Just for Fun, Design Yor Apocalypse Vessel

I didnt see the foam option - he was talking about wattle and daub, which is tree branches and mud.

Even if he spent $1000 on foam, and the tyres held together, they have about a tonne of mud to support, let alone any people - in the 'hotel'

 

While it would definately float, circa 12 tons metric displacement, I remember the description of the WW2 Lancaster Bomber - 10,000 loose rivets flying in close formation.

I suspect that this would be less of a vessel than a collection of 200 foam filled tyres floating in the same direction.

 

Of course the Daub usually has an organic component too, from horse and cattle - one good storm and I suspect the crew could produce the required repair material on a somewhat involuntary basis

 

That's funnier than the Baltimore ***** quip about the Martin B-26: no visible means of support (small wings).

 

There's so much potential comedy flowing from the bowels of that comment.

Just a daub will doo ya'.

 

LOL Andy.
I mentioned some posts back, that a small submarine, capable of operating in rivers, lakes, bayous and swamps, might serve well as a hideout during the crazy years immediately following a societal collapse. Eventually, survivors will reorganize society and start again.
I have no interest in building one.
Another poster mentioned atomic powered subs. Not feasible at all.
I was serious, or semi-serious.
Did some thinking and have a mental image of the small sub which i'll describe.

A fat hull wouldn't suit, so a catamaran with narrow hulls, easier to submerge.
The conning tower wouldn't need to submerge if it looked like an old rowboat or other half sunk dilapidated small craft, open boat. The idea is misdirection. If the dinghy shaped conning tower was obviously too small to hide anybody and equally obvious had no one aboard, might be ignored.

A bushel of rubber snakes above a hand cranked stirrer, so they could be made to writhe, would discourage someone from attempting to steal the unattended skiff/conning tower. Or a proximity detector activating a audible recording of a rattlesnakes rattling would deter boarders.
Or you could always just shoot them and eat them.

The underwater hulls could have camouflage tarps secured to their upper works, to blend in to water or bottom colours. Changeable to adapt to different areas.
Maybe even a boat sized gilly suit. to appear the skiff/conning tower is nested in a mess of cattails and water grasses. Or thorny brambles!

With the conning tower above water, ventilation is easy. Access hatches to below could masquerade as thwarts.

Once pumped out and afloat, the catamaran hulls easily driven by motor or sail. No propulsion submerged. Float her and move by night if need to.

Submersion needn't be all by ballast. A number of screw anchors of the type ties down mobile homes, could be twisted into lake bottom and the "submarine" winched down inspite of positive bouyancy. Could be submerged in as little as 8 to 10 feet water depth.
Throw an old rust colored 500 gallon heating oil tank in the "skiff" as a ballast tank.
Above water ballast has a lot more weight. 500 gallons of water up top, would press down 2 tons and wouldn't need to be pumped out when time to go. Simply drained. Would need to pump water in though, to sink the boat.

Bunks could fit UNDER the rowboat tower as part of the bridge deck. So not taking up space in the hulls.
Rough ideas, but maybe some merit to them.
Again, I have no interest in building one. Just a mental exercise of how it might be accomplished.

 

"Well, I hate to be the one to tell you, but...

this is not a ship..."

of course it is not a ship yet...I never said I had a ship I said we were building 2 out of discarded materials

and tires don't float, they sink...
Throw one in the water in the background and see what happens.

Why don't you cover one in a heavy plastic garbage bag that is stapled closed on both side and see what happens. You will see it is floats.

I suppose nobody looked at the slide shows that explain this entire process...

http://www.banksterattack.com/boatbuildingprogress.html

We did 3 test which all floated..one with just air, one with straw in the tire and one with foam...foam and straw were very similar but foam is faster so we will use that..

"Listen to Mr. Mackey".

I prefer listening to my own common sense. 10 years ago I designed a project on land I own in the Caribbean. I heard the same kind of stuff like on this forum..."You will never build that"..."it is impossible to build on that hill""..blah blah blah...

I simply ignored the negative stuff and proceeded...

The result...I will refrain from posting until after i finish one of these boats...all i can say is my resort is now there and all those people are now asking me for jobs...

 

So, this resort that is on your website? You built this?

 

I will just take a moment to express my admiration to builders of artificial island homes floating on a tightly packed mound of 2L bottles.

... and they didn't even have to offer Klingon language immersion studies to help escape government busybodies....

 

Let me clarify...I conceptualized it, bled for it, dealt with stuff you do not want to hear to make it happen. I designed what you see there with an architect friend and my partners are construction people from NYC. So to answer your question...yes I did build that and am extremely proud of it...especially as so many people tried to say it would not get done...

Looking at that most people see some fancy smancy resort...I dont ... I see I kept a promise to my people and put folks to work on that island for 10 years now and I am expanding the concept on a global scale so how about a little less negative and more input like the person that calculated the water displacement of the tire boats...

That was very good info

 

Maybe you should re-calculate the odds...

Carrington-class CME Narrowly Misses Earth | NASA

The solar storm of 1859, also known as the Carrington Event | WIKIPEDIA

 

I agree with you completely. I think you should follow your dreams and don't let the nay-sayers get you down.

PDW

 

I would base my initial plans on the Nordhavn 56 motor sailor.

Nothing too fancy or unrealistic. I'm not a millionaire and most probably will never be one as a wooden boat builder.

Diesel engines will burn all sorts of oil when needed.
Add a bunch of solar panels and a wind turbine to power aux and water maker. Hot water can be acquired from solar collectors.

A good array of fishing equipment will ensure some sustenance.

I could participate in endless debate on different scenarios. No one knows. Please god don't let it be a nuclear war... thats all I can say. Experience has show that things usually work out for the best.

My scenario is based on the existence of friendly lands available to land on.
When does the point arrive when one is better off dead?

Some of the suggestions here have been quite imaginative. A fun read and certainly mind opening.

 

If you plan on fishing, stay in ocean currents. That is where life abounds.
I wouldn't count on friendly welcomes for some years after a meltdown.
Extra hungry mouths might be viewed as added stress on overwhelmed minds trying to cope.

I'm not afraid to die. My religion teaches the greatest adventure of all begins at death. But every day above ground is a good one. Enjoy.
Life is like a road trip, except nobody misses their exit.

 

Some good points the PJ - a few thoughts sprang to mind

Maybe they used to. As a recent ex diesel engine owner, I have severe doubts about the modern ones. I never spent so much on maintenance. Without going back over the cost of filters, special lubes, etc, it seems that the modern diesel took a lot to keep it going. The higher tolerances of modern legislative requirements seem to have taken the "run on anything" feature away.

All the "alternate diesel" projects I have read about use very old, very cheap engines. The maintenance costs on those cant be good, with the shortage of spares etc.

Only for the survivors.

Take just the 20th century estimates
203 million people dead from Military, Collateral, Democide and Famine
300 million from Smallpox
90 million from Tobacco
15 million from natural disasters
13 million from Influenza
12 million from AIDS
8 million murders worldwide

http://necrometrics.com/all20c.htm

They didnt do so well.