What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 62 Reliable B2
Tang Wen stood by the dock, watching the Hashidate under construction and talking on the phone with Wu Long.

The Hashidate is already halfway through its 27-day construction cycle, with 80% of the main hull section complete.

The most important power units and steam pipes have also been laid. Once the deck is capped and the external flue and superstructure are installed, the Hashidate will be basically completed.

According to the tripartite agreement with the fishing company and the bank, we would come back to check the progress at the end of the first month, by which time the Hashidate would be ready for launching.

However, it would be no problem to delay it for a month or two in the name of outfitting other equipment and debugging the ship, so that we can take the opportunity to try to retrieve the Yamato.

Of course, the most important thing is to get out of the novice stage, and the 10-meter-wide dock limitation is really a bit too large and needs to be expanded as soon as possible.

As for the diesel engine business that Wu Laoer mentioned, Tang Wen was also wondering whether to continue.

The current technical capabilities of shipyards are capped at those in the 40s, and any products they manufacture cannot break through the boundaries.

Is it possible to produce an engine that meets the requirements with the technology of the 40s?
At that time, there was no electronic fuel injection, no ECU, and more sophisticated in-cylinder combustion control technology had not yet appeared.

Tang Wen didn't know the answer for a while, so he had to hang up the phone and find Tang Yi to discuss it.

"This... requires new research and development. It's best to wait until the shipyard is upgraded."

Tang Yi first thought about the database of first-class warships to make sure that no finished products with similar positioning were found.

The indicators for judging engine technology are not just horsepower, but also a host of parameters such as durability, economy, and applicability. Many breakthrough technologies only appeared after the 50s with the advent of electronic technology.

The jeeps and trucks in the shipyard now look very new, but in terms of practicality, they cannot be compared with the mainstream trucks in the current market. In other words, they are rarely used in daily life, otherwise they would need to be repaired frequently.

A 100-horsepower diesel engine is not difficult to manufacture, but it is difficult to meet the other needs of the Sanwang Agricultural Machinery Factory. It may even be worse than Yuchai's.

Unlike warship power which remains outdated for half a century, vehicle power becomes obsolete quickly in four to five years, and technology is updated very quickly.

Tang Wen was not surprised by this result. He could only give up the order with regret and focus on single-bar diesel engines.

R&D experience is still quite valuable, and it is more useful to keep it for upgrades.

……

"Hello again, Boss Tang."

At the entrance of Dayuan Village, Wang Hu stood in front of the iron railings blocking the road with a smile on his face, and next to him was Chen Ming with a stern face.

Chen Yonggui's order was faithfully carried out. The two idle old men moved their wandering place to the village entrance and put up a simple railing.

No matter what Wang Hu said, the old man refused to listen until he called Tang Wen and then he slowly moved the railing away.

Tang Wen looked at the two people who were supposed to be rivals and asked doubtfully:

"What are you..."

"Boss Chen has been having trouble lately, so he's selling the boat to me at the original price."

Wang Hu pointed to the four large trailers following the two small cars:
"I'm here to take the boat away today. Your presence here serves as a witness."

Under Tang Wen's inquiring gaze, Chen Ming nodded frustratedly.

God knows what his boss said to him. Not only did he not get any bargain, but he was also on the verge of losing his car.

Fortunately, Wang Hu was also wary of his Hong Kong background and paid a transfer fee of 35. Overall, at least he did not lose money.

Chen Ming pretended to be nice along the way, but he remembered Wang Hu and his brothers very well and would put them on the Anti-Smuggling Bureau's key list later.

Now 99% of duty-free trade takes place in Hong Kong, so there is no need to worry about not catching the problem.

Chen Ming felt very uncomfortable when he thought that these four ships were fast boats that could run at more than 50 knots and the Anti-Smuggling Bureau's ships were almost powerless.

If he sees these ships again in the future, he will probably be laughed at by his colleagues for being incompetent.

Although he was obviously angry, Chen Ming still expressed his "voluntary" transfer.

Tang Wen also roughly understood what was going on, and waved his hand to let the convoy enter the shipyard to pull the speedboat.

Wang Hu was overjoyed and quickly said that he wanted to make friends with the two and even treat them to a meal in the city. He gave up regretfully after being rejected.

However, he also saw the bustling road construction scene in Dawan Village, and suddenly thought of something and said:
"Brother Tang, I have a few nice cars here, do you have any ideas?"

"I got a Buick from Shanghai, a Boulevard with a V6 engine, and there are still two that nobody has ordered.

It would cost at least 700,000 yuan to buy it outside, but I can get it directly from the auto trade company here, so I can make friends with you at the cost price of 500,000 yuan."

Buick Boulevard!

Tang Wen still remembers this car. Buick in the 90s was an authentic luxury car brand. It was a standard American ship size of over 5 meters, with a 3.8-liter V6 supercharged engine, and a series of luxurious features such as electric seats and electric windows.

Even decades later, there are still many old car enthusiasts driving this thing, and their style has not diminished at all.

Of course, what’s more important is that this car is much more comfortable to sit in than the Willys Jeep, and is relatively less obtrusive than a military vehicle.

Fifty thousand for an imported car is not really expensive, and Tang Wen was immediately tempted.

Five hundred thousand is not a big burden for Tang Wen now, and it will not interfere with the normal operation of the shipyard.

“Are there any procedures?”

Tang Wen suddenly said this, and Wang Hu and Chen Ming, who was listening beside him, understood immediately.

If it doesn't have the necessary paperwork, it's a water truck. Although it's not checked these days, Tang Wen obviously cares about it.

Wang Hu immediately replied:

"Yes, it's guaranteed to be formal. The invoice procedures are all authentic and can be licensed. If you want it, Brother Tang, we'll complete the procedures and send it to you in two days."

"can."

Seeing that Tang Wen agreed, Wang Hu's face was full of smiles. Five hundred thousand was indeed a discounted price that others could not get, but it did not mean that he would lose money.

It's just that I earn a little less, but it's not a loss to make a friend.

He also heard in the past few days that Gaijin Shipyard had joined hands with Dayuan Village, the township and the town to carry out several large projects. At least its influence in the local area was very solid. From today's perspective, it was definitely a local tyrant.

Although there were some twists and turns, Wang Hu finally got the boats and sold a car to pay back Gai Jin. He felt that he had made a fortune. After the four boats were loaded, he returned to Echeng and couldn't wait to find business.

But Chen Ming stayed and found Tang Wen alone.

Tang Wen was reluctant to respond, but Chen Ming secretly showed him his Anti-Smuggling Bureau work ID.

Hiss~Hong Kong Anti-Smuggling Bureau?

Tang Wen was a little confused for a moment and even suspected that the other party was a liar.

It was not until Chen Ming and Song Haoxiang told him the process of Li Chang's arrest and some details of the interrogation that he believed this fact.

But when he thought about the loss the Anti-Smuggling Bureau had just suffered at the hands of smugglers, his expression became strange.

Chen Ming felt a little ashamed about this and could only explain awkwardly that his identity was inconvenient to reveal, which was why he suffered a loss.

"Mr. Tang, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau needs your assistance!"

Chen Ming started flattering people as soon as he opened his mouth. This was the result of a discussion between him and his superiors.

Although they didn't get the ship, since Tang Wen was not in cahoots with the duty-free merchants, the Anti-Smuggling Bureau hoped to have in-depth contact with him.

At least those cheap high-horsepower marine motors are in great demand by the Anti-Smuggling Bureau!
They also figured out that although the ship was too large, the motor was small, making it easy to transport it back to Hong Kong.

It also doesn't take much effort to buy a few engines and modify your own anti-smuggling boat.

"We need a bigger engine than the 250 horsepower motor, with more thrust, and faster than them!"

"..."

Tang Wen covered his head with his hands. If he had known earlier, he would have driven them all away and never let them enter the village.

Having just sold a batch of big fly eagles, now they are trying to find a way to catch them. Isn’t this a game between the left and right hands?

And this is quite difficult, because the "Duty Free One" can run at 50 knots, which is already considered a supercar among ships. If you want to surpass this speed and have a clear advantage, how much horsepower would you need?
Tang Wen really wanted to say "NO", but he thought that it would be troublesome if something went wrong while doing business with Wang Hu under the nose of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau, so he finally asked Tang Yi for help.

As a professional, Tang Yi first asked about the size and general type of speedboats currently used by the Anti-Smuggling Bureau, and then drew a rough sketch on a piece of rough paper.

After confirming the tonnage and other data with Chen Ming, he finally picked out a small speedboat weighing about 5 tons and said:
"By hollowing out the hull and using an internal engine with 3000 to 3500 horsepower, the final weight will be around 6 tons, and the speed can reach 70 knots."

"70 sections?!"

Tang Wen and Chen Ming both opened their eyes wide. The speed was frighteningly fast.

And with over 3000 horsepower, wouldn't that be about the same as the thousand-ton Hashidate?

But how big is the Hashidate? Can such a powerful engine be squeezed into a 5-ton boat?

Facing Chen Ming's questioning gaze, Tang Yi explained:
"If you want to chase a ship traveling at speeds exceeding 50 knots, your speedboat will need to reach speeds exceeding 70 knots, and of course, this will come at a significant cost."

"The entire middle of the cabin needs to be hollowed out to fit the diesel engine, so that the center of gravity can be maintained at high speeds so that the propeller is immersed in water instead of jumping out.

If you use an outboard engine, the boat will keep jumping on the water, limiting the maximum speed."

Chen Ming nodded vigorously. This was the defect of the plug-in.

"Besides, the external engine is small and has poor heat dissipation capacity, so the maximum speed cannot be sustained for long. However, the internal diesel engine is different and can continue to travel at the maximum speed for a long time.

Of course, this comes at a price. Given our capabilities, we can only use four 4-horsepower diesel engines in parallel, which is not only unreliable but also very expensive."

Tang Yi deliberately emphasized the tone of the last sentence. He had already received Tang Wen's hint to scare off the Hong Kong guy with a high price.

3000-horsepower diesel engines are widely used on torpedo boats, but trying to fit them into a 5-ton speedboat would almost require the shipyard to reach its limit.

And the consequence of doing so is that the power system takes up 90% of the space and weight, making it almost as useless as a racing speedboat.

Why 850 horsepower? Because the diesel engine of the 40s technology could only produce that much horsepower unless it was increased in size and weight.

"So how much does it cost to modify a boat like this?"

"This……"

Tang Yi did not answer, but said in embarrassment:
"850 horsepower requires a V-type 12-cylinder layout and a supercharger system.

Furthermore, connecting four engines in parallel requires additional optimization, which I'm afraid will be difficult for you to install on your own. It would be better if we could have them manufactured."

"no!"

Chen Ming shook his head and said:
"We can't alert the enemy. We can still quietly transport the engine. The boat is so big."

"We can also find a shipyard to cooperate with in Hong Kong. As long as we have the engine, everything else is easy."

"..."

Tang Yi thought for a moment, wrote down a bunch of specific parameters of the engine on a piece of paper, and then handed it to Tang Wen.

The latter took it and glanced at it, and the system's quotation immediately emerged in his mind:
Design and development: 850-horsepower V12 supercharged marine diesel engine, specifications: ...

[R&D Experience: 150]

[Direct Manufacturing: 200 Silver Coins (12 Hours)]

[Material Processing: 950 kg of steel, 150 kg of aluminum, 15 kg of oil, 75 silver coins (12 hours)]

150 experience, not bad.

However, the cost is more than 8 times that of an external V6 motor, and it is indeed not a product of the same level.

Tang Wen hesitated for a moment and replied:

"We need to purchase this type of engine from an overseas company, and the price... I'm afraid it will be 20 yuan per unit.

The delivery cycle is one to two months, and full payment must be made in advance, otherwise we won’t be able to order it.”

"So expensive!"

Chen Ming did a quick calculation and found that all four engines would cost 80 yuan. One engine was more expensive than a smuggling speedboat!
His surprise was completely expected. Tang Wen said with a bitter face:
“Yes, but the 850-horsepower diesel engine is hard to buy. I only know which company has it, and the price depends on the price set by others.

We usually don’t order these high-end items, so if we do buy them we have to pay in full and depend on other people’s approval.”

80, and the ship needs to be modified, so the cost must be close to one million, right?
Chen Ming frowned, but did not doubt Tang Wen's words.

The Anti-Smuggling Bureau often comes into contact with various types of speedboats. A yacht in Hong Kong worth one million US dollars is considered a small amount, and 80 RMB is actually not an exaggeration.

If it was three or four hundred thousand, he might have agreed, but he didn't have the courage to nod his head for millions of dollars.

"I need to discuss this with the higher-ups."

As soon as Chen Ming finished speaking, Tang Wen and Tang Yi nodded continuously.

Such a high price is no longer cost-effective. You might as well look for international vendors.

Some shipyards specialize in building racing boats, which are much faster than Gaijin and use more advanced technology.

Before leaving, Chen Ming asked for the model and parameters of the engine, and Tang Yi just wrote something down and handed it to him.

After Chen Ming and the rookie left, Tang Wen asked Tang Yi:

"Why do those engine parameters look familiar? I feel like I've seen them somewhere."

Tang Yi scratched his head:
"That engine prototype was used to power the S-series naval torpedo boats. Speaking of origins... this engine is also installed in tanks and armored vehicles."

Tang Wen suddenly remembered that this was the famous B2 diesel engine family.

Back then, Big Brother installed this thing on the T34 tank. At first, it only had 500 horsepower, but he thought it was very useful, so he improved it all the way. The derivative models were used until Big Brother disintegrated, at which time it had reached an astonishing 780 horsepower!

The B2 series V12 diesel engine is sturdy and reliable, with great potential for transformation. It was used in China until the introduction of MTU power packs.

Its presence can be seen on well-known domestic tanks such as the Type 59, Type 69 medium tank, and Type 62 light tank. No wonder I always feel that the data is inexplicably familiar.

This engine has been in service for sixty years, and it can still be modified and used on board to chase smuggling boats. It is quite legendary.

and many more.

Tang Wen suddenly thought of something and said to Tang Yi:

"So this engine, like the original tank engine, has a high frequency of overhauls?"

“Of course, but as long as it’s not running at full power all the time, it’s acceptable for the boat.”

"So if we want to make it more reliable and reduce fuel consumption, we can make a big sacrifice in horsepower. What can we do?"

Tang Yi thought for a while and said:

"Remove the supercharger, switch to naturally aspirated engine, and reduce the number of cylinders.

For example, if you go from a V12 to a V6, the horsepower will be significantly reduced, perhaps only around 300... I know what you want."

Tang Yi recalled the engine demand from Sanwang Agricultural Machinery Factory, but gave up because the technology was too difficult.

Hearing that the number of 300 HP was still there after so many nerfs, Tang Wen's eyes lit up:
"How about we cut it down a few more times until it's cheap enough and reliable enough?"

The technology of the 25-horsepower diesel engine comes from the village chief's unknown weirdo. It is too difficult to develop it from a technical perspective, but what about using the mature B2 diesel engine to develop it?
"It's technically feasible, but not economically feasible, Commander. The displacement of a B2 diesel engine is 39 liters."

"Even if we cut it in half, it would still be an 18.5-liter engine with a displacement of at least 50 liters of diesel per kilometers.

Moreover, based on the B2, the cylinder displacement cannot be reduced too much, and the power output needs to be smooth. What may be obtained in the end is a V-type 6-cylinder engine with a displacement of about 12 liters, and the horsepower may be around 150 to 200.

The fuel consumption is still too high for a car.”

Tang Wen: "That depends on what the client wants."

(End of this chapter)