Best Entrepreneur Level Vessel
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Hey everyone, so happy to join this community. My friend turned me on to ocean farming recently and I can't stop reading. I'm in the marine industry and I would like to hear what entry level vessels are for ocean farming. I see some wild setups on the upper end but what about smaller craft? I have see some deeper draft aluminum open floor side consoles w/ outboard.
If (when) the economy loses steam, I can see more families taking to the seas. I'd love to know about affordable boat options so I can morph with the downturn and turn my imagination loose on programs that would increase vessel accessibility/affordability.
Thanks!
@cody_james Hi Cody, You might check out this discussion in the community about what boats work best for ocean farming. A lot can be accomplished with a small skiff -- aluminum or fiberglass. In fact, @alf_pryor17 has worked his farm in Kodiak, Alaska with an open aluminum skiff and harvested over 500,000 lbs of kelp that way. We lay out some of characteristics you might look for in your first boat for farming in this lesson in the Hub. In general, you might consider something with good stability, in the 20-foot range, with an open floor plan and outboard motor.
btw @cody_james, I'm going to move your post to the Farm Operations topic for better visibility!
Cody, of course a lot depends on the size of your farm, the exposure, the distance from harbor, and the planned level of mechanization. Alf’s set skiff mentioned by Lindsay has been a real workhorse on the Kodiak farm and for two of the seasons it was used as the harvest vessel. However, for the initial installation of the anchors and spar buoys, we used a larger seine vessel.
At the Puerto Rico project we have taken a different tack, designing and building a catamaran that would be the day-to-day service vessel but also capable of installations and harvest. Damisela was built by Wilson Welding of Salisbury, MA, and disassembled, stuffed into a 20’ container, and shipped to La Parguera for re-assembly.
We used it to install and tend a 5-line array for over a year and recently used it to install the project catenary array including the eight anchors and the four variable-displacement spar buoys.
The gantry has a 5,000-lb hoisting capacity. We are planning to exploit the space between the for mechanized planting and harvest.
The choice between using and adapting an existing vessel vs. a custom design such as Damisela depends a lot on what’s available and if it is to be dedicated to the farming operation.
Cliff
btw @cody_james, I'm going to move your post to the Farm Operations topic for better visibility!