River transportation

[PeterMorrison]

We are looking for help or advice with selecting/designing/building river boats for mass transit in the Philippines.

Other than fuel efficiency, shallow draft, and the ability to carry up to 150 passengers, make 12 to 15 knots for a maximum distance of 30 km, the design is open ...

For economic reasons, the boats will need to be fabricated in the Philippines, for techincal support reasons high tech solutions are inappropriate, something simple, robust and low tech is ideal ...

Does anyone have any ideas ?

[kach22i]

How busy is the river with other boat traffic?

Are there floating logs and other debris?

Is the river water level rather constant, or does it vary widely with season?

Is noise a concern?

Is wave making (wake) a concern?

What kind of animal life is on the river? Any large reptiles?

Any major bird nesting areas or senstive ecology concerns for the people and government?

150 people sounds like a large load for any shallow draft boat, I'm not a boat guy - know more about hovercraft if you have any questions on that.