Comments on: The SS Palo Alto and the Surprising History of Concrete Ships

By: SS Palo Alto (also known as) the Cement Ship. | Throwback Thursdays in Santa Cruz

Thu, 09 Nov 2017 21:15:01 +0000

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By: 1 – The SS Palo Alto and the Surprising History of Concrete Ships

1 – The SS Palo Alto and the Surprising History of Concrete Ships — Sun, 21 May 2017 13:09:27 +0000

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By: Nancie

Nancie — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 14:23:36 +0000

Hello- I was hoping to locate the movie about the Palo Alto that is shown in the Seacliif museum. Any idea where I might find it?

By: Ranger Gaudinski

Ranger Gaudinski — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:12:18 +0000

In reply to Robert. Thanks for that comment Robert. I understand the ships going to Europe in WWI got more and more crowded towards the end and the soldiers were stuffed in like sardines.

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 00:00:05 +0000

In reply to Ranger Gaudinski. My grandfather served on one of the concrete ships in ww1 and was caught in a huge storm at sea, had yo ho on deck to lash down the ropes that held the mules being shipped to Europe Was almost washed overboard by A wave but caught the lifeline with two fingers saved himself

By: Ranger Gaudinski

Ranger Gaudinski — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 20:39:36 +0000

In reply to Thomas Snell.

Very cool Thomas Snell. The direct Facebook link is here and worth a look. https://www.facebook.com/SV-Onaygorah-661885590576514/?fref=ts

By: Thomas Snell

Thomas Snell — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 03:22:12 +0000

I would invite you to check out my Facebook page on the S.V. Onaygorah. She was a 130 foot long barque made of ferrocement. Originally christened CGS Concretia. There you can find a brief history of the vessel together with a compilation of pictures.

By: Ranger Gaudinski

Ranger Gaudinski — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:49:40 +0000

In reply to Robert R Bullard, PE. Thanks Robert Bullard for sharing your first hand knowledge with building ferrocement vessels. They still do not build really large ships -like aircraft carriers- with “thin-shelled concrete laminate”?

By: Robert R Bullard, PE

Robert R Bullard, PE — Sat, 19 Dec 2015 15:07:30 +0000

I built concrete vessels in the early 1970’s. Back then, the concrete term was “ferrocement”. I am aware of a single vessel, a 20 meter long houseboat, that is still afloat. Today, the “concrete” technology has advanced to the point where the term is “thin-shelled concrete laminate” and this technology could be used to construct vessels with lifespans of hundreds of years and at unit displacement weights not much more than that of steel when the vessel size becomes large to something on the order of an aircraft carrier or super tanker. (A cubic unit of corrosion resistant reinforcing steel and carbon fiber reinforced thin-shell laminate weighs about one-third the same cubic unit of steel.)