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
...

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