By altering the ratio of cement to steel we end up with a product that exhibits properties superior to those of either material separately. Tensile strength of a ferrocement hull is in all directions, by virtue of the steel mesh reinforcement. A particular characteristic of ferrocement construction is that it gains strength with age, rather than losing it. Detractors like to argue ferrocements failure at point impact. This may be true, but the damage is very little worse than grp or wood, tends to be localised and is very easily repaired at little expense, compared to grp and wood.
Ferrocement hulls are fire resistant.
GRP and wood will burn and melt, whilst a steel or alloy can buckle and distort. Only very high temperatures will damage ferrocement. The main reason is that the constituent materials, mortar and steel, have almost identical coefficients of expansion, which means they will expand and contract at the same rate with the changes in temperature. A ferrocement hull is not damp and cold. The material has a very low thermal conductivity.