Amazon river, Loadum up

Here is my situation; I was hoping I could get a little wise counsel. I live in a town of 500,000 people right on the Amazon River. My Job requires me to take volunteers out on the river to help the people. Here are my normal numbers.

Number of People: Under 12
Distance: 200 miles plus (COULD BE AS HIGH AS 400 MILES)
Speed of rivers: 5mph
Minimum speed needed: 20mph

Here is my question: WHAT SETUP WOULD GIVE ME THE MOST COST AFFECTIVE MEANS OF ACCOMPLISHING THIS  GETTING THIS NUMBER OF PEOPLE THIS FAR IN A REASONABLE AMONT OF TIME WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF MONEY IN GAS AND OVERHEAD (BUYING THE SETUP)????

Here is my current set up (renting). LAST TRIP: 25 foot heavy aluminum boat with vinyl roof, 60Hp 2-stroke Yamaha, 160gallons of gas, 11 people + luggage. RESULT: Avg. speed- 15mph, Distance- 280miles, Time- 18hours, Gas consumption- 135gallons + oil

I would appreciate any friendly advice. My budget is going to be around $20,000. Thanks, Ravencry

 

You need to have a more realistic budget for your specifications or settle for a slower boat.

 

It's not as simple on rivers Gonzo.. going upstream you need something more than displacement speeds.. otherwise you not gonna get anywhere

Slimmer canoe bodies give better performance on rivers.. smth like 35' LOA 4' beam could be much better.

 

Some boats. First from Malesia and others from here. Last ones are smaller ones (17' loa 3.5'beam) but give some idea of the consept..

 

I never said it was simple. I said the budget was not realistic. To attain the speed required the cost will be higer

 

Well it depends.. Boat's like in the middle picture might cost here about 10k€ and engine he has allready. Reckon labour in Peru is somewhat cheaper than here and materials not needed to be Lloyds classified. With $20000 I could fly there myself, hire some extra hands a built up the boat in few weeks if I could only find time for that..

 

I would almost recommend that you build a hovercraft, but I don't know the conditions you are talking about. I also don't know your legal requirements for a passenger ferry, which could easily gobble up all of that money before you ever got near the boat ramp.

A homebuilt hovercraft for personal use can be pretty cheap. I built a 6-place UH-18sp for around $5000 USD. http://www.hovercraft.com using a used engine from a car.

The problem with it is that it can't be used for commercial service here in the USA. The foam used is not "seaworthy" and it could be a serious legal liability in the event of an accident. I knew all this before starting, but it was the only viable foam that I could afford.

However, in my case the craft goes in excess of 70 mph (60 knots) in the right conditions, and gets pretty decent economy even so. At 30 knots and smooth water, it gets around 4.6 nautical miles/liter, or for you recreational inland boaters in the USA out there about 20 mpg.

 

He needs a new engine with adequate power. With the one he has he can't do 20mph upriver. Also, for commercial use the engine should be running at 80% of rated power or so. He needs at least 140HP which will cost him 3/4 of his budget.

 

I think a giant canoe is the only boat that can fulfil his needs. Something like 30 feet long by 6 foot wide powered by 40hp. One of my many boat is a 18'x4' canoe. It is very stable and can actually go very fast with 2 people on board with 5hp engine.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_RRyj6RZ0k
Didn't find anything else, just this silly governmentally produced tourism SP video, but on the second half there's a riverboat with max 20hp engine..
I've been using these boats on river 30 years and I pretty much know what they can do and what they can't so believe me 60 hp is more than enough...

 

These Yamaha Hi Thrust engines have unbelievable power and cannot be compared to regular outboards. I've seen the 9.9 hp as a kicker motor push a 30'+ 15,000lb. fishing boat at about 15-18 mph. And that was in wind. A 25hp or 40hp would take all your weight and heavy current at a very fast speed. Just some info for you. All their power is in the lower rpm range so they are fuel efficient.http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outboard/products/subcatspecs/4/specs.aspx

 

Kroberts was on the right path, in my opinion, build a Hovercraft:
http://www.hovercraft.com/content/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=56

Should be nearly possible within your pricerange and is not to beat in economy.
Otherwise, just turn your head, you´ll see nearly every sort of longboats there.
Regards
Richard

 

Since Apex thought it could be feasible, maybe I can give more details.

I'm not a boat expert, but I have built a hovercraft and have driven them for a decade or more. This is recreational use, not commercial.

Speaking from a home builder with nothing more than some tools in my garage, if you are on a budget you can build a hovercraft by scrounging whatever you need. The materials are not rocket science. The engine for the one mentioned above could be any appropriately sized V8 off of any car or boat, depending on your ability to find something cheap and fix it up if necessary.

As well, there are platform-type machines (UH-16s and UH-20c) which can be scaled longer and/or wider fairly easily. The former uses foam, the latter uses wood frame. Pick what you are comfortable with.

Since that brand is what I have experience with, I can tell you that their performance figures are very realistic if you can build to plan without adding a lot of weight.

 

To make a wise recommendation I think we need more information on standing waves, rapids, rocks, tree stumps, overhanging foliage and other threats, moorings, materials, boatbilding supplies, used boats and other resources. The Amazon is famous for extreme seasonal variations and a boat for all seasons might have special demands.

 

You´re right Terry, and for exactly that reason I would recommend the hovercraft as the best suitable craft for the intended use! The economy is just a nice gift.
The other points (dangers) you mentioned are pretty easy to clear:
there are too many of each, almost all year round.

Regards
Richard