Help requested for increasing the knots of speed boats.

I was recently informed about this page by a well wisher and although it has been a long time since this post was made, I would like to clarify a few things.

First of all, these boats were constructed for a private company who had won a contract to charter patrol boats to a government company. The boats carried a crew consisting of the government company along with navy personnel. Only maintenance and operation was to be carried out by the private company who purchased the boat from us. It is important to note here that the specifications of the boat were set by the government company and the acceptance of the boat was also up to the government company, in consultation with the Indian Registry of Shipping (IRS). Also I understand that the private company who bought the boats has no experience in chartering boats and this was the first contract of this kind they had ever received (I may be wrong). The fact that they did not have any personnel for maintenance, and were struggling to find persons to captain the boat during the trials of the boats only re-enforces my doubts. Having said that, it is true that this was the first contract of this kind for our firm as well.

At the time of placing the order, it was made very clear to us that cost was of utmost importance. We were told to reduce the cost of the boat no matter what. First an order of 4 boats of 15.5 meters length was placed. The cost of each boat was approximately 180,000$ (at the prevailing dollar rate at the time) or 80,00,000 Indian Rupees. The boats were to achieve a speed of 20 knots and have living accommodation for 6 people. Maybe you get an idea of what kind of boats were expected from us at that price. As this was our first contract, we agreed.

The hull we used is designed for 35 knots, and this was proved in a tank test. However, we suggested several times to increase the engine power as it would be difficult to achieve the speed required with 350 hp X 2 engines, with the required load. But due to the costs involved, we were denied. We were informed that even though 20 knots was required, they could manage with 15 knots.

The first 4 boats were manufactured, approved and classed under the IRS. The private company purchasing the boat conducted trials, including a speed trial on the boats, along with the representatives of the government company as well as Indian Navy. The boats were accepted and put into service.

The satisfaction was such that a further order of 4 more boats was placed on us, this time at a cost of 375,000$ (at the prevailing dollar rate at the time) or 1,50,00,000 Indian Rupees. The boats were manufactured, approved and classed under the IRS. Trials were conducted, during which I was personally on one of the boats that reached a maximum speed of 17 knots, and all 4 boats were accepted by the private company, the government company and representatives of the Indian Navy. However, till today an amount of 25,00,000 Indian Rupees amounting to 16.6% of the total value of each boat, for the 4 boats in the second order, has not been paid to us, on account that we did not achieve 20 knots.

As mentioned earlier, the private company did not have the necessary personnel to manage and maintain a boat of this kind. This had lead to several problems, for which we extended our utmost help. Several copies of the drawings and design for each boat is required to be part of the boat supply for it to be classed and approved. Apart from this, more copies were sent at a later stage on their request. I do not understand how they do not have any of these documents in their possession. It is absurd to state that we did not provide any drawings or design at the time of supply of the boats.

We understand that the boats ran the duration of the contract plying during severe storms around offshore oil rigs. We also understand that one of the badly maintained boats was abandoned at one of the rigs during a storm, and was assumed to have sunk, only to be found the next morning without any significant damage.

We have always maintained that increasing the power of the engines will get them the required speed and are ready to do the job, however, cost seems to be an issue for them, the only reason why such low powered engines were used in the first place. Beyond this, there is not much else we can do.

I hope this clarifies some of the issues; as you know, there are always two sides to a story. I feel it is important to address some other points raised in this thread as well. Please bear with me.

To Alik,
The image of the cat you have linked was given to us by a SriLankan company, who were interested in collaborating with us and developing the design. Subsequently talks dropped and we removed the picture from our website. We were under the impression that the design was his and were very interested in taking the project forward. However, thankfully, the project was scrapped. I would like to apologize to you and our I am aware our ignorance is not an excuse. But we had no intention of stealing some one else's design.

To masalai,
We are the authorized dealer for Jabiru Aircraft's Australia. You may visit their website to confirm this. Also, we only started boat building in 2006 and never have we built 'traditional style' or lifeboats of any kind. So, during your visit in 1997, you probably visited someone else.

I hope all issues have been addressed and I will be happy to answer any other queries.