Beryl Chalmers ‘What happened to ferro cement boats?’
In the late 1960s through to the 1980s, serious DIY enthusiasts chose ferro cement construction as a way to self-build a sailing boat not otherwise available to them. And there were more ferro boats built in the UK than anywhere else. It needed higher than average DIY skills and a lot of hard grind, but there were hundreds of very successful craft launched to sail the world’s oceans. In simple terms, a ferro hull was made up of hundreds of steel rods welded together with at least seven layers of chicken mesh wire. The hull was then plastered from the inside to the outside of the hull in one enormous nonstop job. The finished shell was then ‘cured’ by spraying on water to stop the hull from drying too quickly.
Companies such as Seacrete in Wroxham, Norfolk, went into commercial production in the 1960s and many are still to be found with owners enjoying longdistance blue water cruising today. The Endurance range was their most popular, which later went on to be built in steel and GRP too. The Endurance was designed in 1970 by Peter Ibold as a classic heavyweight offshore cruising yacht, with proven seakeeping ability. Many other craft were built in ferro including many Colin Archer wooden boat designs, as well as barges, work boats and even a 120ft submarine.
A lot of ferro yachts were built on the East Coast at Heybridge Basin near Maldon, as well as in Cornwall when one builder moved to the south west, with Hartley & Brooks drawing up numerous plans for home build. Hartley Boats claim there are probably more Hartley ferro-cement boats than all other ferro boat designs added together. The success of Hartley boats continued for many years, with achievements including an Atlantic crossing in a Hartley 16, a Cape Town-to-england solo voyage, the first solo crossing of the Tasman Sea by a woman and Peter Freeman’s home-built Hartley
32, holding the monohull single-handed round the world non-stop sailing record for boats under 50ft for almost 20 years.
While it may seem strange, good ferro examples, whether professionally or amateur built, were no heavier than any other construction with the build method offering big advantages for extended cruising. The strength of the hull, built properly, was as strong as any other method of build, perhaps even stronger.
But ferro boats were given a bad name by
some poorly built amateur boats. This led to insurance companies either refusing cover or insisting on staged survey inspections throughout the build, adding to the cost of what initially was a very cost-effective way to build your own cruising yacht.
Rob Stevens, MD of Topsail insurance, agreed. He said: ‘From an insurance perspective, historically, the quality of ferro construction has been very hit and miss and a lot of the older craft suffered from catastrophic failures, prompting large claims. There are now only a very limited number of insurers that are prepared to insure ferro cement craft on an all-risk basis and due to their value, most owners will elect to only be insured for third party liability, but always check that this cover provided includes “removal of wreck”, as lifting a ferro craft up from the seabed could be a costly exercise.'
That wasn't always the case, however, in my 20s, I fitted out a 48ft Hartley Fijiian sloop with a friend, starting from the empty hull, adding a glassed plywood deck, wheelhouse, four cabins, two heads, saloon and spacious galley. It took six years to our first sail but nearly 40 years later, our ferro boat is still sailing – just as strong and safe for long-distance cruising as her first sail in 1986. She is currently owned by a Danish family sailing in the Baltic. So, while ferro boat building is no longer in fashion, if you find a good one for sale, the chances are that she
will keep you sailing for decades.