Building a Ferro-cement yacht
the pitfalls . . .
• How to avoid them
• What ‘s being done
about them
and
• A bit on the boats that
made it!
Steel pipe and rod frame and eight layers of chicken wire
ccording to a Vancouver professional designer
A of ferro-cement boats, there will be at least
1,000 ferrocement hulls constructed on the At-
lantic and Pacific coasts, and many points in
between, during the next six months. Most of them will
be sailing yachts of 35 to 50 feet in length, and most will
be built by men who have had little or no experience.
How many of the ferro-cement hulls will ever be com-
pleted and sailed is an important question. There are
many pitfalls, and a little careful study of the techniques
and costs involved may save a lot of time and money.
The dream
Basically, a ferro-cement yacht is usually a dream con-
cocted in the mind of an amateur boat builder who has
seen pictures of a hull under construction, or has seen a
boat such as the 52-foot cutter “Awahnee” (built in New
Zealand in 1967 by Dr. Bob Griffith of California) or the
recently built 36-foot ketch “Akitsushima” or “Nippon.”
The latter was built in Japan by two employees of the Fu-
ji steelworks, and it stopped in Vancouver after crossing
the Pacific on the first leg of a world cruise.
The dream is simply that such a hull can be produced
in the back yard with simple tools and no previous expe-
rience with ferro-cement, that it costs not more than
$800 to $1,000 to build, not counting the cabin and rig-
ging, and that it takes far less time to construct than a
wood or fiberglas hull.
It is only when the hull has been completed and the
owner begins to figure out the cost of the cabin struc-
ture, plumbing, wiring, auxiliary motor, generator,
masts, spars, sails, fuel tank, water tank, pumps, radio
phone, re f ri g e ra t o r, ships compass, clocks, navigation
instruments and charts that he realizes that the total bill
for a 36-foot boat like the “Nippon” could run from
$10,000 to $12,000 with all equipment.
This is when the owner suddenly may decide he sim-
ply can’t afford to complete the boat, or that if he does he
may have little left to cover expenses while he is sailing
the oceans for six months or a year. Thus his dream of
twenty years or more may be rudely shattered.
Disposition of the hull
But what to do about the hull? Can it be sold to some
other amateur who will undertake to complete it?
This depends to a great extent on how well the metal
and wire mesh frame has been made to reinforce the
hull; how well the mortar has been plastered on;
whether a wooden shell has been used to keep the frame
from becoming warped during construction. Is it being
cured with water or steam? How long and how well has it
been cured to prevent cracking? What kind of sand has
been used in the ferro-cement formula? How well has
the interior been finished. Has the surface been rubbed
down with a carborundum stone to smooth rough
spots? Have all the necessary fittings been built into the
hull?
Most of the hulls that have been abandoned show
many serious mistakes in construction techniques that
cannot be corrected. One builder who had had years of
experience building wooden sailing yachts decided it
would save time to have a swimming pool contractor
use his gunite equipment to spray a liquid mortar on
his metal frame and wooden shell. The result was more
 Most hulls are made less than 1 inch thick, except
where added strength is needed along the keel, at bulk-
heads, bow and stern. Frames are usually made of steel
pipe and rods, welded to give added strength. Wire mesh
is usually 8 to 12 layers in thickness, in 1-inch mesh size,
tied with wire.

The 36-foot ketch “Nippon” before launching
than disappointing. The owner spent months trying to
grind down the lumps left on the exterior surface. He ad-
mits he may never finish the job.
Other hulls have been abandoned for other reasons.
Some owners have employed a crew of amateur plaster-
ers, when the plastering job could not have been done
satisfactorily without the help or supervision of one or
two professionals.
Some builders simply ran out of money after doing a
good plastering job and working for several months on
the cabin woodwork. Others started without profession-
al advice and without adequate tools.
A few tried to turn the hull over too soon after plaster-
ing it in the upside down position, and caused the part-
ly dried hull to crack and disintegrate. Others let the hull
dry too fast, exposed to direct sunlight. Some used dirty
sand in the mix. In each case the result was disastrous.
Current research
Some research into impact strength, stress testing, use
of reinforcement metal, impermeability to leakage, ce-
ment formulas, hull thickness, and safety factors, built-
in buoyancy tanks, and repairing of damaged hulls, has
been conducted by the British Columbia Re s e a rc h
Council laboratories in Vancouver. A report on this re-
search will be combined with other information by the
federal Department of Fisheries at Ottawa and released
by that department before the end of 1971, the Council
has announced.
This information is expected to give commercial fish-
ermen and pleasure boat builders a more reliable and
more technical appraisal of the characteristics and prac-
ticability of using ferro-cement for boat building than
has been available up to this time.
Clarification of design
Some features of ferro-cement boat design, such as re-
inforcement techniques, curing techniques, use of ce-
ment additives, limits of hull size, impermeability to
leakage, formulas, and plastering techniques, may be
clarified. It is anticipated that the report will indicate
that properly built ferro-cement hulls are as safe as
wooden hulls of similar size.
Ferro-cement does not require maintenance, it is eas-
ily repaired, is not damaged by marine growth or wood
borers, becomes stronger with age, can be painted, does
not sink if not overloaded, and does not rust.

Training course
In an effort to forestall all these mistakes, and to stan-
dardize and improve construction methods, a training
course has been established for dealers who sell plans
and specifications for a Canadian design firm.
Dealers are shown how each type of ferro-cement hull
is built. The design firm also sells complete sets of hull
frames, reinforcement steel rods, wire mesh, pozzolan,
cement, boat hardware, pipe, tools, instruction sheets,
directions for plastering, curing, and finishing, cabin
construction and rigging.
Despite possible pitfalls, it seems that ferro-cement
boats are here to stay. More research into the standard-
ization of construction techniques, cement formulas,
designs, stress tests, plastering, and reinforcement tech-
niques will cut construction time and costs, and estab-
lish more confidence in mferro-cement. The “Awahnee” in Vancouver after crossing the Pacific
Basic materials
Basic materials for ferro-cement have changed little
since Professor Nervi of Italy built his first hulls in 1943,
except that wooden shells are now used to build the boat
in upside-down position.
To construct the wooden mold, erect two parallel
wooden beams which are levelled out and used as a
base-line. Next, ten or more wooden rib molds are made
up from patterns supplied with the plans. These are set
up on the strongback at the proper distances apart, and
then the mold is roughly planked with 3⁄4- by 2-inch red
cedar, or other suitable wood.
These planks are gapped about 3⁄4 inch to allow the
plasterers to check for penetration. Next the wooden
mold is covered with a heavy plastic vapor barrier, and
then 1-inch mesh is stapled onto the mold as well as the
proper amount of 3⁄16-inch to 1⁄4-inch reinforcing bars.
They are usually run on towards centers fore and aft and
about 6 inch centers on the vertical.
Mesh and rod construction
Normally, 12 layers of 1-inch mesh are used now, and
this is applied in equal layers, on either side of the rein-
forcing rods. The mesh and rods are stapled to the wood-
en mold using an air staple gun. Making the wooden
mold and putting on the mesh and rods takes the aver-
age amateur builder between two and three hundred
hours of evening and weekend work.
The mortar mix, which is generally approximately two
parts sand to one part portland cement, is fairly wet. The
type of cement used varies with the temperature. Type 5
is used in hot weather and Type 3 is often used in cooler
weather to aid in the finish. Fine, clean sand, properly
graded and washed is needed to make a good adhesive
mix.
Hull finishing
The finish is done with a sponge trowel and then steel
trowelled. On a well plastered hull the result is similar to
a high glazed china tea cup. On a poorly plastered hull
the finish could be quite rough.
Curing the hull with water spray can be successful, but
this technique is difficult to control. The boats are nor-
mally steam cured for 24 hours, using a steam generator
under a plastic tent draped over the boat. When the hull
is cured it is normally rolled over, either on stacked-up
tires, or with a crane and double sling rig.
The decks are finished the same way as the hull. A
wooden lining is usually left in, along with the bulk-
heads, which are made up at the same time as the molds.
The joinery work is attached to this lining and to the
bulkheads. The lining acts as an insulator as well. Some
boats are designed with concrete cabins but normally
this material (which generally works out at about 10
pounds per square foot) is too heavy for this type of
structure. So plywood is normally used in building the
cabin.
With normal care a ferro-cement hull should give
good ocean sailing service for 50 years. It could be much
longer in fresh water lakes or ri ve r s, depending on how
good a sailor the owner is, and how well he looks after his
boat.
A ferro-cement hull 35 or 36 feet in length may be not
more than 500 pounds heavier than a comparable
wooden hull when the cabin is built of wood.
It has been claimed that ferro-cement is stronger than
fiberglas but not as strong as steel. These are claims that
may be clarified in the British Columbia Research Coun-
cil’s report of their testing work.
There is one point that has been proven beyond
doubt. A properly built ferro-cement hull floats, and can
t ra vel safely thousands of miles on the open ocean, and
without mishap if the owner is a good navigator.
Other articles on concrete boatbuilding appeared in CON-
CRETE CONSTRUCTION in October 1969, pages 381-383;
September 1969, pages 344-346; May 1969, pages 174-
175; and July 1963, pages 209-210.
PUBLICATION#C710129
Copyright © 1971, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved