Hi I am looking at an Endurance 35 with Ferro cement hull. Want fully comp insurance but see most insurers won't cover Ferro cement hulls. Anyone aware of a insurer with a good reputation that would cover this hull type

I asked a mate at the Marina who built his 40ft Ferro, here in Adelaide in the 70's and Sailed the World since..
He looked at Club Marine, but went back to Edward William Brokers who use Ion Insurance..
He said there has been a bit of bad publicity for ED in the past, but he personally knows of people that have made claims without any issues and knows of 1 case a claim was not paid..
Probably worth looking into...
Cheers, Mike..

I had a 39ft Ferro and insured it with Sun Insurance NZ. It was possible because the builder fortunately kept a very good record of how he constructed the hull and materials used. I was able to give them a copy. And that's also the only reason I bough the boat which was a great one, solid and stable.. Otherwise the condition of the steel reinforcing inside the cement is unknown. If its rusted through then danger danger danger. Some times you can tell by cracks and rust marks on the outside. But if its been painted over who knows. A boat exactly the same as mine disappeared with no distress call and all crew lost and I often wondered what happened to it.

See here suggestions you are probably aware of;
www.facebook.com/p/Hartley-Ferro-Cement-Boat-Owners-Association-100064633784348/
Good sites; as per Trek are you aware of the builder?
www.ferrocement.org/hartley-gallery/
www.yachtsnet.co.uk/archives/endurance-35/endurance-35.htm

Select to expand quote

Trek said..
I had a 39ft Ferro and insured it with Sun Insurance NZ. It was possible because the builder fortunately kept a very good record of how he constructed the hull and materials used. I was able to give them a copy. And that's also the only reason I bough the boat which was a great one, solid and stable.. Otherwise the condition of the steel reinforcing inside the cement is unknown. If its rusted through then danger danger danger. Some times you can tell by cracks and rust marks on the outside. But if its been painted over who knows. A boat exactly the same as mine disappeared with no distress call and all crew lost and I often wondered what happened to it.

Trek
That's concerning..All crew were lost and never found?
How long ago was this and where abouts?
Cheers,
Mike

It was an RORC39 and they were off the East Coast of Africa in mid 1980's. Some theorized it could have been pirates but since there was no trace I wondered if the hull collapsed. On the plus side there was one that was machine gunned off the coast of Croatia and all survived thanks to strong ferro hull. There was a photo of it circulating on the internet. I think if they are built well they are OK, IMHO.

Yeah right...Thanks for the reply..

Not a good ending either way..Pirates were very common in the 80's, you don't hear of cases these days?

Getting machined gunned down and surviving the ordeal is a lot to be said for good old ferro!!

Cheers

I think ferro is underrated, a well made & maintained vessel will last a long long time. Rust in the frame would be obvious as rust expands about 10 times the parent material, so a 5mm rio bar could expand up to 50mm, given this would be the upper thickness of any ferro yacht and the limited flexibility of ferro, rust would be evident by chunks of hull falling off, a well built boat Will also have a skin of glass epoxy so you could also call it a composite construction, Portland blue core is probably a bit more durable than some other core materials used