Aluminium boat out of one piece - self casted, one big mold...

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by congoriver, Jun 23, 2010.

  1. pedalingbiped
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    pedalingbiped Junior Member

    Why make a farmer get on a boat and travel 1000 k to sell 3 bags of food?
    Why not start a commodities business and guarantee the farmers a set price for their crop, then you take it to the city and sell at a profit. You can have your own boat to make the rounds.

    I don't see how you can compete with barges pushed by a tug because of their scale of economy.

    This link was posted before, it is of a a sailboat with 25 ton cargo capability.
    http://www.dixdesign.com/cargo50.

    You could load 1000 50lb bags.

    With sail you reduce your dependence on fuel. You still have an motor to help when you can't tack.

    On the Dix website he discusses what materials to use. Steel can be used in less skilled areas.

    Or buy a barge and put a car engine on it to drive a prop.

    Again, I don't think you can compete with the barges for passengers or freight unless you can be paid more for faster service.
     
  2. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Well, they certainly seem bipolar to me....
     
  3. Marco1
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    Marco1 Senior Member

    When you are probably right on most if not all points, the sad reality is that whichever the right solution to the problem may be, IT MUST COME FROM THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE THE PROBLEM. There is no point in playing the saviour with magical solutions or the secret millionaire with prodigious philanthropy. The ONLY definite and permanent solution is the one that comes from the grass roots made by themselves.
    If no on in the farming community is willing to organise transportation, anyone that wants to do it for them is doomed to fail. People shape their own reality.
     
  4. SheetWise
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    SheetWise All Beach -- No Water.

    Political parties or your cronies? Sorry Troy -- on the spectrum of political thought, they're both left of center. The only difference I can tell between them is that one party actually recognizes that there may be unintended consequences to their actions. It doesn't often restrain them -- but they seem to be aware of it.
     
  5. SheetWise
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    SheetWise All Beach -- No Water.

    Commodities trading is only possible in an advanced society. You do realize that a farmer would be required to deliver crops at an agreed price even if the market price was double what had been agreed to. These types of agreements don't function very well in the absence of property rights and the rule of law. When contracts can't be enforced, costs cannot be predicted, and capital does not feel welcome. The first step to fixing the problems that have been described is having the people create and submit to a legal authority which honors their agreements -- as agreed.
     
  6. apex1

    apex1 Guest

    May I ask why the FAO boats still are so completely out of focus here?

    Is it because there is no profit in them?

    Or because the stuff to build them lays around in heaps and is to have for pennies?

    Regards
    Richard
     
  7. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    FYI: the only recent initiative I found, is by the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), which launched a shipping project a few years ago.

    http://www.awf.org/content/solution/detail/3582

    They say:

    So they simply "partnered" with a boat operator, but weren't involved in actually building boats themselves.
     
  8. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    Thanks, I couldn't have put it better myself.

    This is the entire goal of this thread.

    I'm even willing to go as far as to say that it's ME who's looking for a (adventurous) investment opportunity (so we can avoid comments dealing with the "laziness of the natives").
     
  9. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    Why did the infrastructure go to hell?

    Because Congo experienced the worst war since the Second World War.

    Five million dead people, and 13 nations involved in what's been dubbed "Africa's World War".

    That's why.
     
  10. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    The idea is obviously to transport the products of more than 1 farmer. The point was that 1 farmer doesn't have the financial resources to invest in his own boat. 100 farmers don't either.

    That's an interesting idea, but I prefer that the farmers have some ownership over the entire chain. I don't like it when they get reduced to people selling their products to middle men.

    However, as a start, this might be good, provided they can save some money and become owners of the other parts of the chain later on.

    I think it's possible because there simply aren't enough barges around. Farmers prefer to sell their product even at a bad price, over letting it rot. That's their only choice.


    Unfortunately, there is no wind on the Congo River (at least not enough to make a sailboat work.) That's why there are no sailboats on that river, not even tiny ones. People just paddle.

    That's something I'll be investigating when I return to Congo, which is in a few days time.

    Refurbishing an old barge/tug might be the most cost-effective solution.

    Well, this is something of great interest: there are sectors that need rapid transport, which, if you can organise it, will certainly make you money. This is the case for live products such as fresh fish and maggots, which are in great demand in cities.
     
  11. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    In short, you own your own nuclear power plant and your own hydroelectric station to provide you with electricity. Do you?

    No you don't.

    What you say borders on the absurd. A modern society works exactly the opposite way of what you think.

    In modern societies, people specialise in niches, and others buy into those services or technologies.

    You don't make your own computer. You buy one, because there are people who know how to make computers while you don't.

    Common, let's get to reality please.


    The best thing for a farmer is to be a better farmer. Not to be a lousy farmer and a lousy boat builder at the same time.
     
  12. congoriver
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    congoriver Junior Member

    Richard, the FAO boats are great, but they are probably too small for our purpose.
     
  13. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Just so. You don't truck or ship your own goods. You hire a transport company to ship them for you.
     
  14. hoytedow
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    hoytedow Carbon Based Life Form

    Business grows because it starts small, leaving room for growth. If you can't afford a super freighter, you start with what you have and grow as you make a profit, being frugal throughout the process(assuming the government permits it).
     

  15. RAraujo
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    RAraujo Senior Member - Naval Architect

    Ok. The FAO boats seem to small...
    How much cargo shall the boat transport? How many persons (high value)?
    Extension and duration of the voyage? Which are the navigation constraints (current speed, depth, etc.)? Which are the facilities available (or easily made available)?
    It might be better to consider a several stages operation not trying to cover, from start, the whole 3200km.
    Maybe a type of landing craft could be considered (no port facilities needed, easy embarkation and desembarkation,...)

    I've just read the link you suggested from AWF:
    QUOTE
    Unfortunately, the barge’s first trip was not without its complications. On November 12, 2005, one of the barges was confiscated by the Congolese military to transport soldiers from Basankusu to Mbandaka.
    QUOTE

    With this type of events it will be difficult to have investors putting money on this...
     
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