New projet in Africa

Hello everyone.


First of all, I want to apologise to everyone on this forum for my long silence.


Sorry, I was on a business trip to Africa as part of this project and once there I couldn't access my account on this forum. I apologise for that.


In second line, I want to say an exceptional thank you to Bajansailor for the special interest he gives to this project. I am very grateful to him. Without even being aware of it, he has already helped me much more than he himself can imagine. His questions are very relevant and I have already benefitted a lot from his questions. Once again, thank you.


However, I want him to understand that there are issues that are part of a business secret order and I could not reveal on a World Wide Web forum. I am always looking for a master specialist in the manufacture of fibre optic boats wishing to live and work in West Africa as part of our project to build passenger boats.


I would like to have the direct contact of Bajansailor for consultation outside the forum.


Thank you to everyone who expressed their interest in this project.

 

Hello EGComposites,
Thank you very much for your questions,
This will happen in the one of most beautyfull and secure West africa Country.
We speak french und most of people also speaks Englisch.
Thanks.

 

Really? Is the design for your ferries so secret that you cannot disclose ANY details here at all, not even a basic side profile drawing, or a mention of the size and power?

As I already said previously, I think that you need to establish a definitive Statement of Requirements for what you want your boats to be capable of achieving, and you then have to get the design(s) for your boat(s) properly finalised (who is designing them?) before you start looking for your fibreglass boat builder (not fibre optic).

I will be happy to do this - but it will be at your loss, as the whole point of a Forum is to get expert input from as many people as possible, and there are others on here who know a lot more about the design of small fast passenger vessels than I do.

 

Hello Issa, welcome back.

Your project is so intriguing and mysterious.
I would love to get involved, maybe even invest in your venture.
West Africa is so beautiful this time of year.
Can you supply any more information?

BB

 

Hello BlueBell,
I send you a conversation.

 

Thank you Issa, I have received your Private Message ("conversation").
And will respond in turn.

 

This is the boats we were about to buy in Asia.
40 seats with 2x150/200HP engines.

 

Do you think that you can build these boats cheaper in Africa, when compared to the cost of building them in China, and then shipping them to Africa?

Will the Chinese builder give you a license to build them in Africa?
Or have you engaged a boat designer to come up with a design similar to these Chinese boats?

 

According to your experience, do you think we can’t build it cheaper in Africa?
Like I previously said, I’m not a specialist in boats building. I’m just a businessman that
find this business opportunity and give my best to accomplish it for my people in west Africa.

We want to engage a boat designer to come up with a designer similar to this one.

 

I have no experience of Africa. I do not know what the cost of the raw materials is there, and how much you will have to pay skilled tradesmen to build the boats.
You have spent 3 years already planning this project, and you announced that it is pretty much complete, but you don't even have a proposal design yet?
If this is the case, then you still have a long way to go before you can think about employing a manager for your boat building operation.

 

Issa, you need to run some financial simulations and compare the different options according to your long term goals.
1. Importing the finished product. Transport costs fluctuate, but you need to explore some options. Roro vs. deck freight, transport to final destination vs. to a cheaper port and final leg under own power. Also inquire about batch prices since you have a lot of units. Ultimately this is the simplest option.
2. CKD model. Depending on what you can agree with the original builder you can ship a full set of molds accompanied by containers with all the necessary materials and a full crew, or a partial set of molds (hull only for example) plus finished parts, or they can redesign the boat into containarable units wich can be assembled in place with plexus. There is a wide span here, from mostly finished kit up to full technological transfer. Costs can only be determined after an agreement with the builder, and the transport price fluctuations still remain, even if they now apply to standard containers.
3. Full ownership of design and production. This is the hardest to quantify, you need to pay for a design, have a test boat built, have a full set of molds made after successful sea trials, ship molds and materials and pay for workforce training. Usually it's only done if the goal is to get into the boatbuilding business long term, not for a handful of boats that a big yard can produce in a month.

 

Thank you very much Rumars for your professionalism.
Your message is very instructive likewise the other messages.
Thanks everyone for your supports and advices.
I look forward for the best decision.

 

Issa emailed me some photos of the water taxi from China that he thinks will do the job as outlined earlier in this thread.
Earlier on, he noted that the minimum speed required is 38 knots; he also told me that the water taxi shown in the photos below has a capacity of 40 passengers, and the power available is a pair of 150 hp or 200 hp engines (he has not given any more details).
Sorry Issa, but there is no way this boat will do 38 knots with 40 people on board with 2 x 200 hp engines.

 

As has already been repeated many times in this forum, the first thing you should do is define the Statement of Requirements for your ship. Without it it is not possible to give you any advice. The SOR will serve to establish more or less the type of boat you need and, depending on these and some other circumstances that only you know, you can decide if it is worth buying a second-hand boat or if you want to build it yourself. , you have the means, human and material, necessary for it.
You shouldn't ask people to go to Africa without even knowing what they are going to do there.
I would advise you that, even, or above all, for these first steps, you hire a professional who, the first thing to do, is capable of helping you write your SOR and generate a first sketch, General Arrangement plan, of the ship that complies with it.

 

Issa,

So great to see you back on your thread receiving good direction and advice.
In an effort to understand what you need let's begin to define your Statement Of Requirements (SOR).

"The distance to travel between our two destinations is about 80 km."
So 160 km round trip.

"I must specify that a small portion (approximately 10 km) of this route passes through the sea."
And what are the typical sea states in these ocean waters?
Are there speed restrictions through the remainder of the route?

"I have a precise idea of the Boats model (Fiberglass) we want to build."
But you want to hire someone to design your own, is that correct?

"We hope to launch the project with four boats with a capacity of 40 passengers each.
According to our forecasts, we should reach about thirty boats by the end of this year."

"The minimum speed required is 38 knots or more."
So, a target cruising speed of 40 knots.

Is diesel fuel and gasoline available nearby the ferry route?
Are your passengers travelling light or will allowances need to be made for baggage, cargo, supplies, etc.

Why do you want to go with a custom design versus a proven design?

That is a start to the SOR determination.

BB