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Page ii
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VOLUME III
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INTRODUCTION
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INTRODUCTION
This is a record of the building of ten 42-ft.
fishing boats in the Bahamas. It illustrates the methods, equipment and organization required to construct ten ferro-cement boats on a remotely situated beach, with relatively unskilled labor.
Much of this record is devoted to the fitting
out of a ferro-cement boat. It is in some detail, and it concerns one particular design of fishing boat. The reader must bear in mind that many methods of building and fitting out ferro-cement boats exist and that other techniques might have been employed here with good results. What is important to remember is that speed and cheap- ness of construction were the standards demanded by the principals of this project. And, the work- ers engaged in the Bahama Islands had never before seen a ferro-cement boat.
THE CONSTRUCTION METHOD
The construction method chosen was the
inverted wooden mold. For hulls up to 50 feet in length, and for utilizing unskilled labor, this method has been shown to be most efficient pro- viding that adequate lifting and rolling gear is available.
The ten hulls were built simultaneously
over molds constructed of low-grade spruce. The molds could not be used again and were removed after the concrete hulls had been steam-cured.
The advantages to this method of con-
struction are:
a. The shape and fairness of the hull is
first established and checked with the quick and easy-to-build wooden mold.
b. The use of air-powered staple guns to
fasten mesh and rods to the hull mold is a quick and efficient method and can be performed with unskilled labor.
c. Lamination of the concrete skin is
eliminated as the mortar is applied from one side only and vibrated through the hull shell reinforcing. |
d. Sagging of large unsupported areas is
avoided. The men work from the out- side of the hull and downwards. In other construction methods the men work inside the hull and overhead, thereby greatly increasing construction effort and reducing the number of men who can effectively work at once.
The inverted wooden mold method is a
tremendous aid to producing a fair hull in a short construction time. A criticism often raised of this method is the stripping out of the wooden mold after curing. This is always a slow and tire- some job but, in compensation, it can be carried out with unskilled labor.
The prefabricated superstructure, built on a
one-unit mast and wheelhouse framework, was sheathed with plywood, completely outfitted, and bolted to the deck of the boat once afloat. The fish-hold was also prefabricated but installed prior to making the deck.
Significant of the efficiency of this construc-
tion method is that all ten boats were built and launched within a five-month period.
SUPPLIES
Construction materials and equipment were
shipped by sea to Grand Bahama from the Port of Miami, U.S.A. Some materials were imported from as far away as Vancouver, Canada, and Sweden. At certain times lighter and more urgently needed equipment or fastenings were flown in. Delays were experienced once by a longshoremen's strike but more frequently by shipping documents not conforming to Bahamian Customs' regulations. |
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THE DESIGN
In its original concept the design was for a
42-ft. combination fishing boat with ferro-cement hull and decks. The heart of the boat as a "multi- purpose fishing machine" lay in the hydraulic power system, driven off the main engine, designed to operate a variety of rapidly interchangeable fishing rigs. The idea being that crews working these boats from remote islands in the Bahamas' chain would be able to haul crawfish traps, haul |
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