What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 23: Warship Transformed into Fishing Boat

Chen Yonggui shouted several times before Tang Wen came to his senses.

The two million scared Tang Wen. In fact, he didn't know how drastically the price of fishing boats and the supply and demand relationship changed in this era.

Before the 80s, a small boat weighing dozens of tons could catch tens of thousands of kilograms of fish with one net. At that time, going out to sea was really profitable. After the spring breeze, the folk fishing industry developed rapidly like bamboo shoots.

But when a large amount of private capital poured into the fishery, overfishing followed.

From catching tens of thousands of kilograms in one net, to several thousand kilograms, finally in 1995, only about a thousand kilograms were caught in one net near the coast.

In order to maximize the harvest, fishing nets are made larger and larger, and the tonnage of fishing boats naturally has to increase accordingly.

After the inevitable depletion of offshore fishery resources, fishing companies can only turn their attention to the open sea.

This has further led to an increasing demand from fishing companies for fishing vessel tonnage, which must start at four or five hundred tons to sustain the crew's consumption of long-term sea voyages and withstand the wind and waves of the open sea.

In the past, the tonnage of Chinese fishermen's fishing boats would upgrade rapidly after entering the new century, and the fishing range became larger and larger. In the end, they often "accidentally" went to the waters of island countries, Luzon, Annan, and South Korea to fish. Large-tonnage fishing boats were also very useful in resolving misunderstandings.

Sometimes they can even face foreign maritime patrol ships head-on without being outmatched, and there are stories from time to time of daring captains directly colliding with them.

At the current point in time, the value of small-tonnage fishing vessels is rapidly declining due to the depletion of offshore fishery resources, and the demand for large-tonnage fishing vessels has increased sharply.

Therefore, fishing companies are in urgent need of large-tonnage ocean-going fishing vessels for expansion. Otherwise, no matter how many offshore fishing vessels they rely on, they will not be able to make a profit, and may even suffer losses every time they go out to sea.

Ten years later, a fishing boat with an empty load of 600 tons and a full load of 1,000 tons, even if it is a second-hand rag, will cost 15 million.

All I can say is that the RMB hasn't started to depreciate wildly yet, so the price is only a few million.

For an average shipyard, building a fishing boat of more than 500 tons with a cost of 2 million is indeed too much to ask, and it is probably only enough to cover the cost of materials.

But Tang Wen thought quickly. Although developing a new ship requires experience, there are already existing hulls!

The first-level ship data that comes with the system shipyard includes thirteen series, which are thirteen gunboats of about one thousand tons.

There shouldn't be much difference between a gunboat and a fishing boat, right?
If civilian ships in World War II could be converted into aircraft carriers, why can't warships be converted into fishing boats?

Moreover, two million is more than 22500 silver coins, and a "Hashidate" ship with materials is only silver coins!

He almost wanted to agree immediately, but he suppressed his excitement and said to the village chief:

"Village Chief, two million is a little low, but you're right. We can take this order even if we don't make any money, just to build our reputation.

Which company is it? I’ll find a way to contact them right away!

Chen Yonggui felt a little embarrassed:
"Actually, it's fine if you don't take it. The shipyard is just getting started and there's not much money in the account. Why don't you just forget it..."

"do not!"

Tang Wen almost knelt down and hugged the village chief's thigh:

"Uncle! Uncle Chen, this is a good opportunity for us to practice our skills at the shipyard. We can really take it!"

"This……"

Although he didn't know why Tang Wen was so excited, Chen Yonggui nodded:

"I'll ask my son to find out for you. I'll call you if I have any news. Does your shipyard have a telephone?"

“That’s the second thing along with getting the electricity.”

"..."

Tang Wen was reminded that he still had to install a telephone. If he installed the telephone line now, he could also get online in a few years.

56K modems should be around soon. This ancient term is now the latest technology of our time.

After seeing off the village chief, Tang Wen immediately called the chief shipbuilder Tang Yi and began to discuss the possibility of turning the warship into a fishing boat.

Tang Yi looked as if he had eaten X when he heard this request, but he still thought about it seriously and replied after a while:
"Strictly speaking, there's not much difference between a gunboat like the Hashidate class and a fishing boat of the same level. A first-class battleship has almost no armor, and removing the turrets and various weapons can reduce the weight by at least a hundred tons. Adding a trawl net is not a big problem either.

Although the "Hashidate" was designed as an inland gunboat with a flat bottom, it was easy to modify the ship's shape slightly to adopt a long forecastle for navigating both at sea and on inland rivers in order to cross the main island.

In addition to being thinner and narrower than normal fishing boats, in order to minimize modifications and save R&D experience, the "Hashidate" class can be transformed into a large ocean-going fishing vessel with a standard displacement of 800 tons and a full load of 1400 tons.

but……"

Tang Wen nodded excitedly after hearing Tang Yi's previous paragraph, and subconsciously asked:
"But what? They should be minor problems, right?"

Tang Yi: "Have you considered the power source? The Hashidate is a warship, it uses a 3300 horsepower steam turbine and burns heavy oil.

If it were converted into a fishing boat, the speed could be reduced to 14 knots, but it would need at least 2500 horsepower, preferably a diesel engine. We don't have such a power combination, so we need to develop it from scratch."

Tang Wen: "Can't a steam turbine that burns heavy oil be used?"

“Of course, heavy fuel oil is cheaper than diesel, but it may be difficult for fishing companies to find crew members who can maintain steam turbines, and the safety and convenience are far inferior to diesel units.

Even a thousand-ton gunboat would take more than half an hour to fully pressurize its boiler before going out to sea."

In fact, after World War II, thousand-ton warships basically also used diesel engines, and their performance was much better, and civilian ships basically said goodbye to steam engines.

If a 2500-horsepower diesel engine were to be developed, it would go against Tang Wen's original intention of saving R&D experience.

This level of diesel engine unit again requires four diesel engines in parallel, that is, a single diesel engine with more than 600 horsepower, which is not a small technical difficulty.

But allowing fishing companies to use steam turbines...why does it feel like a step backward in history?

Tang Yi couldn't think of any good solution to this problem, so Tang Wen could only give up temporarily.

However, when you think about the fact that this is a fishing boat of more than a thousand tons after all, if the price is low enough, it should still be quite competitive.

However, the village chief has not yet contacted the other shipyard, so it is just a thought now.

However, the words of the village chief today opened Tang Wen's mind. Fishing boats are more profitable than he thought. If the need for R&D experience is ignored, they may become the main source of income for the shipyard in the future.

Just as he was thinking about how to start the fishing boat business, Wu Laoer, who had been away for more than a week, finally returned to the shipyard.

As soon as they met, Wu Laoer hurriedly took out money, as if something bad would happen if he was late.

"Brother Tang, this is the balance, not a penny less!"

Tang Wen didn't count the money. He just looked at Wu Laoer's embarrassed look and asked him what happened. The latter immediately looked bitter and shook his head repeatedly.

Tang Shiba, who was following behind him, said:

"We encountered a robbery, but we were not robbed."

"That's a good thing. He's fine."

Tang Wen was stunned, but also somewhat surprised. Could it be that Wu Lao Er was scared silly?

Unexpectedly, the latter hesitated and said:

"Brother Tang, um... Actually, transportation isn't that dangerous. Next time, I'll find a way to transport it myself."

Hearing this answer, Tang Wen thought that Tang Shiba and Tang Shijiu were not cooperating, and subconsciously questioned the latter. Unexpectedly, Wu Laoer gave an unexpected answer:
"Brother, although the people here are a bit tough, you don't need to take a machine gun!"

(End of this chapter)