easier than you might think. The finished craft has some real advantages over conventionally constructed boats too: it won’t rust or rot, sharp rocks don’t punch holes in it and the vessel just keeps on getting stronger for the next 30 years or so!

What you do is build a wooden frame in the shape of the boat you want, tack on several layers of chicken wire and metal rods . . . and then cement over all your mistakes (you’ll have a lot more leeway with this process than if you were working with wood or fiberglass). Once the reinforced or “ferro” cement sets up, you’ll have a seaworthy hull that’s both dirt-cheap and virtually maintenance-free. And, if you keep the thickness of the troweled-on pour of cement down to less than an inch (which provides plenty of strength), the shell will weigh about the same as a similar hull constructed of wood.

The ferrocement process seems ideally suited for that large boat you never thought you could afford. Pool your spare change and weekends with a few friends and you can build the hull of a 36-foot fishing boat in 700 man-hours for a materials cost of less than a grand! Or bring in a 50-foot work boat hull–with deck and bulkheads–for less than 2,000 man-hours and about $4,000.

This all sounds pretty implausible and it was . . . until the idea of constructing watercraft from concrete was rediscovered in the 1940’s by an Italian engineer named Nervi. The concept was later picked up by some New Zealand experimenters and brought to North America by John Samson when he established a ferrocement design and supply business in Canada. Several hundred–if not thousand–such vessels have now been launched or are currently abuilding on this continent.

Almost any watercraft–sloops, ketches, cutters, power cruisers, tugs, trawlers, houseboats, you name it–can be built from ferrocement. If you’re boat-wise and already know something about this construction technique, you can probably adapt regular boat plans to the process. Otherwise you may want to buy drawings and instructions tailored specifically for ferrocement.

Yes, it seems certain that ferrocement boats are here to stay . . . still, a few words of caution are in order before you dash off to “pour your own”.

Many experts in the field advise against using the process on very small designs–say an 18-foot boat–because the thin-hulled craft that result are not (in the experts’ opinion) seaworthy. We know of several people who’ve constructed exactly such designs, however, and they have no complaint. Then again, they weren’t amateurs either.

It should also be noted–even when constructing a bigger ferroconcrete craft–that the final cementing: plays a very critical part in determining the ultimate strength of the vessel. If you can find the cash to hire a professional plasterer to do the job, by all means do so.

The first step is building a temporary platform to use as a foundation for building. This holds the ribs, or “station frames” which will later support and give shape to the concrete hull as it’s poured.

The station frames must be cut, plumbed and leveled carefully because the finished hull can only be as true as the skeleton underneath. Two people working full time can bring a ferrocement boat to this point in about one week.

Once the station frames are correctly positioned, wood strips are nailed over the ribs.Slowly, the skeleton begins to resemble a boat’s hull. Once the planking is in place, any depressions or bulges must be leveled. It takes around two weeks to reach this point if two people work on the boat full time.

Next, a coating of strong polyethelene is applied to the hull mold. This will keep the cured ferrocement from sticking to the form. Wood “knock outs” will eventually be replaced with portholes.

After the polyethelene, 20-gauge, one-inch mesh (common chicken wire) wire is applied. Four layers of wire mesh is stapled right to the hull planking.

Horizontal metal rods are then stapled in place over the chicken wire. The horizontal rods are spaced two inches apart, and will be covered with vertical rods spaced on six inch centers. A final two layers of wire mesh is then applied.

Now it’s time to cement! When the great day arrives, you’ll be wise to hire some pros to help you handle that final – and all important – step.

With enough wiling hands, it only takes a few hours to plaster the average ferrocement hull… just make sure the best people are on the trowels!

As the cementing progresses, you must turn your attention to thought of curing the job. Some builders prefer to spread damp blankets over the new shell and keep the covering continuously moistened for 28 days. Others erect a polyethelene “dome” over the fresh hull, insert a steam generator, build the temperature inside to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and maintain the steam-temperature level for 24 hours.

The cured hull is turned upright, and the form removed. The shell is now ready to be finished inside. A good schedule is to pour a hull one summer, fit out its interior the next winter (when shelter is appreciated) and sail away the following spring.

• Published on Jul 1, 1972

Subscribe Today to Mother Earth News!

50 years of money-saving tips.

• Spend less cash on groceries by growing and preserving your own food
• Shave off your energy bill and reduce your reliance on the grid with DIY hacks anyone can achieve
• Explore small-scale animal husbandry for provisions, profit, and land management

Canadian Subscribers • International Subscribers

Canadian subscriptions: 1 year (includes postage & GST)

Membership Subtotal

Total savings

Shipping and taxes calculated at checkout.

Clear cart or Continue Shopping →

BOOK CODES     The Book Codes letters column indicates the books of our designs in which the study plans for that design are published. If they are shown in more than one book, the first one listed has the most detailed coverage. Please check-out the links (click on book codes) for more details on these books or call 1-800-6TILLER (800-684-5537). They stand for:

MATERIALS CODES    The following Materials Codes refer to the versions that have been drawn up as of the date of this price list. Check with us for other options or whether there has been a change in the one you're interested in. The codes are:

• All ferro-cement designs specify the use of high strength �” 19-gauge square welded mesh. “Chicken wire” is of inadequate strength and not acceptable.
• Price shown is for owner-builders. Professional builders please call or write for royalty/licensing agreement.
• Plans are in the process of being converted for this material. Existing plans will be sent on receipt of payment. Please allow approximately 60-120 days for delivery of the revised drawings.
• Displacement shown is for the boat in cruising trim, with tanks filled and people and stores aboard. For small open boats it is for the estimated structural weight only.
• Bid and Stock Plans only sold through licensed builder. Contact Benford Design Group for information on how to reach licensed builder

DISPLACEMENT & CONSTRUCTION COSTS    Costs for boatbuilding these days are fairly directly tied to the volume or displacement (weight) of the vessel involved. The feedback we've been receiving from our various builders indicates to us that costs are running from about $2.50/pound for the very heavy displacement types to over $4/pound for the lighter displacement boats. For an example, look at the range of displacements for our 50' designs - they range from 32,750 to 110,000 pounds. Using the lower $2.50 price times 110,000 gives $275,000 and the higher $4 times 32,750 gives $131,000.    These prices are for materials only, exclusive of any hired labor, tools, building site, building shed, insurance, launching, and inflation over the time during which the vessel is built.    A professionally built boat is running from a low of around $5/pound for the very heavy ones to well beyond $20 for the lighter ones. This would include the materials above plus the labor to transform them into a boat, but with no allowance for inflation. This figure can readily be run up, depending on the level of finish and detail, plus the costs for electronics and other extras that may be added as the boat is being built. Of course, the costs in a boat can be unlimited, as we all tend to add "just one more" item to them in an ongoing fashion, but these figures generally include all the basics such as engines, sails, berths, head and galley.

A CAVEAT....    We are known to be, perhaps, the most careful and conservative of designers. We take great care in trying to be sure that the designs are well thought out and detailed. However, there is always the possibility of a transposition or otherwise incorrect notation slipping by us in proofing the drawings. I remember one occasion, where ten years after we'd issued a drawing it was pointed out to us that we had the engine exhausting a couple feet underwater.... We then sent out over 60 notices to builders worldwide to correct this wrong note. Thus, if anything does not seem right, call or write us and let us know.

WHAT ARE STUDY PLANS?    Study plans are a way of looking at the outboard profile and/or sail plan and the accommodation plan of a boat in larger scale than is shown in our catalog and books. Many find this helpful in being able to scale various elements of the design to visualize how they would live on the boat and use it before going ahead with building the boat.    Thus, study plans are the outboard profile drawing (the sail plan on a sailing boat) and the accommodation plan (what would be called the floor plan in a house). Oftentimes, there are more than one version of a design and these are usually included in the study plan package. This varying content accounts for the varying prices listed for the study plans - the higher the price the more sheets of drawings included. The only exception to this is the Benford 30 set where there are over two dozen versions of the design and we usually limit the B30 study plan package to two versions. Most of the plans are about two by three feet in size and printed by the Xerox process on bond paper. Unlike older ammonia process prints, these will not fade when hung in sunlight.    In the case of the boats that are in our books, there is often more detailed information on the boats in the books than on the study plans, with the proviso that the drawings are reproduced at a reduced scale. Thus, the books are the best way to get an overview of the designs and the best place to start. In the following lists are Book Codes showing which boats are in which books.

WHAT ARE ESTIMATING/BID PLANS?    For the last three decades we've offered as "study plans" the profile or sail plan and arrangement plan sheets from our "stock plans" or construction plan sets.    Now, with the increasing complexity of gear available for cruising boats, and raw materials costs continuing to rise, we've decided to offer an alternative level of plans. These will be between the conceptual picture of the designs found in the study plans and the complete building plan sets. They will offer the prospective owner or builder a way to look over all the information on the plans about the scantlings and equipment specified. Thus, you will be able to do a better job of estimating the cost in time and materials to build the boat before committing to the full cost of the stock plans.    Our pricing is primarily based on the number of prints to be provided with a bit of a sliding scale factor built in to make the smaller boats less expensive.    When you've finished work estimating from the plans and wish to proceed with building the boat, it's then the time to buy the stock plans. To do this, you may pay the difference between the estimating/bid plans and the stock plans and have us send the balance of the plans and your authorization or building rights for one boat. Or, you can pay the full stock plan price and get a complete new set of stock plans sent to you, thus having duplicate prints for most all of the plans if you need one for the shop and one set for home.

WHAT ARE STOCK PLANS?    Included in this booklet is a list of our stock plans, current as of the date listed at the beginning. These are plans that have already been completed for someone else, usually as a custom design. They are offered "as is" and printed "from stock" and thus the origin of the name stock plans.    Our stock plans usually include the following drawings, as applicable to each boat: Lines Plan; Table of Offsets; Construction Plan; Sections; Inboard Profiles; Arrangement Plan; Deck Plan; Sail Plan and/or Outboard Profile; Rigging Details; Rig Plan; Engine, Steering & Tanks; and other details (sometimes standardized) as required. If the builder had done his homework by reading the boatbuilding books available, researching and/or working in various boatyards, and has the foresight to build at least a dinghy, if not one or two small boats before tackling a larger yacht, he'll find that our plans are quite explicit.    In the cases where there is more than one version already designed for the basic hull of one of our stock plans, these versions are usually included in the stock plan package. Such options may include alternate cabin profiles, different interiors, rig variations, and/or handy cross-reference information. When ordering stock plans which have more than one version please specify your preference of rig, interior and/or choice of construction method or material.    If you don't see what you're looking for amongst our printed stock plan lists please be sure to give us a call. We'd be happy to work with you on a modified version or a new design especially for you.    In the pages of our PRICE LIST are the prices for the Study Plans , Bid Plans and Stock Plans .

Browser Security Check…

Log in or Sign up

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser .

Bruce Bingham Flicka 20 Plans

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by mustafaumu sarac , Dec 22, 2017 .

mustafaumu sarac Senior Member

Hello there, At good old times ,may be 40 years ago , Turkish Yacht Magazine published Bruce Bingham Flicka 20 Plans. Here is the pdf article. I need your help , Rudder magazine published the Flicka 20 ferrocement construction articles - 6 or 8- starting from 1972 september issue. Can anyone send the scans in list or out of list or sell me the magazines or scans or photocopies. My email: mustafaumutsarac at gmail.com Thank you, Mustafa Umut Sarac Istanbul  

Attached Files:

Flicka 20 (1).pdf

PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

I can think of little worse than making a well burdened Flicka more so, in ferro cement.  

Flicka 20 designed for ferrocement , many been built than fiber used for mass production.  

I'm not sure where you're getting your information, but the extreme vast majority of Flicka plans were GRP built and only a handful of known ferro builds. Ferro was more time consuming and more costly, compairtivly and the rather burdensome lines of Flicka were made more so, to accommodate this alternative building process. Simply put and 20' long concrete yacht isn't a good idea. No Flicka's were production built as a ferro build, for the same reasons.  

Angélique aka Angel (only by name)

Now * for sale on eBay - 2 × - 1974 Ferro-Cement boat build book by Bruce Bingham . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ferro-Cement : Design, Techniques, and Application by Bruce Bingham (1974, Hardcover) Brand New: asking US $ 96.49 * ​ ​ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ferro-cement: Design, Techniques, and Application by Bingham Concrete Boat Yacht Pre Owned: asking US $ 18.00 * - (spare link ) ​ There are also some other Ferro Cement boat build books offered for sale on eBay right now, although varying in asking prices when doubles show up, like above, and in the example below . . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ferrocement Yacht Construction by Chris Cairncross: Pre Owned asking US $ 9.90 * ​ Ferrocement Yacht Construction by Chris Cairncross: Pre Owned ‘‘Excellent’’ asking US $ 24.95 * ​ Ferrocement Yacht Construction by Chris Cairncross: Brand New asking US $ 79.49 * ​ * status at the time of posting this message​  

Here's an in 1973 started, but till today never finished, Flicka 20 ferro-cement build project , located in Branson, Missouri, USA. (ZIP code 65616) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ This unfinished project is since a long time for sale , asking US $ 1,000, which means the project seller could still have the plans, if so; then maybe good photos of these Flicka 20 ferro-cement plans are available on request . . ? ​ ​ ​  

Angelique, You are an treasure. I will buy these books after new year holiday. I will put the scans in to libgen.io. There are many boat plans over there. I am thinking to translate above books in to turkish also. My first boat will be GRP Yrvind 420 and than I find comfort , I will try to build flicka. Thank you very much.  

Boat Design Net Moderator Moderator

Before scanning/translating if thinking of doing so to share please check the copyright and be sure you don't violate the author/publisher's copyright first. Thanks.  

This Cairncross book was written at the height of the ferro craze in the early 70's and is currently viewable online in a few locations. I consider the Jay Benford book far superior on the subject, but this is a good start. I think "Tiller Publications" still retains control over Jay's book, but do not think Cairncross is as protected. Bruce Bingham is a well known author, published many times over his career, so likely also is still protected. It's still a good idea to check about this protection, though.  

Steve W Senior Member

The Flicka has more than enough displacement for ferro construction and many were built in this medium, nothing wrong with it. I have personally seen two ferro versions, the first being a beautifully built example, built at Span Farm boatyard in Auckland, NZ by a guy from Oregon and subsequently sailed home to Portland. The second not so beautifully built in Minneapolis. Interestingly enough I just bought an old copy of Nautical Quarterly magazine which had a story about the Flicka and was showing the article to our parts guy at work (just this afternoon) who has had a Pacific Seacraft Flicka for many years and while the article gives a displacement of 4500 lbs he says his is actually around 6500lbs, very easy to accomplish in Ferro. I don't know if folks built them from plans in one off solid glass but if so it would be no less work than in ferro to achieve the same quality of finish as the one I saw in Auckland. I have personally built a larger version, the Fred Bingham designed 24 ft Allegra hull for a client using the C flex method in solid glass as well as a Hartley RORC 39 ferro sailboat so I do know a bit about both mediums. Steve.  

My understanding (again) is the lines and offsets for a Flicka are different between the original and the ferro version, with obvious increases in volume and dimensions on the ferro version. Yes, this puppy does have the volume for this build method, but it was (the origional) a very burdened design, made much more so with this modification to the plans. I have a design much like Flicka, though less wetted surface, more refined appendages, etc., etc., etc. and it's about 26% lighter (3,700 LBS) than a GRP Flicka, yet still carries a 140 degrees of righting arm and a hefty for it's length displacement (315 D/L). The stock Flicka (GRP) has a D/L of around 505 and I can only imagine what a ferro Flicka would be 600? Really?  

My understanding is a little different than yours Par in that i believe that Flicka was originally designed to be built in Ferro and later built as a production boat by Northstar and then Pacific Seacraft. I am not aware of any being built by amateurs in glass but I could be wrong. Having built in ferro and various one off glass methods i don't agree that ferro is any more labor intensive. I do however agree that a 20ft concrete boat is not a great idea but then again I'm not a fan of a 6000lb boat in any material on an 18ft w/l.  

Flicka was originally designed as a set of plans for home building, with a couple hundred plan sets sold, before a partially completed plug was done by Bruce, eventually sold to Nor'star Marine for completion. Yeah, I miswrote the order of the design evolution. The ferro version was first, but never built by anyone other than the amateurs that bought the origional plans. I don't know when the design was redone to remove 40% of it's origional displacement, but this was done, because the ferro build idea, didn't take off like was expected. My understanding (which could be incorrect) is they were one off GRP's with a single skin and some amateur builds in C-Flex, though I've heard of molded veneer and carvel versions as well. I also understand no ferro Flicka's were production built. Almost all were GRP, with the first having a wooden deck and cabin structure, though all the rest where pulled off molds of this wooden decked version (Pacific Seacraft). Are there ferro versions, yep, sure are, but these puppies are pretty rare as completed and actually sailed boats. They also have half the capacity of the GRP versions and they need 8 knots just to get away from a leeward dock. In any case I think you and I are in agreement about the results of the concept. I've also heard that some of the original (ferro) home built's were over 9,000 lbs. displacement on an 18' LWL craft. Wow . . .  

I'll don't think the OP is industriously gathering the asked for info, since the over a week ago in post #5 linked on topic Bruce Bingham books are still for sale, even the one only askin US $ 18 (in Türk lirası ₺ ) , for what looks to be a comprehensive book by the designer of the boat of interest, about the asked for build method, which also looks to be in a nice and usable condition. P.S. -- An expansion of the message related to PM questions by the OP, answer partly posted here to be possibly reviewed by other forum members, and / or supplemented or corrected where needed. -- International Priority Shipping costs from the seller's location in Murrieta, CA, US to Istanbul in Turkey would be somewhere around US $ 27 (in Türk lirası ₺ ) I'll guess. Maybe this could be cheaper too, best contact the seller for this through the eBay ad . However, I don't know whether Turkish taxes and / or import duties are due for items like this one. Best ask info for this at a local office in Istanbul which handles such cases.  

• Advertisement:

Are you sure about the lines being redrawn to reduce the displacement? I only ask because any competent ferro builder should be able to build to a 6500lb displacement without gobbling up all the payload. Now if you build the deck and cabin in ferro like the unfinished one shown above all bets are off. The biggest problem with overly heavy ferro boats stems from too much plaster over the steel armature. Too many builders did not spend enough time compacting the mesh and fairing the armature prior to plastering day and then the plastering team tried to fair with plaster. As with all method it comes down to workmanship and ferro was sold as a method that anyone could build with whereas I contend that any method that uses materials with no self fairing properties such as ferro and one off solid grp actually require a high level of skill if you want to keep the weight under control.  

Bruce Roberts Fibreglass Panel building method for one off motor cruise

Sharpies, Bruce Kirby etc

Help, how do you calculate BRUCE NUMBER ?

Bruce Kirby: "It's the Boat That Matters, Not the Name"

Bruce Roberts Boat Designs

Bruce Roberts Custom 63 Ketch

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Sailing adventures

• Aug 10, 2021

Ferrocement boats, connections and a beautiful story

We have a very beautiful story to tell you... but we have to start from the beginning.

Most sailing boats today are made from fibreglass and factory produced. Some are made from steel or aluminium. However, as you know, Ambrym is different and she is made from Ferro-Cement. This technique has been around for over 100years!

In the 60’s-70’s in particular a lot of people started building their own boats at home, many from wood. But also many from Ferroconcrete. Plans were bought from Naval Architects, however, there were a few issues: Many people started building a boat way too big for their skills, abilities and finances.

Then there were the people who decided they knew how to make the design “better”- this rarely worked out well…

Then when launched it was quite common to find the build quality was not as it should have been…

As a result a high percentage of ferrocement boats were not fit for purpose and quite a few were scuttled (sunk) for the insurance money! (Which also means difficult to get insurance now).

That's why "ferro" boats got a very bad reputation a while ago. It's also why is so important to know if a ferrocement boat was well constructed from the beginning.

When we first saw Ambrym a year ago she was in the water. That means that we couldn't make a proper inspection of the hull. But we saw so many details that were showing that she was a very good and solid boat, that after a closer look swimming and diving, Lloyd decided to follow his heart and good intuition and get her.

When we took Ambrym out of the water for the first time last winter, we were really impressed. The hull is so well built, so smooth and regular. Many people have said that she's one of the best built ferrocement boats they have seen.

We couldn't follow her history back to the builder. The only information we had was from a contract from 1985 showing a common enough surname and an address that now had an apartment block on it... everything pointed to her being professionally built, but we couldn't trace it.

During this last year, we have been trying to get more information, asking, researching... with no result.

Until only a couple of weeks ago...

...without losing the hope of finding more info about Ambrym's history, Lloyd kept asking and talking about it with everyone.

And one of the many sailor friends that he has made this last month in Kalamata came one morning with amazing news: "I think I've found your boat!"

She found an ad on a French forum . Cédric was looking for the boat his father built between 1971 and 1979 and had to sell not long after. Wondering if she was still sailing, where and how... Her name was originally Ambrym.

So that was it! We found Ambrym's builder and first owner!! We have been in touch with them since. Alain (Cédric's father) was a concrete structure engineer that built his own boat, making some improvements to the famous Endurance 40ft model, applying his knowledge and skills both about ferrocement and sailing, building the fantastic Schooner that is Ambrym.

We can't express how happy we are about this. Getting to know them, to share so many emails, pictures and stories with them. Seeing how excited they are to have contacted us. Learning so much from every single email we receive from Alain full of information, tricks, pictures from the first sails, data and even cooking recipes!

We are looking forward to having them onboard. Reuniting Ambrym with her builder and his family. Sharing some sailing with them and keeping learning from Alain.

It's so special seeing these old pictures. Comparing and finding the modifications made over the years, but so surprised to find many things original, still beatiful and working after more than 40 years...

We are so excited and emotional about this. Another proof of how amazing the sailing community is. Showing that sailing is not a sport, or a trip, even an adventure. It's so much more than all this, it's difficult to express.

Thank you Claudia! (the sailor who found the link)

Comentarios

• No products in the cart.

Hartley & Brookes boat plans is the oldest business of it’s kind. Since the first plans were sold for home construction in 1938 it’s estimated that in excess of 100,000 Hartley Boats have been built.

Apart from ‘class dinghys’ there are probably more Hartley Boats throughout the world than any other design. And probably more Hartley ferro-cement boats than all other ferroboat designes added together.

The first ‘Trailer-Sailer 16’ designed by Richard Hartley circa 1960.

The Designers

Hartley boats have all been designed in house by Colin Brookes, Richard Hartley, Jock Read and John Avent. Samson boats have been designed by John Simpson, John Samson, Cecil Norris, P.Noble, T.Timmerman, W.Reid.

Canoes to Ocean Cruisers

Hartley & Brookes boat plans are distributed worldwide. Have been built from Iceland to Tasmania. Cruised the canals of Europe. Sailed the Great Lakes of America. Fished in Canada. Chartered in Croatia, and even trailered through the Great Australian Outback.

Competed in thousands of sailboat races, from club sailing in Hong Kong, Oman and England, to the ‘Cape to Rio’, ‘Auckland to Fiji’, ‘Auckland to Noumea’, and ‘Sydney Hobart’, ocean races.

Hartley & Brookes powerboats have raced the Papua New Guinea backwaters, to the offshore races of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The Sportsman 37, popular for both leisure and sports fishing, many of these have been used extensively for commercial crayfishing, conventional fishing, and as diving launches for abalone.

Fishing and Work Boats

Hartley & Brookes boats are used for all forms of fishing and commercial work worldwide. Some as workboats straight from our plans. Many as adaptions of our tried and tested pleasure boat plans.

Our workboats have been used and accepted by many governments and official bodies, from the Singapore Harbour Authority, to the Danish Fisheries College, and the Kenya game fishing industry to the Vanuatu Republic’s fisheries.

Anglers have hooked from our small boats off the coasts of England, Malta, Holland and Norway. Fisherman have dived from our boats for Abalones off the coast of America and Crayfish off the coast of New Caledonia.

Achievements

Since their introduction, our boats either professional or amateur built, have logged thousands of major achievements in skill and endurance by both craft and skipper. Many have made global circumnavigations and ocean crossings.

Some examples are Atlantic crossing in a ‘Hartley 16’. First woman solo Cape Town to England. First woman solo crossing of the Tasman Sea. Peter Freeman in his home built ‘Hartley 32′, held the monohull single handed round the world non-stop sailing record for boats under 50’ for almost 20 years.

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Across the Atlantic in a £1500 ferrocement schooner

• May 19, 2021

Tom Cunliffe introduces an extract from The Boat They Laughed At in which Max Liberson sets off across the Atlantic in his Schooner to prove she can make it

Of all the yachting books I have read, not one starts like The Boat They Laughed At , by the inimitable Max Liberson:

‘I tapped the large man on the shoulder, interrupting his current occupation which was hitting the security guard repeatedly on the head while he lay in the road. He turned and looked at me. At first he was somewhat at a loss for words. ‘I asked him, “Just what exactly do you think you are doing?” With this he lost his temper and shouted to his mate who was standing behind the security van they were robbing. “Shoot him!” To my horror, the other man had an automatic pistol in his left hand…’

This unusual opening paragraph sets the scene for a rollercoaster read. Max is down on his luck as a dispatch rider in London, but a set of curious chances leads him to a beamy, shallow-draughted ferrocement 42ft schooner, which he buys for the princely sum of £1,500.

His pals in the Essex mud laugh at the boat and, in response to a wind-up, Max decides to sail her to the Caribbean and back, which he promptly does against all the odds.

Max shows himself to be not only a warm-hearted human being, but also a seaman of considerable ingenuity and grit. His self-steering arrangements are an essay in the understanding of how a boat sails, while his ability to deal with dodgy wiring and his quick fix when his inner forestay falls down are exemplary.

We join Max homeward bound mid- Atlantic , with his engine having long since given up the ghost, hacking north across the trades from the Caribbean looking for westerlies. Read on, and ask yourself, as I did, if you really need to spend so much money on your adventures…

It was a pig to get down as well, and quite often it would get caught and then I’d have another repair to do on it.

Life was very busy for me. I would snatch an hour or so of sleep, but there always seemed to be something that needed fixing, or a sail change, or adjustment to the steering that needed to be done. I also had the SSB receiving radio to play with. I’d been given the frequencies for the American weather forecast, but it was some kind of robot and very difficult to understand.

This radio also had AM on it and I could pick up lots of American stations, but mostly these seemed to be Christian evangelical stuff that got tedious very rapidly and had me more likely to question if there is a God rather than reaffirming my faith.

The most time I‘d ever spent alone had been the four-day trip between Porto Santo and Gran Canaria. Now after a period of weeks I found myself getting very emotional about insignificant things.

I began to dwell more and more on my past life, and the mistakes I had made seemed to become of greater magnitude than they had assumed before. I began to despise myself, and this went on for at least a week.

New awakening

Then one morning I had a moment of clarity – one of those realisations that make a big difference. I really got the fact that what had been done before was done, I could live a better life in the future and in the now, and gradually I calmed down and won the victory of feeling comfortable with myself and able to be by myself. It was a magic moment, and I think seldom experienced by many people today.

Our course became more north by west. I really wanted to go north-east but the only way possible was towards New York. If I’d had an engine or crew I would have gone in there, but as it was I gave it a miss – I had no money and plenty of food, and after a particularly savage rainstorm, our water tanks were full.

Max Liberson and Gloria on a mud berth at Battlesbridge in Essex. Photo: Graham Snook

Once we were about 150 miles north of Bermuda and after sailing for three weeks the wind got a bit of west in it, and at last we could point towards the UK. We were on our way!

A group of dorado joined us that night and I shone the torch on them. Either side of Gloria ’ s bow they spread out like outriders escorting a queen.

I know they were just making use of Gloria as a stalking horse; the flying fish would take to the air when she got close, and the dorados would be waiting when they landed, but it seemed more magical than that. More like Valkyries bringing a fallen warrior to the halls of Valhalla. All I needed was a bit of Wagner.

That night it got cold enough to put on some clothes, and the next day the dorados were gone, as was the aquamarine colour of the sea; it was starting to go grey, but Gloria was in the groove and romping towards home, and she had found the blessed Gulf Stream with its 2-3 knots of favourable current.

I could not complain. I began to see whales quite frequently. I think they thought Gloria was one of them. She was travelling about the right speed and the black antifoul looked very whale-like.

I also started to pick up Herb, the famous weather router on the SSB radio. He was sending the yachts closest to me back down to Latitude 35, into light and variable winds, which is okay if you have a motor and plenty of diesel but no good for us.

The first really bad blow started up and I struggled to get sail off and get Gloria steering on course. I just about had it sorted, when we fell off a wave and all the electrics went off.

Article continues below…

Sailing Ushant: Tom Cunliffe explores France’s most daunting island

‘Qui voit Ouessant boit son sang.’ In plain English, this old Breton sailors’ proverb reads: ‘He who sees Ushant sups…

C. Sherman Hoyt memoirs: A typically frank extract from Yankee Yachtsman

Born in 1878, C Sherman Hoyt sailed in every racing yacht imaginable for the best part of 60 years. Tireless,…

There was only 30 minutes before nightfall, and I had nothing: no lights or navigation instruments.

Leaving Gloria to herself I dashed below. I knew there was a common negative connection on the engine; my first thought was that it had come off. I reached under the engine to check it and found that it was arcing out. I managed to get it disconnected and then put a multi-metre on the engine. I found that the engine was showing 12.65V! I expected any moment to have to deal with a fire.

Nothing I did seemed to make any difference to the current in the engine. I got out a pair of snips in the end and cut the whole wiring loom. That did it. Then I started rewiring the boat. Lights first, then the navigation and so on.

It was a good job Gloria knew which way to go.

Reduced speed

We were getting bashed about a bit, but when I did get topside we were on course and doing 7 knots, so I left well alone and went to get some food and rest.

The wind kept blowing. Twenty-four hours later I thought it freshened, but when I checked the GPS we were only doing 5.5 knots. I was really tired and put the discrepancy down to exhaustion, so I went below to try and rest.

Down below Gloria’s saloon was an eclectic mix of found objects and home-made equipment. Photo: Graham Snook

At first light I noticed a long orange sea monster following the boat! Once a bit of common sense crept into my thinking I had a good look and realised there was something around the skeg. The wind dropped down and I was able to hook up the ‘monster’. It was a long-lost liferaft drogue and rope – a real sod to get aboard.

I was having trouble hearing Herb properly but I thought he said that after the strong blow we’d had the wind would go north-west for a few days, then go back to south-west and blow again, which is exactly what happened.

On 19 June I heard Herb telling a yacht called Bear to get the hell north above Lat 42 as fast as possible. We were in Lat 41, so what was the choice? Go south and prolong the blow or go north and hope?

We went north and 24 hours later the wind started to howl. I was reducing sail, the barometer was dropping fast, the waves were getting really big, but the thing that was making life nasty was a swell from somewhere else running at an angle to the swell driven by the wind.

Our speed was generating a big wake making the waves break. I needed to find a way to get Gloria to steer herself and slow down. She was on the point of broaching and I was rapidly running out of energy. I started letting ropes out over the stern. As each one reached its end, I tied another to it. Once I had all the ropes out I tied off the tiller and went forward to drop the sails, hoping the drag astern would keep her running before the wind.

It did at first, but then a massive wave loomed out of the darkness and she just turned into it. I had not clipped on and was in between the two masts on the lee side. As the wall of water reared up I realised I had screwed up badly and I was going to pay.

When we went horizontal I would be washed overboard. But it did not happen, good old Gloria assumed a nice lean, then because she was 14ft wide but only drew 5ft 7in she was pushed sideways. I saw the huge pressure wave building up like a bow wave on the lee side, hardly any water came aboard, but a lump of concrete capping rail landed at my foot!

I got the sails down, the ropes were keeping Gloria slightly off the wind, so it seemed to me the safest course of action was to shut up the companionway and stay below.

And that’s what I did, as big waves came thundering in. The water found every weak spot and soon the whole inside was running wet, but apart from filling up the cockpit and getting past the companionway boards, the waves did not do a lot of damage, or so I thought.

About four hours later, I felt the wind easing, Climbing out I got my first sight of the massive swell that was running, but the wind had definitely dropped down a notch or two. I put up the working jib and the staysail. Once the sheet was made off to the tiller and Gloria was steering herself, I started to recover the trailing ropes.

It took an awful lot of work to get the ropes in. I was sweating and my muscles were on fire by the time the cockpit was filled up with the stuff. I set to coiling it all down and stowing it. My right arm was aching and it felt like I had pulled a muscle. It needed resting – some chance!

I got some sleep, maybe a couple of hours, then coming up I saw the staysail drop to the deck. The inner forestay had gone. This was really bad news, because I needed the staysail to steer. The mast fitting had pulled out. I had to repair it, and looking around the spares locker I found a short bit of rigging wire with an eye at each end just long enough to go around the mast twice.

I rooted around until I found a handful of shackles, then sorted out my bosun’s chair.  This was connected to a four-part tackle.

My next problem was my arm with its pulled muscle. If the rolling boat bashed me against the mast and I lost my grip, there was no one to help me. I waited for daylight, and then it was time. I got up there fast, the repair worked well and less than an hour later we were back under sail. Gloria was once more steering herself. ”

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams. Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

everythingaboutboats.org

Everything about boats – the ultimate reference resource for boaters.

Ferrocement

PATH: HOME , GLOSSARY , WEBSITE INDEX , WEBSITE CONTENTS » ∨ ∧ BOAT BUILDING, OUTFITTING, REFITTING & REPAIR » ∧ DO-IT-YOURSELF  » DIY Boat Building, Outfitting. Refitting & Repair , DIY Schools & Classes » ∧ MEDIA w/Creator Directory  » Product Documentation , Books , Magazines , Videos , Websites »

PAGE CONTENTS: ( click ⇒ to go to each section on this page ) ⇒ Topic Treatment : ⇒ ^ Vendor Directory w/Links to Vendor's Profile, Products, Services, + . ⇒ ^ Related Resources: EAB Topics w/Directories , Vendors, Products: Media: Books, Websites, + . ⇒ Visit EAB's FEATURED ARTICLES Home Page to preview the vast scope of our website . ⇒ This Month's Top 20 Most Popular Articles on our EAB  website . ⇒ Layout of the EverythingAboutBoats.org Website's Pages: Page Types, Contents, Topics, + . ⇒ What our nonprofit Anchors Aweigh Academy and its EAB website have accomplished . ⇒ Members must SIGN IN to gain access to Members Only areas of this website . ⇒ Become an Academy Member and gain access to additional pages and programs ! ⇒ Comments : Submit To ⇒ Comments♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@").

THIS ARTICLE IS STILL EVOLVING! The page may contain rough drafts that include raw source materials.

Introduction Construction Economics Advantages Disadvantages

Ferrocement build boat. GNU Antonio walter guzman

Ferrocement , also referred to as ferro concrete or reinforced concrete, a mixture of Portland cement and sand applied over layers of woven or expanded steel mesh and closely spaced small-diameter steel rods rebar. It can be used to form relatively thin, compound-curved sheets of concrete ideal for such applications as hulls for boats, shell roofs, and water tanks. It has a wide range of other uses including sculpture and prefabricated building components. The term “ferrocement” has been applied by extension to other composite materials, including some containing no cement and no ferrous material.

The original inventor of the material, Frenchman Joseph Monier, dubbed it “ciment armé,” but after another French inventor, Joseph-Louis Lambot, constructed a small ferrocement boat and exhibited the vessel at the Exposition Universelle in 1855, the name “ferciment” (in accordance with Lambot’s 1855 patent) stuck instead. The patent was granted in Belgium and only applied to that country. At the time of Monier’s first patent, July 1867, he planned to use his material to create urns, planters, and cisterns. These implements were traditionally made from ceramics, but large-scale, kiln-fired projects were expensive and prone to failure. In 1875, he expanded his patents to include bridges and designed his first steel-and-concrete bridge. The outer layer was sculpted to mimic rustic logs and timbers, thereby also ushering Faux Bois concrete into common practice.

Recent trends have “ferrocement” being referred to as ferro concrete or reinforced concrete to better describe the end product instead of its components. By understanding that aggregates mixed with Portland cement form concrete, but many things can be called cement, it is hoped this may avoid the confusion of many compounds or techniques that are not ferro concrete.

Ferro concrete has relatively good strength and resistance to impact. When used in house construction in developing countries, it can provide better resistance to fire, earthquake, and corrosion than traditional materials, such as wood, adobe and stone masonry. It has been popular in developed countries for yacht building because the technique can be learned relatively quickly, allowing people to cut costs by supplying their own labor. In the 1930s through 1950’s, it became popular in the United States as a construction and sculpting method for novelty architecture, examples of which created “dinosaurs in the desert”.

 Construction

The desired shape may be built from a multi-layered construction of mesh, supported by an armature, or grid, built with rebar and tied with wire. For optimum performance, steel should be rust-treated, (galvanized) or stainless steel. (In early practice, in the desert, or for exterior scenery construction, “sound building practice” was not considered, or perhaps unknown as it grew in some cases, from a folk craft tradition of masons collaborating with blacksmiths.) Over this finished framework, an appropriate mixture (grout or mortar) of Portland cement, sand and water and/or admixtures is applied to penetrate the mesh. During hardening, the assembly may be kept moist, to ensure that the concrete is able to set and harden slowly and to avoid developing cracks that can weaken the system. Steps should be taken to avoid trapped air in the internal structure during the wet stage of construction as this can also create cracks that will form as it dries. Trapped air will leave voids that allow water to collect and degrade (rust) the steel. Modern practice often includes spraying the mixture at pressure (a technique called shotcrete) or some other method of driving out trapped air.

Older structures that have failed offer clues to better practices. In addition to eliminating air where it contacts steel, modern concrete additives may include acrylic liquid “admixtures” to slow moisture absortion and increase shock resistance to the hardened product or to alter curing rates. These technologies, borrowed from the commercial tile installation trade, have greatly aided in the restoration of these structures.[1] Chopped glass or poly fiber can be added to reduce crack development in the outer skin. (Chopped fiber could inhibit good penetration of the grout to steel mesh constructions. This should be taken into consideration and mitigated, or limited to use on outer subsequent layers. Chopped fibers may also alter or limit some wet sculpting techniques.)

The economic advantage of ferro concrete structures is that they are stronger and more durable than some traditional building methods.[citation needed] Depending on the quality of construction and the climate of its location, houses may pay for themselves with almost zero maintenance and lower insurance requirements. Water tanks could pay for themselves by not needing periodic replacement, if properly constructed of reinforced concrete.

Ferro concrete structures can be built quickly, which can have economic advantages. In inclement weather conditions, the ability to quickly erect and enclose the building allows workers to shelter within and continue interior finishing.

In India, ferro concrete is used often because the constructions made from it are more resistant to earthquakes. Earthquake resistance is dependent on good construction technique and additional reinforcement of the concrete.

In the 1970s, designers adapted their yacht designs to the then very popular backyard building scheme of building a boat using ferrocement. Its big attraction was that for minimum outlay and costs, a reasonable application of skill, an amateur could construct a smooth, strong and substantial yacht hull. A ferrocement hull can prove to be of similar or lower weight than a fiber reinforced plastic (fiberglass), aluminum, or steel hull. New methods of laminating layers of cement and steel mesh in a mold may bring new life to ferrocement boat-building. A thorough examination of reinforced concrete and current practice would benefit the boat builder.

There are basically three types of methods of ferrocement. They are following

• Armature system: In this method the skeleton steel is welded to the desired shape on either of sides of which are tied several layers of stretched meshes. This is strong enough, so that mortar can be filled in by pressing for one side and temporarily supporting from the other side. Filling in of mortar can also be administered by pressing in the mortar from both the sides. In this method the skeletal steel (bars) are at centre of the section and as such they add to the dead weight of without any contribution to strength.
• Closed mould systems: Several layers of meshes are tied together against the surface of the mould which holds them in position while mortar is being filled in. The mould may be removed after curing or may remain in position as a permanent part of a finished structure. If the mould is to be removed for reuse, releasing agent must be used.
• Integrated mould system: Using minimum reinforcement any integral mould is first to be considered to act as a framework. On this mould layers of meshes are fixed on either side and plastering is done onto them from both sides. As the name suggests, the mould remains permanently as an integral part of the finished structure. (e.g. double T-sections for flooring, roofing etc.) Precaution should be taken to have firm connection between the mould and the layers filled in later, so that finished product as a whole integral structural unit.

The advantages of a well built ferro concrete construction are the low weight, maintenance costs and long lifetime in comparison with purely steel constructions. However, meticulous building precision is considered crucial here. Especially with respect to the cementitious composition and the way in which it is applied in and on the framework, and how or if the framework has been treated to resist corrosion.

When a ferro concrete sheet is mechanically overloaded, it will tend to fold instead of break or crumble like stone or pottery. So it is not brittle. As a container, it may fail and leak but possibly hold together. Much depends on techniques used in the construction.

Disadvantages

The disadvantage of ferro concrete construction is the labor-intensive nature of it, which makes it expensive for industrial application in the western world. In addition, threats to degradation (rust) of the steel components is a possibility if air voids are left in the original construction, due to too dry a mixture of the concrete being applied, or not forcing the air out of the structure while it is in its wet stage of construction, through vibration, pressurized spraying techniques, or other means. These air voids can turn to pools of water as the cured material absorbs moisture. If the voids occur where there is untreated steel, the steel will rust and expand, causing the system to fail.

In modern practice, the advent of liquid acrylic additives and other advances to the grout mixture, create slower moisture absorption over the older formulas, and also increase bonding strength to mitigate these failures. Restoration steps should include treatment to the steel to arrest rust, using practices for treating old steel common in auto body repair.

More from Wikipedia . More from Wikipedia/ConcreteShip .

Vendor Directory

Under Construction

Related Resources: Topic Pages w/Directories , Vendors, Products: Media: Books, Websites, etc. Categorized by Topic & Hierarchy w/Links (Sitemap) .

TABLE KEY: Resource Types are identified by the following Resource Codes (RC). T = Topic Page. TD = Topic Page w/Directory V = Vendor Page. VO = Vendor's Offerings. VW = Vendor's Website. MV = Media Vendor/Creator. MS = Media Source. P = Product Page. PD = Product Documentation. B = Book. BB = Book - Biography. BE = Book Excerpt. BF = Book - Fiction. M = Magazine. MI = Magazine Issue. MA = Magazine Article. Vid = Video. W = Website. WA = Website Article. WV = Website Video (incl. YouTube). F = Forum. FP = Forum Post. S = Social Media. SP = Social Media Post. NOTES: Resource Codes are arranged above by resource directory hierarchy. Resource Codes are displayed in the Right Column labeled "RC".  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒  ⇒ ⇓ Resource Codes which are BOLD indicate Media is available from our Academy eLibrary.⇒ ⇓ ^ To view Media, Click on the Media Title to go to our webpage for that media and then: ^ ^ Scroll down to the Academy eLibrary section for media viewing instructions. Resource Media (Books, Magazines, Videos, etc.) Titles are displayed in a smaller font. Resource Titles below are arranged by hierarchy using "^" to show subordination. Resource Links which are BOLD lead to EverythingAboutBoats.com ON-SITE pages. Resource Links which are NOT BOLD lead OFF-SITE. We is not responsible  for their content. If a link fails or we should add a resource to this listing, please submit info via email to: ^ Editor♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@")

If any Related Resources should be added to this list, please submit info/links via email To: Editor♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@")

NOT AN ACADEMY MEMBER? CLICK HERE to discover how you can become a Member and gain FULL access to thousands of expanded pages and dozens of excellent programs including our eLibrary!

CLICK HERE to view ALL the books , magazines , videos , etc. in our Academy eLibrary. Media are also listed by category on the Topic Pages found on the Right Sidebar ⇒ CLICK HERE to donate any books, magazines, manuals, or videos, etc. to our Library.

EVERYTHING ON THIS PAGE OK? If there is anything on this webpage that needs fixing, please let us know via email To: Editor♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@")

Visit our FEATURED ARTICLES Home Page to see examples of our website's comprehensive contents!

Thanks to our amazing contributors for the steady flow of articles, and to our dedicated all-volunteer staff who sort, polish and format them, everyday we get a little bit closer to our goal of Everything About Boats. If you would like to submit an article, See Submitting Articles .

—  TOP 20 MOST POPULAR ARTICLES  —

Detroit Diesel 8.2 Liter “Fuel Pincher” V8 Engine Cummins V-555 & VT-555 “Triple-Nickel” V8 Diesel Engine Lehman 120 (6D380) Diesel Engine (Ford 2704C & 2715E) Ford Industrial Power Products Diesel Engines How to Identify Ford Diesel Engines Ford 2715E Diesel Engine Lehman Mfg. Co. Perkins Engines Universal Atomic 4 Sears Boat Motors: Motorgo, Waterwitch, Elgin, etc. Chrysler & Force Outboards Eska Outboard Motors Allison Transmission ZF Friedrichshafen AG Marine Surveyors by Country American Marine Ltd (Grand Banks) Boat Inspection (Types of Marine Surveys) Boat Builders: (A∼Z) (w/Vessel Types, Locale & Years Active) USCG NVIC 07-95 Guidance on Inspection, Repair and Maintenance of Wooden Hulls American Boat and Yacht Counsel (ABYC)

Layout of the EverythingAboutBoats.org Website's Pages

— Types of Webpages — This website consists almost entirely of 3 types of webpages as follows:

• EXAMPLE : – WEBSITE CONTENTS w/Links to MAIN TOPIC & Subtopic Pages:
• EXAMPLE : 02 – BOAT BUILDING, OUTFITTING, REFITTING & REPAIR:
• EXAMPLE : 02.06 – Boat Equipment:
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08 – Propulsion Machinery:
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08.01 – Engines w/Directory of Vendors .
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08.01 –  ^  Ford Industrial Power Products Diesel Engines.
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08.01 –  ^   ^  Ford 2715E Diesel Engine.
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08.01 –  ^   ^  Ford OpManual - 2710 Range Diesel Engines.
• EXAMPLE : 02.06.08.01 –  ^   ^  Ford Service Manual - 2700 & 2710 Range Diesel Engines.

Clickable Links that lead to other webpages appear in Blue Text and usually open in a new window. Links in the Right Sidebar and most directories open in the current window, not a new window. Note in the examples above that these pages form a natural hierarchy. The unnumbered "^" pages are listed alphabetically in most tables. Media Titles in tables are distinguished by their smaller font size. Media ( Books , Magazines , Videos , Articles ,+) are treated as Products. Vendors' Product Documentation ( pDoc ) are considered Media . Destinations & Media Creators are treated as Vendors. All Website Pages are optimized for viewing on full-width disktop computer monitors, but can be viewed on phones.

— Contents of Webpages — Website Pages typically contain the following Sections:

• EXAMPLE : PATH: HOME ,  WEBSITE INDEX , WEBSITE CONTENTS » ∨ ∧ BOAT BUILDING & REPAIR  »  Boat Equipment  »  Propulsion » Engines » ∨∨ ∧∧  Ford , Ebro , American Diesel , AmMarine , Barr , Beta , Bomac , Bowman , Couach , Lees , Lehman , Mermaid , Parsons , Renault ,  Sabre , Thornycroft , Wortham Blake  » ∧ DO-IT-YOURSELF  » DIY Boat Building & Repair » DIY Schools & Classes » ∧ MEDIA w/Creator Directory  » Documentation , Books ,  Magazines ,  Videos ,  Websites »
• ( The "»" right pointing Guillemet  symbol shows the chain through the page links. )
• ( The "," comma between page links in the chain indicates pages are not subordinate, but are instead at the same level. See engine brands in the example above. )
• ( The "∨", "∨∨", "∨∨∨",+ symbols indicate that the path line continues with whatever follows the "∧", "∧∧", "∧∧∧",+ symbols respectively. "∧" Precedes each MAIN TOPIC Page. )
• PAGE CONTENTS ( Table of Contents with links to each main section on the page ).
• ( Many Topic Pages contain Directories of Vendors with Links ).
• ( Most Directory Listings are Alphabetical and/or by Locale ).
• ( Manufacturers, Resellers, Refitters, Yards, Surveyors, Clubs, Schools, Authors ,+ ).
• ( Boating & Travel Destinations are treated as Vendors on their own Vendor Pages ).
• ( Media created by a vendor is often treated as a Product on its own Product Page ).
• ( Boating & Travel Events are often treated as Products on their own Product Pages ).
• RELATED RESOURCES (Topics, Vendors, Products, Media:   Books, Websites ,+ with Links ).
• The Anchors Aweigh Academy's EverythingAboutBoats.org Header.
• A link to our Featured Articles EAB Home Page.
• Top 20 Most Popular Articles. ( The section that appears right above ⇑ this section ) .
• Layout of the EverythingAboutBoats.org Website's Pages. ( This very section ⇐ ) .
• Topics of Webpages. ( The very next section below ⇓ ) .
• What we have accomplished so far.
• Members must Sign-In to gain full access to Expanded Pages & Programs.
• Sign-Up ( if not already a member ).
• Public Comments (about the website & about this page) .
• RIGHT SIDEBAR ( Website Contents menu with links to Main Topic & Subtopic pages ). ( On some smart phones, the Right Sidebar may appear at the bottom of the webpage )

— Topics of Webpages — Website Pages are categorized under the following 16 MAIN TOPICS:

The MAIN TOPICS follow a natural progression from conception of the vessel thru its building, marketing, survey, financing, insuring, transport, moorage, use and upkeep. The MAIN TOPICS (all Caps) below are followed by their Main Subtopics with Links.

00 – HOME: CONTENTS ,  ABOUT EAB : Contact EAB , Abbreviations & Symbols , FAQ , GLOSSARY , ADs ,+ . 01 –  ABOUT BOATS w/Museum Directory : Early History , Recent History , Modern Vessel Types ,+ . 02 –  BOAT BUILDING, OUTFITTING, REFITTING & REPAIR: Materials , Equipment , Builders ,+ . 03 –  BOAT MARKETING: Boat Shows , Dealers & Brokers , Importing & Exporting , Auctions & Sales ,+ . 04 –  BOAT INSPECTION: Types of Marine Surveys , Marine Surveyors , Schools , DIY Inspections ,+ . 05 –  BOAT TITLES & VESSEL REGISTRY: Boat Title & Registration , Vessel Registry , Title Co's ,+ . 06 –  BOAT FINANCING: Conventional ( Banks , Credit Unions ,+), Unconventional (Creative) ,+ . 07 –  BOAT INSURANCE: Maritime & Recreational: Coverage, Carriers, Agents,+. , Claim Processing ,+ . 08 –  BOAT TRANSPORT: By Sea ( Piggyback , Delivery Skippers & Crews , & Towing ), Over-Land ,+ . 09 –  BOAT HAULING & LAUNCHING: Drydocks, Ways, Lifts, Cranes & Hoists , Launch Ramps ,+ . 10 –  BOAT MOORAGE & STORAGE: Builders , Anchorages , Marinas , Yards, Racks & Stacks ,+ . 11 –  BOATING ORGANIZATIONS: Yacht Clubs & Sailing Clubs , Paddling Clubs , Boat Owners ,+ . 12 –  BOATING & TRAVEL: Events , Destinations , Boat Rentals & Charters , Cruises , Voyages ,+ . 13 –  BOATING & MARITIME EDUCATION: Recreational Seamanship , Ship's Master & Crew ,+ . 14 – MARINE LAWS & REGULATIONS : International & National Laws ‚ Lawyers ‚  Investigators ‚+ . 15 –  DO-IT-YOURSELF: DIY Boat Building & Repair , DIY Boat Sales , DIY Boat Surveys , DIY Classes ,+ . 16 –  MEDIA  w/Creator Directory + Academy eLibrary : pDocs , Books , Magazines , Videos , Websites ,+ .

The above MAIN TOPICS and a more detailed listing of Subtopics can be found on the Website Contents page and on the Right Sidebar .

What we have accomplished so far . Anchors Aweigh Academy and its EverythingAboutBoats.org website.

• Published over 50,000 website pages about boats and boating, bringing us closer to reaching  our goal of becoming "The ultimate reference resource about boats and ships for everyone from the beginning recreational boater to the seasoned professional mariner!"
• Published over 300 website main topic webpages, many with full articles on the topic. See our Website Contents or the Right Sidebar for the listing of the main topic pages.
• Published over 9,000 marine vendor webpages, all with their contact information, most with a description of their products and services, many with product documentation, specifications and independent reviews. (incl.: Boat designers, boat building tools, material and equipment manufacturers and suppliers, boat builders and dealers, yacht brokers, marine surveyors, boat insurers, boat transporters, skippers and crews, boatyards and marinas, yacht clubs, boat rentals and yacht charters, boating, seamanship and maritime schools, marine law attorneys and expert witnesses, boat refitters and repairers, book authors, magazine publishers, video producers, and website creators)
• Acquired over 120,000 pages of product documentation including Catalogs, Brochures, SpecSheets, Pictures, Serial Number Guides, Installation Manuals, OpManuals, Parts Catalogs, Parts Bulletins, Shop Manuals, Wiring Diagrams, Service Bulletins, and Recalls. And have made all viewable to Academy Members through our EAB website eLibrary .
• Acquired over 1,200 books and magazine back issues in our academy library and so far have made over 700 viewable to Academy Members through our EAB website eLibrary .
• Published over 500 DIY How-To articles about boat design, construction, inspection, operation, maintenance, troubleshooting and repair. We are working hard to do more.

We are currently formatting and polishing the Anchors Aweigh Academy online and hands-on courses. Our Marine Surveying  course has proven to be excellent for both the beginner and the seasoned surveyor, and especially helpful to the Do-It-Yourselfer.

Current Academy Members must SIGN IN to gain FULL access to this website including expanded pages and valuable Academy programs like our Academy eLibrary and our Ask-An-Expert Program! If your membership has expired, CLICK HERE to Renew .

IF YOU ARE NOT YET AN ANCHORS AWEIGH ACADEMY MEMBER, CLICK HERE to discover how you can become a Member and gain FULL access to thousands of expanded pages and articles, and dozens of excellent programs WITH JUST A SMALL DONATION!

Comments for Public Viewing

Submit any comments for public viewing via email To: Comments♣EverthingAboutBoats.org ( Replace "♣" with "@" ) Please remember to put this webpage's title in the subject line of your email. All comments are moderated before they appear on this page. See Comment Rules .

General Comments About the Website

FROM Donald:  " This is an awesome website. I found the information that I needed right away from one of the over 20,000 free articles that you provide as a public service. I'm surprised that so much if this site is free. But I still signed up so I could access the thousands of expanded pages, interesting articles, and dozens of valuable programs! The member's library of books, magazines and videos that I can view online is really terrific! I understand that you and your staff are all unpaid volunteers. Please keep up the good work. And I commend you for your plans to add another 10,000 free informative articles over the next year. I'm thrilled to support you in this endeavor with my small membership donation. Thanks again for all your hard work. "

FROM Huey:  " I agree with my Uncle, I too have found the articles to be very enlightening. They say that it will take about 100,000 articles to cover the full scope that they have envisioned for the website. They have over 20,000 articles so far and that's doing pretty well, but it could take several years to get the rest. I also noticed that many of the Main Topic Pages and some of the article pages are still in the rough draft stage. I guess that they will fill in as they can get volunteers to work on them. But what I can't figure out is why anyone would spend the time writing informative in depth articles just to give away free to this website for publication? What's in it for them? "

FROM Dewey:  " Well Huey, to me It looks like most of the articles on this website are written by very informed people, like boating instructors, boat designers, boat builders, riggers, electricians, fitters, marine repair technicians and marine surveyors. Writing such articles helps establish them as knowledgeable professionals. After all, this website was originally created by a school for marine technicians and marine surveyors. The website is growing in content every day. They even had to move to a bigger, more powerful server because the website's traffic has been growing exponentially. "

FROM Louie:  " I agree with everyone above. This site is quickly becoming the ultimate reference resource about every aspect of boats and ships for everyone from the beginning recreational boater to the seasoned professional mariner. I use the topic pages on the right sidebar to browse around the website. It's like a Junior Woodchucks' Guidebook for Boaters. Their Members' Library of over 300 popular and obscure books and over 200 magazine back issues that can be viewed online is fabulous. The Academy's magazine is especially informative. On top of that, there is the "Ask-An-Expert program for members where you can get an expert's answer to any of your boat questions. And a whole years membership is only $25. What a deal! I really love being part of this "Everything About Boats" community and help provide thousands of helpful articles free to the public. I think that I'll sit down right now and write an article about my experiences boating with my uncle. "

FROM Scrooge: " You rave about this website like it was the best thing since sliced bread. Well, I think it stinks. Sure, it has a lot of good information for boaters, and they're adding more every day, but it will probably never be finished. Furthermore, I don't even own a boat. And I wouldn't have a boat even if someone gave me one. Boats are a waste of money and time and energy and money! They're just a hole in the water you pour money into. If you gave me a boat, I'd sell it quicker then you could say Baggywrinkle. Then I'd lock up the cash with all my other money so I could keep my eye on it and count it every day. Bah humbug. "

FROM Daisy:  " I'm just so glad that Donald got the boat so we and the boys could enjoy boating — together. And of course all of the girls, April, May, and June, love to be on the water too, especially when that is where the boys are. Oh poor Scrooge, boating is more fun then you could possibly imagine. "

FROM Scrooge: " After seeing how much fun you all have on the water together, I regret that I didn't have that much fun when I was young. I've had a change of heart, and I'm giving each of you a Lifetime Academy Membership . "

FROM Editor:  " For those of you that have stayed with us this far, many thanks, and we hope that you found this little narrative informative. Your faithful support inspires us to keep working on this phenomenal website. We know that we have a lot more to do. Ultimately, we hope that we can help you enjoy the wonder filled world of boating as much as we do. We are all waiting to see what you have to say about this webpage article. Submit any comments via email To: Comments♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@"). Be sure to include this page's title in the subject line. Also, your corrections, updates, additions and suggestions are welcomed. Please submit them via email To: Editor♣EverythingAboutBoats.org (Replace "♣" with "@"). It has been truly amazing to see what we have been able to accomplished when we've worked together. Thanks to all those that have donated their valuable time and energy, and a special THANK YOU to all that have supported this cause with their membership donations. "

Comments About This Particular Page

FROM ΞNameΞ: “ Be_the_next_to_comment_about_this_page. ” {230316}

Facts & Falacies

Ferro-cement boats, a 30ft 8ton displacement sailboat, grp/frp (glass or fibre reinforced plastic), the advantage of the action of osmosis on ferroboat hulls, a wood constructed boat, nothing lasts forever, the biggest disadvantage of a ferro-cement hull, an estimated 11,000 hartley ferroboats, the first solo crossing of the tasman sea, the earliest known ferroboat still in existence, the country to have built the most vessels in ferro-cement is the uk, boats have been built in ferro-cement from 10ft to 20,000 tons, the smallest and largest 'hartley ferroboats, the british designed a 120ft submarine in ferro-cement., the oldest ferroboat still afloat and in daily use, want to know more about ferrocement, the information and comments given on this 'world of ferroboats', website are based on first-hand experience gained by the contributors over many years of use, designing, surveying, building and repairing ferro-cement boats..

Q&A: Taiwan whistleblower Rex How on the challenge of generational change

How exposed a secret China trade pact triggering 2014’s Sunflower Movement. Ten years on much has changed.

Taipei, Taiwan – Eleven years ago, Rex How, writer, publisher, translator, editor, and then-cultural adviser to the Kuomintang (KMT) government of President Ma Ying-jeou, made a decision that would change the direction of his own life, and the future of Taiwan.

On June 20, 2013, How posted a letter on social media alerting the Taiwan public to the planned closed-door signing of the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA), a free trade deal that would open up Taiwan’s service industry – which represents about 70 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) – to Chinese investment.

Keep reading

For many chinese, there are ‘more important things’ than taiwan unification, taiwan joins china rescue mission after boat capsizes near kinmen, tuvalu reaffirms taiwan ties, plans to revise australia security pact, chinese coast guard boards taiwan tourist boat, triggers panic.

As the details of the agreement became clear, many in Taiwan’s civil society warned that the deal would advance economic absorption by China and compromise the island’s political sovereignty.

How later resigned and supported student activists nine months later after the bill was rushed through the legislative review process by Ma’s China-friendly KMT. That student movement became what is now known in Taiwan as the Sunflower Movement, or the 318 student movement, commemorating the day the 23-day occupation of the legislature began.

The movement helped pave the way for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential and legislative victories in subsequent elections and reinvigorated the island’s politics with a new, younger generation of politicians and parties.

But in this year’s election, many former activists and movement parties lost in their districts. Ko Wen-je’s Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which proved popular among Taiwanese youth as a pragmatic, anti-establishment choice beyond typical political divides, replaced the Sunflower-era New Power Party as the third most-represented party in the legislature with eight seats.

So what has changed in Taiwan since How alerted the public to the CSSTA? In his new book, Taiwan Unbound: A New Chapter, How explains the dissonance between generations in Taiwan as a metaphor for the island nation’s obedient, unmoving mountains and the adaptive, unconfined sea.

How, a child of Chinese immigrants to Korea, moved to Taiwan when he was 18 and built a successful career in the publishing industry. Today, he is the founder of the award-winning publishing house Locus Publishing, chairman of the Taiwan International Book Fair Foundation, and a passionate participant in initiatives across civil society. And despite his support of young activists and his previous tenure under Ma, he says he has no loyalties to any party.

“I’m a citizen. We are the owners of this country,” he said. “So we have to monitor [the government]. Otherwise, who will watch them?”

Al Jazeera spoke with How on the movement’s 10-year anniversary to learn more about contemporary Taiwanese politics and the resonance – or lack thereof – of the Sunflower Movement with Taiwan’s youngest generation.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Al Jazeera: Why did you decide to alert the public about the CSSTA?

Rex How: It was June 2013. I read the newspaper and I found there was news that the government is going to allow mainland China printers to come to Taiwan, they could invest in Taiwan to do printing. So I was very surprised. And at that time, I was the adviser to President Ma Ying-jeou. I never heard that he had such a plan and no one in the government mentioned that they were going to sign a special agreement with China. So I wrote a letter to the president and CC’d the letter to the foreign minister. I told them that it was a totally wrong decision. And it’s very important that I need to talk to them, I want to let them know why it’s so dangerous for Taiwan publishing and even freedom of speech. But I didn’t get any reply from President Ma or anyone in the cabinet.

And then again, I read news that said very soon, our government will open many doors for different areas of Chinese industry to invest in Taiwan. I got so anxious, so I kept asking. And one day I had a talk with the minister of culture at that time with some other publishers. We asked her, what is this agreement about and what is going to happen? And she said even she didn’t know.

And then I spoke with the minister without portfolio and I asked when it was going to be signed. He said in Shanghai, on the evening of the 21st of June of 2013. So I saw that there was nothing I could do. I can only write an article to post on my Facebook and alert the people that there are only 24 hours left for us to express our disagreement with the government. So I wrote that article, and it got a huge response. But it didn’t work. They didn’t listen. So people came out to the streets to protest and that was the beginning of the anti-CSSTA movement.

Al Jazeera: What kind of impact do you think the Sunflower Movement had on Taiwan in the long term?

Rex How: The Sunflower Movement was a summary of all the social movements that happened in Taiwan before. The KMT was the target, but actually, it gathered all the momentum of other social movements in the past years, including the environmental one, including ones about the media, land justice, human rights in the military, and so forth.

So keeping Taiwan’s independence economically from China was on the surface. But at the bottom, in the depths, I recognised that the movement was about a generational gap. The new generation’s acknowledgement of the world, of economics, of Taiwan, everything is different from the generation before. Today after 10 years, the DPP seems to be away from the younger generations. And that’s why Ko Wen-je claims [he is] taking more care of the younger generation.

Al Jazeera: Tell me a little bit about your new book, Taiwan Unbound: A New Chapter.

Rex How : My book started actually 10 or 12 years ago. At that time, I saw that so many social movements began against the government and almost every movement was either initiated or participated [in] by the young people.

At that time, the KMT government [saw] that all these movements against them were supported by the DPP, so they thought that the young people were manipulated by the DPP. But I didn’t agree with that because I watched all these movements evolve. And what I believe is that there’s not a conflict between political parties. There are conflicts between generations.

[I saw] these differences between the generations as a metaphor: the changes on the land seem like the changes of the mountain and valley, the desert and grass. The mindset is different from mountain to valley, from grass to desert, but they have something in common: They are on the land. Until a certain point in time, that was the difference between every generation. But at a certain point, the changes of the generations become totally different. So I use metaphors like from land to sea. I saw that in Taiwan that point of time was 1987 because that year, we lifted martial law and Taiwan became a democratic society or country.

The meaning of the lifting of martial law is the media became free – we had newspapers booming, TV stations, cables and especially radio stations. We can hear, we can listen, you can watch and you can read so many things that were taboo, that were prohibited before. So it’s a completely different world, Taiwan after 1987. I thought people born after that were like people in the sea. The way to live and survive in the sea is different from the way to live and survive on the land. On the land, you have to exercise your legs. But in the sea, you have to learn how to swim, how to sail a boat, not only to run up the hills or walk in the desert. So since 10 years ago, I felt all these kinds of protest movements have happened in the sea.

So the real thing is how to listen to these kinds of voices, which were different from the previous generations’; how to acknowledge their needs, how to acknowledge their anger. The KMT didn’t notice this. They didn’t accept this, they only thought that all these young generations were risen by the DPP. So eight years ago, in the election, they just collapsed. They had a big loss to the DPP at that time.

Al Jazeera: 10 years after the Sunflower Movement, many members of [the post-Sunflower movement party] New Power Party (NPP) joined the DPP. And in this election, the DPP tried to present itself as representing the young people by running these Sunflower-era politicians. And they weren’t all successful. Do you think now there’s even a disconnect between the Sunflower generation and the new young generation?

Rex How: Yes. If we continue to use my metaphor of land and sea, 10 years ago, the sea was shallow. But after eight years, after two elections, there is a deeper sea. People born after the year 2000  are different from the people who were born in 1987 like [those in the] Sunflower Movement.

Al Jazeera: So they are harder to reach?

Rex How: They are different. Just like Lin Fei-fan [a former Sunflower Movement leader] told me, he doesn’t understand what young people under 30 are thinking because they are using different media. KMT, they use media like newspapers or TV; DPP, Sunflower Movement, the main media they use are blogs and Facebook. Today, young people are not using blogs and Facebook, they’re using IG, YouTube, short videos, TikTok. When you are using different media that means that you are in a different world … in my metaphor, young people are in the deep sea, and they are crying for help that someone could help them to sail a boat, help them survive in the sea. And nobody came to them besides Ko Wen-je.

All the other candidates didn’t show [up] in the media that they are using. What Ko Wen-je did was sail a boat to the deep ocean, but he kept on changing his costumes to play different roles. You never know who he really is, what he really believes. What he said in the evening is different from the morning. Sometimes he says [President] Tsai Ing-wen is a troublemaker, but sometimes he says he will follow her diplomatic policies. But for the young people, he is the only candidate that they can reach, they can see, they can watch. And the tactics of Ko Wen-je are very clever. In my book, I mentioned that he hired six to seven YouTubers to help him decide what he would say today. The only thing he is thinking about is volume on the internet. So he doesn’t mind if he’s saying something different. As long as the volume can be raised, he’s happy to do that.

Al Jazeera: Do you think that is enough for the TPP to stay relevant in politics? He also campaigned on being this anti-establishment figure. But now, the TPP has eight seats in the legislature. They’re becoming part of the establishment, and they’re going to have to define their values and vote on things. Maybe that will turn some voters away because they heard him say something different?

Rex How: As you saw, Ko got the least votes in Taipei City. So all the citizens in Taipei, they knew what he did, who he was. So he can only mesmerise people outside of Taipei. There is a saying that “all of the Ko haters were once Ko fans”.

I don’t know if he will last. I only know that I don’t think it’s really a party. It’s a one-man party or one-man show of Ko Wen-je. In the long run, I really don’t think [the TPP will last] because of Ko Wen-je’s mindset, he has an emperor’s mindset. He admires Mao Zedong – you know that, right? And when he got elected the first time 10 years ago as Taipei mayor, he went on a pilgrimage to Yan’an. He has a very friendly mindset toward China.

Al Jazeera: There haven’t been many big student movements in the past several years. There hasn’t really been something similar to what happened in Hong Kong in 2019, or in Taiwan in 2014, this kind of immediate existential threat to Taiwan, unlike during the Sunflower Generation. Do you think that may have also helped Ko Wen-je and hurt the DPP?

Rex How: People are very easy to forget. So some young people today, maybe they forgot, or they even didn’t know what happened in Hong Kong four years ago. Another reason is that because the DPP won the election four years ago by elaborating on this point, some people are criticising them like hey, you don’t know anything else, maybe the DPP is good at using kind of fears but they didn’t pay that much attention to the young generation.

But I think that’s a mistake. We should always let people know that every election in Taiwan is related to China . There is always an invisible candidate – China – that’s always invisible but participating. Twenty years ago, in 1996, they used bombs, missiles to threaten us. And then they tried to use the money to buy us like what they did in Ma Ying-jeou’s government. And now, they’re using cognitive warfare. Cognitive wars were omnipresent in this election.