Snapshots from the creation of an Hartley Fijian 43 ferrocement sailboat.
(Click the thumbnails for full screen pictures)

The bought drawings is transferred onto (1:1) 4 pieces of 18mm plywood boards, it does fill op the living room, but is a great and exciting task to accomplish with the family.  October 1993.

With help from friends, the 5x5x15 meter sized "house" is put op, inside the frames shall hang from the roof. The drawings for the house is a part of the boat drawings. You easily learn to work in the highs!

The frames are welded on the plywood in 8mm soft iron, notice "trusses" between the 2 round irons, it takes a couple of hours for the family to produce the 1000 "trusses".

The first frame are finished and raised, it looks very big, though it is the fourth smallest.

The first 4 frames are hanging from the roof, you can almost see the finished boat!

Now all the frames are in position and lined up at the construction line, that secures a strait boat

The first stringers inn steel are fixed ( strength approximately 8ton each ).

All stringer in the longitudinal and diagonal direction are placed, you can now feel the final shape of the boat.

"Hair needles" about 70000 are produced on this self constructed winding tool.

There are placed 2 layers of net inside and 3 layers outside the boat. The net (1mm # 1cm ) is specially made for ferrocement. It is fastened with a binding tongs or a sack shutter on witch a self holding tongs is welded.

2 men's work in 2 years and we are ready for the cement.

The keel  is propped up and ready to carry the cement, you can also see the shaft construction and the rudder skeg.

Front view, we have chosen to build the 1.65m draught, from this angel it looks very short.

We are now ready for plastering, prepared for 40 men's work!

The early morning crew at 4.00 are ready to vibrate cement to the keel section. Everything have to be ready for the main crew (Members from the Amateur building club) starting at 8.00

Egon, The Scandinavian Sail and Boat builders club grand old man, leads and allocates the work in a way so it is possible to reach the highest standard

Everybody looks happy and enjoy to se the boat grow upwards. It's a extremely hard work to press the cement into the mesh, later their arms felt pretty long, but they where still smiling!

From inside it is controlled that the cement all over pas the half way trough, a very important piece of work!

The first layer are up, then there are a well-deserved lunch. 4 hours and now it looks as a boat. All way around the boat there is a 2m footbridge.

At last the "experts" are making the top finish, trying to allocate any bumpiness.

In the light you can see the smallest curves, the finish was extremely good. Remark the footbridge, the work are made in 2 stocks.

A week later 12 men are finishing the inside. We were a little short-handed, everyone worked hard and the final product was very good.

8 ton has to stand on something, here we are constructing a trailer out of 2 x 10t. truck-axles.

One year later the deck are ready, we have been painstaking with the stringers / mesh to reduce the thickness to 15mm compared to the hull 20mm ( Very important to reduce the weight to a minimum). It is unbelievable hard to mould upwards!

The whole family (4) made in common this last molding job. It is now 3 years since we started in 1993.

The year 1997,  6 ton of lead from old scrap are melted into 25kg blocs. A warm, heavy and toxic job.

The blocs are taken out of the forms. Later 240 blocs where staked as close as possible in cement into  the hollow  keel, to avoid cavity. You have to be very careful with this, to concentrate the weight as low as possible.

Spring 98 the whole boat are sandblasted lightly to get optimal contact with the epoxy surface, witch are added in this summer.

Grinding the bottom with a sanding disc, a hard, dusty and noisy job!

Safety equipment must be in order, glasses, earplugs and a dust mask of best quality!

Starting to do the finial painting on deck (Summer 1999)

Using 3 layers of topcoat epoxy, and 2layers Hempels polybest  with anti slip pearls! 14 days of  painting work are ahead!

In front the blue line ends up in a symbolic eye.

The port-holes are like pearls at the blue line.

The bottom finished with 1 layers bottom paint, the last 2 will be painted just before launch.

View from the skeg..

Inside ready for painting and many hours of woodwork!

A look rear out, notice that the keel are filled out 30 cm below floor level.

Spring 2000 It's now possible to get a wiev af the total boat.

Summer project coaming and hatch in fibre glass.

Skylight on its place.

From the inside

Deck prisme with frame made of 4x40mm stainless steel.

Look from inside gives a lot of ligt compared to it's size!

May 2001

	How to move 14 ton up hill one man - 3 ton draw does the work!

The "Ancor" for the drawing.
Parts for the portlights are ready - 2rings cut with laserlight, drill holes, polished - 6mm leksan - 2 neopren rubber rings  ø188*170*12mm and ø188*170*8mm at the firm: dansk maskinpakning ( www.dmp.dk )
Ready for set in!
Portlight in place (16 pc. in all)