Ferrocement boats

Traditionally yachts were made of wood, in many different ways.

More recently they have been predominantly made of Fibreglass.

But for those who want a stronger more robust construction they can be built from Steel or Aluminium.

All of those construction materials have their pluses/minus's,

However Ambrym is different....

Ambrym is Ferrocement!

Ferrocement is made by a steel wire frame covered in wire mesh which is then plastered over with concrete.

This gives a very high compressive strength from the concrete and good tensile strength from the steel.

In actual fact if an impact occurs the structure acts as a fluid transmitting the forces through the hull of the boat.

As the materials are cheap the vast majority were built at home and either never finished or constructed badly, usually with the builder adding their "design upgrade" not fully thought out. As as consequence, ferrocement boats got a very bad reputation over the years.

But in answer to the biggest question , YES a concrete boat can float!!

The method has been around since 1848!

Many of the barges used in the D-day landings were Ferrocement and are still around the harbours in the UK.

If you want to know more just ask or check out the link below:

https://www.ferroboats.com/history.html