small Catamaran for Sudan

Hi,
I hope this posting isn't an intrusion, my first post. I just returned from visiting a medical clinic in South Sudan, that is very remote - 6 hours by charter airplane from Nairobi, Kenya.

The local tribal elders are asking for help, during the rainy season, when their river (tributary of the Nile) swells, cutting off access amongst their villages that straddle the river. They want a motor boat. My immediate thought was for a low draft (is that the right term?) catamaran, that would give stability (they have zero rivercraft experience), and not require a huge motor, but only a tiny, low-maintenance motor (no sails).

I would appreciate any help. Here are some of the parameters.
1) no wood - termites eat everthing wooden.
2) needs to be something that can be assembled from pieces, the plane flying it in is probably a Caravan, that has small cargo access doors. I'm imagining pieces screwed together out of fiberglass or aluminum or ?.
3) light weight is very helpful, as cargo cost is $3 per pound.
4) doesn't have to be huge, maybe 12 or 15 foot pontoons?
5) The decking has to be very sturdy, as everything wears out rapidly in these conditions. Temperatures go up to 130 degrees.

I've looked around the net a bit for kits, then I found you guys, so I thought I'd ask for help. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks, Frank

 

http://www.fpcfoam.com/buoyancy.html

Extruded polysteren the blue or pink foam insulation found at local building center ... (non-african).

put fiberglass on the outside with epoxy resin. Use plywood box beams to hold it together and to support a plywood deck. Plywood is not eaten by termites.

Put some rowing ores on it. No fuel needed. Keep it simple ... very simple. A missionary friend who works in africa claims that technolgy and africans do not go together. My mate who lives across from me is from Mali. He also is a good testimate to the missonary's statement.

 

This is not ideal but the thought process went something like this...

It needs to be tough... real tough... bing, rotomoulded plastic. What can you get that's like a cat in plastic... not much! What about two rotomolded skis connected with alloy pipe and a deck of some sort, hmmm I wonder what they make that's like that?

Found this...

http://stanfordmotorcars.com/craigcatcanada/id18.html

Not that you want that but maybe you could use skis to create something demounable along those lines.

IMO they will kill fiberglass in a hurry unless its heavy and that's a bit self defeating. Roto mould plastic is not the lightest stuff but it is tough.

Not much I know but it might give a lead

 

Get some of those plastic pipes from the1much or similar and plastic weld them up. Cheap, tough floats, add some alloy cross beams and a polycore/grp composite deck. Then you'd have a cheap tough, demountable if basic craft.

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21702

 

http://www.lakeeyreyc.com/Technical/Canoe/CanoeOutrigger.html

Rotomolded plastic canoe with poly out riggers?


Pipe cat?



Less rig.

 

That's along the lines of what I was thinking.

The simplest cat, optimized for load carrying rather than speed, would be a pontoon boat. This company sells them as kits:

http://www.fishinontario.com/ontario-pontoon-boat-kits/index.html

 

Hi, I checked out the main website at craigcat.com. One concern is that it doesn't really come appart for shipping. But it is very good food for thought, and they are coming up with a few ideas for me. Many thanks! Frank

 

This one looks very intriguing - I am investigating the aluminum pontoons.

Many thanks to you all for your helpful suggestions - Frank

 

African experience

I have lived in East africa for 17 years, so have a bit of experience with how things work out there.
You need to come up with a solution that can't be cut up, or in some way used for something different than what you want it to do. Give them a nice aluminium boat, and as soon as the floods subside, some huts will be flaunting aluminium roofs, new cooking utensils will be in abundance, the bicycles will have nice lightweight luggage carriers etc.

The Nile and its tributaries have been flooding since time immemorial, and people have dealt with it. Now the UN and a whole bunch of NGOs have found a new cause celebre (well a few years ago after the deal on South Sudan was made, and western governments pledged billions to "rebuild" the area), so lots of pale skinned people in white SUVs drive all over Nairobi, and fly up to South Sudan for a 2 or 4 week "tour of duty" before they are flown back to Nairobi for R&R. You could feed probably 1000 people for a year with what one of these "experts" cost.

All this is paid for by taxpayers in western democracies, and is known as Development Aid. The only thing that is developed in this part of Africa, are the incomes of fat cat politicians and corrupt government employees in Kenya and South Sudan. Nothing crosses the border without "duty" being paid in some manner. Mombasa port is also notorius for demanding bribes to let stuff through.

If you truly want to help them, then buy them some tools, and teach them how to make a raft out of the locally grown wood. Termites can be avoided if you place the boats on legs when out of the water, and place the legs in an old tin partially filled with kerosene. No termite will get past that! In the water, termites aren't an issue. Help them to help themselves using sustainable resources. I bet you, that as soon as the experts turn their backs, there won't be a single boat built, and the tools will be sold.
Why use an engine, the water isn't that deep, they can pole the rafts or row them.

Regards

Alan

 

That's probably very sound advice, too much well meaning assistance goes wrong because we don't fully appreciate the reality of life in these places.

 

Good thoughts, Alan. I believe the original request and those of us trying to help were going for the lowest cost yet durable vessel that could be assembled on site; Nero already suggested oars/paddles in place of a small motor. You've added another dimension to that concept; tools and training should be even better than the simplest imported boat.

I recently heard a debate on the subject of aid to developing countries. An economist and a business man, from two diffferent African countries, made exactly the same case you have, arguing that traditional aid programs rarely see more than 5 - 10% of the total get into the hands of people in the form of real help.

 

Lets not jump to conclusions please lads, bit of decorum.

 

I think that for portability, an inflatable boat makes sense. Either a conventional rigid inflatable boat, or something like the Catapult sailing catamaran (sans sail rig).

 

Your right Tom but they'd shred it in no time. Think "hire boat" tough and then some.

In the end Alan is right, if they can't, deal with it, build & repair it themselves it will not last. Giving them a boat is tackling the wrong end of the issue, helping them acquire the means to build a boat if they see enough value in it over an above other things that could be done with the same tools and resources is a better approach.

 

With respect, RHP, I see this as a fruitful discussion. A variety of opinions, not uncommon, but all presented in a constructive manner. Alan has not insulted the locals in an incredibly poor part of the world, only reminded us of the realities of local conditions (not dissimilar to what Frank reported) and suggested a way to show respect by helping while allowing the final decisions and effort to be their own achievement.