Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2109 Technical Reserve ([-])

"Xiao Mao, here comes your stewed mutton." At ten o'clock in the evening, the small restaurant next to the shipyard saw off the last batch of customers. The shop owner lit a cigarette, then sat across from Chen Xiaomao, and chatted: "You Why is your factory so busy now? It’s been several months, and there are sailboats lined up on the berth. Looking at the shape of the boat, there is not even a place for a steam engine, and it is purely powered by sails. Development is very frustrating."

Although the owner of the snack shop is engaged in the catering industry, he has also been on a boat and out to sea in the early years. He has been to Xinjing Port in the Caribbean Sea as far as he is. He is also an old seal.When he got older (he was 35 at the time), he returned to live ashore.At that time, he had a lot of money he had saved when he was young, but he was unaccompanied, so he simply did nothing, spent money to buy a Ukrainian woman who was sold from the Black Sea as his wife, and then opened a factory next to Dayuhe Factory. I opened a small restaurant and started the business by using the small connections I made before.

Now ten years have passed, and the Dayuhe Naval Shipyard, which was once in the capital, has moved to Qingdao Port with better conditions in a low-key manner.As a "supporting enterprise" of the shipyard, his snack shop also moved out of Dongfang Port, and re-opened next to the shipyard.To be honest, it is not easy to take this step, especially in Dongfanggang where he already has a family and a business.Being able to follow the shipyard here can only show that this is "true love" and people prefer this kind of life.

Needless to say, the tavern owner also knew a lot about boats.In his early years, he ran flute-shaped ships, large clipper cargo ships, and steam engine sailboats. He is very familiar with the general conditions of various types of ships. He may not be able to tell the exact parameters and models, but he still knows some, which can be regarded as depth. Enthusiasts.

Just like what he complained to Chen Xiaomao at the moment, the Dayuhe Factory has been in official production in Qingdao Port for several months, and all the orders received are actually sailing boats, and there are no large warships or even legends that he wants to see. He somewhat regretted the order for all-steam-powered ships in the

Of course, if a professional in the shipping industry is here, he will definitely point out that pure sailing ships are still the best-selling and the largest in output in the East Coast and even the world market.There is no other reason, that is, the price is cheap, and the maintenance cost is also low.Unless your ship is very large and weighs a thousand tons, then with steam power to assist sailing, many sailors will be reduced and the cost of the captain will be reduced.But in the class below 300 tons, especially the hot-selling 650-ton and [-]-ton ships, the cost of sailors is not so prominent, and the captain may not be willing to choose to buy a steam engine sailboat in order to reduce personnel expenses.Not to mention, for those engaged in ocean-going trade, is it true that the fewer people on board, the better?What should I do if there is an accident?These are all very realistic issues, and the captain cannot help but ignore them.

Another reason that hinders people's enthusiasm for buying motor sailboats is that the east coast government is too strict in reviewing private owners who purchase such boats.It’s okay to say that the small steamer running on the east coast is usually the same, and it’s not particularly strict, but for the big ships running ocean transportation, the qualification review is simply too strict!The ship owner not only has to pass political review, but also has to pay a huge deposit to the Ministry of Communications, which almost dissuades the enthusiasm of most investors, making them turn to purchase traditional sailing ships.

Now the schooner technology on the east coast is very developed, and various new ship types are being launched continuously, and the market response is also very good.This kind of boat has good adaptability and can make better use of wind power than square sail boats. It has a wide range of applications, especially in areas with variable wind directions. It performs particularly well and is popular among users.Therefore, since many years ago, in the ocean shipping industry on the east coast, square sailing ships have basically followed a fixed route to make better use of the fixed wind force, while schooners have become much more flexible, running everywhere, gradually becoming more and more popular with sails. mainstream in the shipping industry.

Therefore, under the joint action of various factors, sailing ships—especially schooners—still occupy the mainstream of the east coast shipbuilding market and are accepted by most private customers.On the contrary, state-owned shipping companies, which have been heavily impacted by private ship owners in recent years, still have a [-]-[-] split between steam engine sailboats and traditional sailboats among their new orders. This is probably because they are state-owned enterprises, and political censorship is not so troublesome. The Ministry of Communications exempted them from the security deposit.

"Sailing boats are actually pretty good. They are cheap to buy and not expensive to use, so you can offer a lower price for shipping, which is more competitive in the market. You know, most of the goods are actually not very particular about the timeliness of transportation. In fact, after many ships go to a foreign port, they often stay for several months in order to prepare goods. So what if your ship arrives first? Don’t you have to wait? Since you have to wait, then arrive ten and a half days earlier What about the moon?" Chen Xiaomao lifted the lid of the earthen jar, and a smell of mutton and spices rushed over his face, which shocked him, and subconsciously picked it up with chopsticks.

There are lamb chops in clay pots, as well as fat and thin pieces of meat. They are stewed with potatoes and spices for more than an hour. The aroma of this seasoning has soaked into the food. Whether it is lamb or potatoes, the taste is very good. Yes, it’s no wonder that as soon as it was invented, it became popular in the north and south of the river immediately, and it almost became a national dish. There is no way, there are too many potatoes and sheep on the east bank, and the foundation of making this dish is already very deep.

"Does your factory still produce that kind of iron keel and iron rib boats?" The owner of the snack shop sighed, knowing that what Chen Xiaomao said was true, so he stopped dwelling on this issue and started talking about other things.

"Not much production, not easy to sell." Chen Xiaomao swallowed a mouthful of soft and juicy lamb leg meat, and then said: "Now the mainstream ships are those with hundreds of tons. To be honest, the keel and ship of this kind of ship Is it hard to find ribs? I don’t think so! Our country’s forest resources are really rich, and the proportion of hardwood is still very high, especially in Brazil, where it can be found everywhere. As you know there, state-run and private There are many forestry enterprises, and the wooden keels, masts, and ship ribs produced every year are innumerable, and the cost is very low, at least much cheaper than iron keels and iron ribs. Since wood is so easy to use and cheap, then the problem Come on, who will use iron? We are not a desert country, and forest resources need to be protected. In fact, in many places in Brazil, systematic deforestation has been steadily carried out every year. These products are also important exports for many counties in the north. It is an important part of the county economy, if it is suddenly stopped, how many people will lose their jobs."

"The advantages of iron keels and iron ribs are mainly concentrated on the large ships of more than 1000 tons. The hulls of these ships are generally slender, and the keels are not easy to find, so it is more cost-effective to use iron keels and ribs. But this kind of ship, how? Speaking of which, apart from warships, only the South China Sea Transportation Company and the Immigration Department will order, and the quantity is not very large." Chen Xiaomao added.

In fact, what he said is also true.Because of the sparsely populated land and rich resources, the East Coast Republic has a large forest area, especially in the northern coast of Brazil, where there are virgin forests that have been inaccessible for thousands of years, and there are many tropical hardwoods growing in it.Maybe the keel of a big ship like the "Executive Committee" class three-deck battleship is hard to find, but as far as the "little guy" transport ship with hundreds of tons is concerned, it is not difficult to find, so small and medium wooden keels, ship ribs, masts, etc. The cost of other ship tools is very low, at least much lower than that made of iron, so it is clear at a glance how shipyards and customers will choose.

Now it is a market economy, and everything depends on the market reaction. Forcibly building a small-tonnage iron-ribbed wooden hull ship is a loss-making business, and not many people will buy it.Several large shipbuilding companies, including the Dayuhe Naval Shipyard, have built iron-ribbed wood-hulled ships of less than [-] tons, but they were all completed with subsidies from the government. It's not a market behavior, so you can't see how many iron-ribbed wood-hull ships are in the domestic shipping market, which is really not economical.

However, as the development of forest resources in coastal areas has entered a new period, the number of tropical giant trees, which were originally numerous, has been on a downward trend, and their prices have also risen again and again.Considering that the keel and rib treatment cycle is relatively long, especially for the picky navy, they only use wood that has been naturally dried for several years, instead of the fast-dried wood that comes out of the kiln, so the iron keel , The advantages of ribs are also slowly increasing.Oh, by the way, iron—or steel—keels and ribs have another advantage, that is, their strength is higher than that of tropical hardwood. If they are used in large quantities, the weight of the built ship will be relatively It is lighter, which is also a good advantage.

All in all, in the current east coast shipbuilding market, wooden keels and ribs are still the mainstream, and their status cannot be shaken in the short term.However, the advantages of iron keels and ribs are also increasing year by year. Iron-ribbed wood-hull ships have gradually monopolized the super-large ship market (this market is very small), and gradually began to leap into the large and even medium-sized market.I believe that in time, with the gradual consumption of forest resources on the east coast, iron-ribbed wood-hulled ships will eventually dominate the world, but I don’t know how long this process will take. Chen Xiaomao subconsciously thinks that it may take more than 30 to [-] years. The forest resources on the east coast are too rich.

"Iron-ribbed wood-hulled boats are not the right way. If you want me to say, big iron-hulled boats are the kingly way." Since attending the evening class that day, Chen Xiaomao's obsession with big iron-hulled boats has deepened day by day. Thinking about how to design and build this kind of ship almost feels a bit out of control.

"Iron-hulled ships can be made very large. I don't think it is a problem to be several thousand tons larger. This kind of ship has a great advantage, that is, the water leakage is greatly reduced. I even think that if the manufacturing process is strictly controlled, It is very difficult to have water leakage, because it is not right from the design principle." Chen Xiaomao put down his chopsticks, and said with bright eyes: "I have never seen a wooden hull boat that does not leak, not even a single one! Using a wooden hulled ship to transport grain is too much loss. When you think about it, the hull is constantly leaking, and waves are hitting the deck. Even if you pack it well and seal it, it is still difficult to avoid the grain being damp to a certain extent. This will greatly increase the cost. But iron-hulled ships are different. The hull does not leak, and the only thing affected is the big waves at sea. However, considering that iron-hulled ships generally have a relatively large tonnage and a relatively high ship's side, this aspect The impact will also be greatly weakened, which is simply too critical for the ocean transportation of goods such as grain that need to be considered moisture-proof. Think about it, there are so many farmers in our country, they have cultivated so much farmland, and produced so much grain. Grain prices are almost unsteady, and keep falling. If these grains can be shipped overseas for sale, how much benefit will it be? How much benefit will it bring to farmers? If there is a big profit at this time A steel-hulled boat would be perfect..."

"It's true! I heard that the harvest in Pampa this year is good, and the grain production is increasing steadily." The owner of the snack shop said with a smoke ring.

(End of this chapter)