[Rhodes22-list] Ferro cement

[Roger Pihlaja]

Ed,

Of all the materials that have ever been used to build a boat, ferro cement
would be last on my list.  At it's best, the mechanical properties of ferro
cement are poor, an order of magnitude weaker than FRP on a strength per lb
basis.  Then, there are the problems of batch-to-batch quality assurance,
hidden corrosion of the internal rebar wire frame from sea water intrusion,
& other undetectable hidden flaws that tend to fail catastrophically.  The
marine insurance industry is so down on ferro cement that I don't think
there is a single insurance company that will insure a ferro cement hull.

So, in a word, "No, I don't know of any sailiboats in the 22 foot range
where the hull is made of ferro cement."  If you ever see one, take a
picture of it.  It would be a rare endangered species.

The only positive thing to say about ferro cement is that it is fairly user
friendly for someone to use to build a boat in their backyard.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Kroposki" <kroposki@innova.net>
To: "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'" <rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2002 10:38 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Ferro cement


>
> Anybody know of any sailboats in the 22 foot range where the hull is
> made of ferro cement?
>               Ed K
>
>
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