HISTORY

STATUS and FUTURE:

                Copyright@2008-2005, Hydro Lance Corporation, All Rights Reserved.

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Demonstration, application / mission design, construction and commercial development shared with licensed or partner operations, for the production and operations of high force sea-state ultra-stable, high-speed, ecologically friendly, fuel efficient, low wake, shallow draft marine transport vessels of heavy or light displacement tonnage

HISTORY            (Underlined phrases are mostly hyperlinks to pictures, information or other pages.)

Since ocean travel first began, the vision of stability in high seas, and high speed ocean transportation, has been the dream of maritime engineers,  merchants and sailors alike.  This dream has persisted to elude the designer, facing the formidable sea states of wind and storm, drag, and the many other factors, such as fuel efficiency, bow waves, metallurgy, mechanical stresses and load demands.  Many ships today still travel at similar speeds as they did in the times of Christopher Columbus.  Even the most sophisticated cruise ships today, such as the Song of America, cruise at a respectable 22 knots - in calm water. However, when in a force sea-state of just six, these ships must slow down, considerably, or face deck wash, roll or structural failure.  Of course, the same is true for cargo and freight ships, leading to transport times of weeks, even months, to reach a destination port.
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Some 22 years ago, a designer/inventor in California, Robert Price, pondered this problem while looking into an ocean bay, near Seattle.  He watched a free floating cut timber (log) remain stable, in this windy, white capped sea.  This inspired an exhaustive research of ocean surface physics, then leading to additional years of  engineering, the ocean's surfaces, physics research, designs, math models, computer analyses, and the fabrication and testing of pilot vessels.

One such operating half ton, 27 foot long scale model, was taken to open waters and demonstrated. This was both impressive and video taped.   Research and development work was then contracted for verification by outside engineers, technicians, and a national Naval Architecture and Engineering firm.  Designs were virtually (computer) tested, through "7-seas computers" simulations as early as 1986 -  for every conceivable stress variation, at every possible speed and heading. The results just got better, and more refined.  This Hydro Lance Technology was named H.A.R.T.H. tm (High Aspect Ratio Twin Hull), and is often shortened to simply, HARTHtm.   The HARTH technologytm was completed in 2000, at a cost of 3.8 Million Dollars.  Investment came from private party Angels and  principals.  Refinements and application design continues in preparation for market entry anticipated in 2009.

The Company originally formed to accomplish research, development and demonstration for commercialization .   Since 2000,  the Company has been engaged in ongoing design development , HARTH Architectural and Engineering management, market research and project preparedness.  This has been assigned to a subsidiary; Hydro Lance Engineering, Inc.   The parent licensing authority is the Hydro-Lance  Corporation, and has the responsibility for capital infusion, joint venture partnerships and licensing. 
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HARTH Technology Changes the Rules for new design and construction of ocean surface transport ships and boats.  With having lower drag and better fuel efficiencies than any conventional ship,  a Hydro-Lance vessel will cruise in high sea-states at freeway speeds!   What's more,  there is negligible, if any, roll, pitch, yaw, sway or heave - period!  The Hydro Lance is a stable platform in elevated Sea States.  Modest sized cruise ships, or cargo vessels, would be designed with this stability through Sea-State Force 7 or 8.  Larger ships would be designed for stable passage in a sea-state 9-11, though the high speeds of these ships will always allow the vessel to out-run any approaching Hurricane or storm threat.

FUTURE
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The next step is here and now - to design, build, and operate one or more HARTH commercial ships, ferries or specialty mission vessels,  providing a rapid return on investment.  This is to be accomplished through license, or with  joint venture partnerships.  Such projects will begin with a feasibility study to analyze the market/project vessel's mission, platform class, target speeds, etc., for the target market operations to meet the client's interests.  

Conversions of certain existing ships are now being considered (see site directory), as the first economic step, since significant construction cost savings may be realized.  Contact our offices for further details.

License or Joint Venture.  The capability, mission targeted markets and other criteria of an interested partner, or other qualified entity for license,  is very important to the Company - and this early client study period would result with an agreement, application, design, A&E, construction, operations analyses, capitalization, resources and an agreed upon joint phased completion project execution. 

Should your organization have such a joint venture interest, then please do contact us and provide us with important additional information.
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WHAT COMES AFTER YOU REQUEST A HYDRO LANCE SHIP?
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Proper design of a client's market specific Hydro-Lance vessel will first require a feasibility study, as the very rules of sea travel have been redefined.  Specific interest has already been expressed  for the construction of  passenger fast ferry ships, one with open casino gaming, dining and observation seating, and the another, for the conversion of retired  Boeing 727's, Lockheed L-101's or DC-10's to passenger ferries.  The design of any vessel, whether a conventional ship or a HARTH vessel, requires a specific mission, application definition, and configuration.  However, the Hydro Lance may be constructed as a platform class, adaptable to finish a number of applications appropriate to the specified platform class.

This information then begins a dialog to form the bases for definition of the ship's design, appearance, architecture and engineering, as well as the client's relationship with Hydro Lance Corporation.   Once the Joint Venture or Licensed Company has successfully brought the first mission defined HARTH ship to operations and profit, additional like ships may be capitalized through public participation, profits, or private finance to meet known world market demands.  The process progresses by phased completion to A&E, construction and sea-trials, just the same as for any ship being considered.  Construction may be contracted with a ship yard of mutual selection for completion.  Ship operations would then be licensed specific and exclusive to the client's targeted market.
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DESIGN VARIABLES

The high freeway cruising speeds of Hydro-Lance HARTH ships, may suggest that two smaller vessels are more wisely constructed,  than one large ship.  For example, the distance from Los Angeles to Honolulu, is approximately 2,300 nautical miles, but is only 30 hours or less of transport time in a Hydro-Lance ship.  Consider, with added horsepower, that such transport time could be reduced even further, to say, 24 hours!  This is possible as the hull-speed of the HARTH vessel is substantially higher than numbers herein discussed.  That's quite different from the typical five (5) days required on today's cruise or cargo ships - one way.  Instead of one large ship, perhaps two smaller vessels, would increase efficiency and market flexibility, since each ship could make three or more,  round trips per week (three-five total round trips).  Would the ship be designed with sleeping facilities, or simply plush reclining seats?   Passenger prices may necessarily, have to compete with the airlines (and could easily), rather than cruise ship prices.  SEE MARKET FERRY STUDY SUMMARY 

What percentage of the ship would be designed for passengers, versus cargo or freight, casino gaming, mega power yachts, cable ships, trawlers, containers, medical,  fuel & oil, CNC, Live Stock or other specialty and commerce requirements?  This equates to revenue, economics and transport profit, and must first be studied before the specific ship application is designed.  Would Los Angeles to Honolulu be the only destination, or is the ship to go on to Asia?   One only 22 foot cargo container brings revenue of approximately $3,500, from Japan to California , and is a high volume shipping market.  However, the trip back to Japan, or Asia, from the U.S., is a low volume shipping market, and the prices or revenue realized for each container are different, if not significantly lower.  Even then, the higher speeds and economies could favorably impact cargo volume, as compared to slower ships and air transport.
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COSTS

The cost of the feasibility study is part of architectural and engineering costs,  estimated with total costs.  Actual total turn-key construction costs cannot be accurately known until the architecture and engineering phases are completed for any specific vessel design.  Since the Hydro Lance has approximately 30% more area of skin and ribs, we project that the material  and construction costs, beyond the first like ship, may have about the same percentage of cost increase,  then having lower costs in mass modular-production, as compared with a conventional ship.  Depending on the selected construction ship-yard, a capital cost of approximately $12,000-18,000.00 per displacement ton of ship constructed, is a "thumb nail" estimate of the first mission specific HARTH blue-water class ship - from womb to operational status, depending on customer requirements and custom variables.

The variables of the mission statement, the 'luxury factor' of interior design of each application and client, and other technical variables make a more accurate cost/price estimates impossible to make, until the Architectural and Engineering phase of each ship is completed.  This is, of course, the same for any new conventional type ship to be constructed.  Noteworthy is that a conversion, made from certain types of existing vessels, could save up to half of this cost (See Conversions), or more.

In either case of capital costs, a three to ten times increase of transport speed, seven times the fuel economies, and with shorter turn-around times, may translates to three to ten times the cargo and passengers transported, and the revenues realized - in the same time period as one conventional ship would reach it's first port-of-call...and do so without passenger sea-sickness.

The rules of ocean transport are now being changed forever. Who will own these new Licenses - and the new markets opened from this technology for a new era of profit opportunities?

So Much More ...

.Additional information may be viewed by mouse-clicking any of the above underlined phrases, 

 images or the 'light-bars' below ...

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