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When choosing a boat, transport options are one of the main criteria.
In other countries, boats are classified as whether they can be transported on top of a car,
(i.e. whether they are "car-topable") or on a trailer (i.e. whether they are
"trailerable").
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In Vietnam, the mode of transport for most people is the motorbike.
Trailers are not permitted behind a motorbike.
Except a folding 7 ft. Dinghy, or an inflatable, pretty much no boat can be transported on a motorbike.
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Only few people have their own private car, and very few cars have a roof rack.
A car with a "hook" to pull a trailer has not been seen in Hanoi yet.
"Car-topable" is therefore a choice for very, very few people in Vietnam,
and to use a normal trailer would most probably need a special permission, if it would be allowed at all.
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Where motorbikes are not suitable for private transport, taxis are used.
No taxi has a roof rack here, so, except an inflatable, no boat can be transported with it.
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There are however vans ("taxi tai") available
that can be ordered and paid like a meter taxi.
The dimensions of those vans vary from model to model, but in general,
they can be categorized into three sizes with three different fees per km.
I will call them here "Mini Van", "Midi Van", and "Maxi Van".
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Then there are trucks that can be rented on an individual basis.
Some of them have even a crane. However, since they are bigger, they cannot be used
in many of the small streets in Hanoi.
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Another option might be car trucks and car trailers as they are used by car mechanics
to haul damaged cars to their workshop. There are a few of those trucks and trailers in Hanoi.
One option might be, to build the boat on a small trailer from which it would be launched,
but that trailer would be transported on (not pulled behind) one of those car transport trucks.
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Finally there are the container trucks, i.e. those large monsters
that haul 20 or 40 ft. containers.
However, without special permission they are not allowed to enter the town,
and thus usually cannot be used to transport boats.
The transport options for boats in Hanoi are therefore:
| |
typ. length |
typ. width |
max. length |
max. width |
| Mini Van |
1.9 m (6'3") |
1.3 m (4'4") |
ca. 3.0 m (10') |
ca. 1.5 m (5') |
| Midi Van |
2.2 m (7'3") |
1.5 m (5'0") |
ca. 3.5 m (11'6") |
ca. 1.7 m (5'6") |
| Maxi Van |
3.1 m (10'2") |
1.7 m (5'6") |
ca. 4.6 m (15'0") |
ca. 2.0 m (6'6") |
| Truck |
4.6 m (15'0") |
2.0 m (6'6") |
(n.a.) |
ca. 2.2 m (7'2") |
| Car Truck or Trailer |
? |
? |
(n.a.) |
ca. 2.2 m (7'2") |
Notes:
max. length is measured diagonally, if boat extends forward over top of driver cabin.
max. width is assumed about 30 to 40 cm above bottom,
if beam extends beyond side board of truck bed.
It becomes obvious, that only small boats can be transported with the available means in Hanoi.
To use a truck is feasible only occasionally.
In order to overcome those obstacles we are using therefore modules
that can be built in very small workshops and be transported by taxi vans. Near, or in the water
they are then assembled to create the larger boat.
The TIMS project can be considered
as a proof of concept for this approach.
Fitting to the different sizes of the vans, we have designed three cross-sections
that make full use of the available widths.
Modules that follow one of those dimensions belong to a corresponding "class":
| Auer Class |
specified: Beam: 2.0 ft (0.6 m), Height: 1 ft (30 cm),
flat bottom, height of bulkheads: 1 ft; (30 cm) |
| Roth Class |
specified: Beam: 5.0 ft (1.55 m), Height: 2 ft (60 cm),
flat bottom, height of bulkheads: 1 ft; (30 cm) |
| ToLich Class |
planned: Beam: 5.5 ft (1.7 m), Height: 2 ft (60 cm),
box keel (about 1.5' wide, 12" high) |
| SongHong Class |
planned: Beam: 6.5 ft (2.0 m), Height: 2.5 ft (75 cm),
box keel (about 2.5' wide, 18" high) |
Those classes basically break down the boat into shorter modules of up to half height.
However, the modules still have a significant cross section of (full beam) x (partial height).
When moving them on the streets, e.g. from the yard to the water or between waters,
a lot of enclosed "air" has to be transported. This makes sub-optimal use of
all kind of transport means.
We are therefore mulling a radically new approach:
The Ultimate Modular Yacht, short TUMY.
The idea is, to break down the hull in even smaller pieces: a number of bottom floats,
side, and roof panels. The bottom floats extend just above the water line.
The side panels are "sandwiches" of foam between thin outside layers of plywood
or sheet metal for increased strenght. In this way, it should be possible to assemble large Sharpies
for semi-protected waters, with shapes like the ones of Bolger's "State Series"
(Tennessee, Idaho, Minnesota, Dakota, Wyoming, Illinois).
See more about that on our TUMY page.
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