"Concrete freighters and luxury liners shaped like fat cigars and capable of speeds of 75 knots are promised for the near fture by Hal B. Hayes, inventor and concrete constructor of Berkeley, Calif. In a recent test to support his seemingly extravagant claims, Hayes built a 125 foot model (P.S.M., Nov, '43, p. 70.) He installed two rebuilt Ford V-8 motors and sent the boat skimming across San Francisco Bay at a speed of 20 knots.
Although the steel-reinforced hulls of the proposed ships will be only three to four inches thick, they will be further strengthened by newly developed methods of pouring and vibrating the cement as it settles so as to increase its density.
Powered by either steam or Diesel engines, the boats will be low in the water--with a total water line of 22 feet. Yet, because of their streamlining, they will incur 27 percent less water friction than ships of conventional design. By means of simplified inner construction, the boats will be able to carrry about 30 percent more cargo than Liberty freighters of equal size.
According to the designer, the ships will require only one-tenth the amount of metal that goes into an all-steel boat, and one can be built in approximately 11 days by construction crews consisting mainly of unskilled workmen."
Although the steel-reinforced hulls of the proposed ships will be only three to four inches thick, they will be further strengthened by newly developed methods of pouring and vibrating the cement as it settles so as to increase its density.
Powered by either steam or Diesel engines, the boats will be low in the water--with a total water line of 22 feet. Yet, because of their streamlining, they will incur 27 percent less water friction than ships of conventional design. By means of simplified inner construction, the boats will be able to carrry about 30 percent more cargo than Liberty freighters of equal size.
According to the designer, the ships will require only one-tenth the amount of metal that goes into an all-steel boat, and one can be built in approximately 11 days by construction crews consisting mainly of unskilled workmen."