FERRO FOR LIFE
Whatever happened to ferro-cement yachts? A few decades ago backyards all over New Zealand housed boatbuilding projects. People toiled on their dream designs – hulls by Hartley, Samson and Donovan – the structures laboriously shaped with steel bar and wire mesh.
It was a progression from Johnny Wray and his yacht Ngataki – anybody with the determination, energy, good health and commonsense could build their own boat quickly and relatively cheaply, put it in the water and sail the world.
One man, with more than an ample amount of those qualities, even built nine boats in his spare time. Now aged 94 and living aboard his launch in Whangaroa, Chas Strange shakes his head ruefully.
