How to design a cargo boat?

Rasorinc: yes, there are other clients in the north that could benefit by a more regular shipping service, so I could fill the remaining space on my boat with other goods. The operating range would be about 600 nm; I don't know what kind of refueling options the small villages have, but a boat with a 300nm range might be able to suffice. Ice isn't a huge problem in the late summer and early fall; the surface is clear except for the occasional iceberg. There are a few areas where one might encounter a decent amount of ice (where the glacier meets the sea), but the locals have no trouble with navigation in these waters. The seas are rough and the summer temperatures are often close to 10*(C). Sea transport is almost completely impossible from the late fall until the early summer, but this doesn't matter too much since most of my business comes during tourists and scientists visiting during the summer. Finally, I may have overestimated the cargo capacity I need, as I didn't calculate exactly how much material I ship per month. A 20lt+ capacity would be sufficient, as long as the boat is seaworthy.

Side note: this boat plan I found in another thread looks like it may be suitable (it's not ideal, but still passable). Can I trust the design to fulfill its promises? How much would the boat cost to build? link: http://dixdesign.com/cargo50.htm

 

I think you need to invent the maritime version of Uber.

 

Hudson, what you simply need to do is contact an NA and go over the various options. Building new will be the most costly, retrofitting the least. There's a lot of legal hoops to jump through and certification to manage, so professional help is the fastest way to get this accomplished.

 

If you need regularity in your service, sail won't do it for you, especially in a tight turn around situation.

You would want fuel capacity for a round trip, assuming fuel prices at the point of embarkation would be cheapest. Buying premium priced fuel with variable availability in little hamlets would be counterproductive.

The boat you show says it will do 7 knots per hour at half load 12.5 tons. At that speed 600 nm is covered in 86 hours of steady motoring with no delays. I've no idea how a full load would affect the speed, but it would seem it would be considerable. Slowing down for conditions, stopping to load or offload will also affect the time considerably. You have to have a crew of at least two, maybe three men.

On google map photos, it shows a ship unloading at Nunavut at low tide, which shows it sitting in the beach with no dock around. A loading ramp would seem to be essential there and probably most other places you stop, along with a hull that can withstand sitting on the beach when the tide goes out. I'm not sure how the boat you show would take to that, plus it doesn't have a ramp. With no lifting crane, you'd have to depend on shore based equipment for anything over a few hundred pounds, with lots of labor.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/N...1s0x4dd31639690f5f7d:0xe689b2950d7035ee?hl=en

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There are a number of shipping lines running goods to islands in Alaska and fish back on small cargo ships.

It might be worth contacting one of them for some experience.

 

Here is what you could do with a 60' boat with a beam of 18' to 20'. You could put 2 - 20'
x 8' containers end to end or you can put 4 containers 2 pair side by side aft and 2 pair
forward side by side. The aft 10' can house fuel and engines Above the aft ten' could be a 10' x 18'+ crew quarters. the bow 10' left open for drop ramp and other items such as a vehicle.
The hull must be designed for moderate to heavy seas, and moderate ice conditions. 7 knots speed to cover 300 miles is about a 48 hour run. You need a crew of 3. Now if your business grows, the boat does not have to. You can double stack 4 more containers for a total of 8. The boat hull MUST be designed for this potential loading.
Good Luck.......................

 

Hey, thanks for all the help. At this point in time, I think it would be more cost-effective to throw a portion of my revenue into the ocean every year than to follow through with my plan.

 

Yes, it it would be a HUGE project, pretty much a whole new business that would take a lot of money, time, effort, money, and a bunch more time and effort.

As per post #10, you might concentrate on the delivery to villages. That would take a much smaller boat that would be faster, less costly etc. Let the big boat bring the stuff to you and then you would do the smaller market to distribute it to the smaller villages. On the other end, if you could order more goods at one time, like maybe twice as much but only half as often, you might cut the cost of shipping.

How does it work as far as the shipping containers? Do they have to go back empty at some additional cost to you? If you could get them off the ship, they would be their own warehouse so you wouldn't have to build a warehouse. You can also make some pretty functional homes/buildings out of empty ones and around here they are pretty cheap-almost new ones for a few thousand $.