BEYOND THE HORIZON
By Stephen D. (Doc) Regan
MAY 2024
BOAT NEWS
Finland brags that it has 100,000 lakes. One quick look at a map supports this contention and certainly implies that it really is spots of land amid water. As expected, the people of Suomi ( Finland in their tongue), are nature-oriented and water-focused both for food and entertainment; therefore, the nation is known for boat building. Most cruise ships are built in Finland, and swarms of small boats are built there also.
Many years ago, this writer wrote an article on Finnish small boats for SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR and used my brother-in-law’s small fiberglass rowboat as an example of a daily work boat. This Nordic country has a myriad of companies generating boats, and several companies are headquartered elsewhere but the factory is in Finland.
Among the small boat builders is SUVI which sells 15 different rowboat models and 17 different versions of motorboats ranging from small 2-person fishing craft to large recreational boats.
SUVI 420
The SUVI 420 is about 14 feet long with a beam of 4 feet weighing only 150 pounds. Technically one could use a 2.5 hp motor on this but it is essentially a rowboat.
SUVI 47
Suvi’s 47 is more typical for fishing in the larger lakes and with 4 people aboard. She is about 16’ by 6’ and can handle a 40 hp motor.
SUVI 57
The 57 is a 20-footer that can handle a 70-hp motor and looks a lot like a Boston Whaler. You will only see these around larger lakes or in Baltic coves.
Terhi, another boat builder, has similar crafts to the many other Finnish company’s models. The green Terhi Saiman Hunter is for waterfowl hunters with a color acting as camouflage. Made from ABS plastic and polyurethane floatation, this 12-foot floater uses a very small motor
Terhi Saiman Hunter
On the upper end of Terhi’s models is the 480-cabin model made for rougher weather of the Baltic Sea or Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and Finland. It protects from spray and uses bigger (for Finland) motors of 70 hp.
The Finns, very nature-centered, are concerned about the environment and Terhi offers several models of electric boats. The 400 is about 12 feet long and has a short transom that is suited for a Torqeedo Travel 1103 CS requiring 29.6 volts but comes with a solar panel that is useful in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
With an emphasis on nature and climate, the Finnish company Ramoran manufactures a hydrogenator for sailboats that looks like the lower half of an outboard but generates 12/24 volts. Weighing only 14 pounds, this machine has multiple adjustment angles and a telescoping 3-blade prop for easy handling and storage. Gee, you could run your computer or iPod for a long time while sailing!
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An overloaded boat with over 112 illegal immigrants tried to cross the English Channel but the small engine died off the French shore and sudden movement on the little craft caused several to fall overboard and 5 drowned including an 8-year-old girl. This comes as England and France have attempted to stiffen illegal entry across the channel particularly off Calais where the distance is only 20 miles between nations.
Evidently, France is an easy country to gain entry, especially from Africa, and England is supporting France’s efforts to add Coastal Patrol. Rwanda, known for the murderous rift between the Tutsi and the Hutu, is the source of much of the illegal influx. 25 people have died trying to cross the Channel in the last 6 months. Over 6,000 people have arrived in England on small boats since September 2023. The massive disconnect between wealthy nations and impoverished countries simply remains the primary cause of these tragedies.
SEMI-Editorial
Since the mid 1800’s Western nations flocked to Africa and South America draining any resources available with little interest in the local population. When the indigenous people rebelled, the power nations simply eliminated resistance. OVERTHROW by Stephen Kinzer is an insightful book on how, in this case, the U.S. simply overthrew governments to “protect American business interests”. From Hawaii to Iraq, America takes what it wants or does what it wants (think the Panama Canal). The U.S. learned from the best, particularly our cousins, Great Britain. To fully understand the illegal crossings, one must look at history to comprehend that we are suffering for the near-sightedness of an earlier age. Read the book. Realize that the U.S. simply followed the examples from Europe.
MERCHANT FLEET
The merchant fleet invariably suffers from Iron Oxide (rust) that gradually eats away steel and renders it weak or simply dissolved. Rust’s partner in crime is marine growth that festoons on anything under the waterline. Combating these culprits has been as old as boats and ships themselves resulting in cooper sheathing, cooper paint, sawing and hacking, chemical compounds, etc., etc. etc. To this day, ship and boat companies’ ads regarding this $5 billion-a-year problem proliferate throughout trade journals and magazines.
For centuries the cure has been simply cleaning, dry-docking, and constant maintenance. Think of the day for a typical sailor across the centuries: swabbing decks; painting hulls, sanding and painting bulkheads and overheads; chipping paint; and working on handling stray currents emanating from electrical charges generated from the reaction of Iron Oxide and metals.
But now, ladies and gentlemen, step right up and listen closely because I, Dr. Do Little, have here in my hand, an answer to all your nautical needs and wants. This tiny elixir is the miracle of the century and will cure rust, stomach ailments, baldness, constipation, and shingles. For only, $1 you will be amazed and overwhelmed with the abilities within this small bottle. BUT WAIT, today only (because you are so kind, honest, and Christian) I will give you a second bottle free.
Sorry about the deviation from important topics. I am old. I am Irish. I am a bit nuts. However, modern science has, indeed, developed a technology to avoid the man-hours (sorry ladies) necessary to keep rust to a minimum. Laser Photonics, a Florida manufacturer, has created the Marine Application Rust Laser Inhibitor (MARLIN), a tool that works on corrosion and rust via a safe, effective, and efficient air-cooled pulse-finishing portable laser generator. This time and money-saving instrument is touted by the DNR, OSHA, and EPA.
Gee whiz, about the only job left in the modern Navy for a guy like me was paint chipping.
The Middle East is a wonderful place to avoid if you are a shipper, especially if you want to use the Suez Canal but find that rounding the Cape of Good Hope is a much better idea. Iranian forces used helicopters to land military on a container ship in the Persian Gulf as the fighting in the region escalated.
The ship, MSC ARIES, is a Portuguese-flagged ship owned by Zodiac Shipping. The rub is that Zodiac is owned by a UK-based company, and anyone connected remotely with Israel is open for attack by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, especially after Israeli attacks on Gaza, Syria, and Iran itself.
MCS ARIES
GRAY FLEET
The LCS, which has been a bright and shining example of political and economic insanity when it was built in two different versions of which neither worked because the various cutting-edge technologies did not mesh, has been seeking a role since they were built. Certain elements in the 5-sided chamber of the Defense Department have come up with a possible mission for the LCS.
Please remember that two competing companies developed plans for a basic hull and superstructure that could be built into components and rearranged for different assignments. Politics, being what it is, intervened and forced both companies and their designs accepted: the Independence version, a trimaran to be built by Lockheed Martin at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, and the Freedom class, a monohull design built by Austal in Alabama. Neither model’s high-tech engines, gearing, and internal “stuff” worked well once they were put together, and both models spent months, if not years, in repair shops just trying to get them to hit the water.
The Freedom-class are based in Florida and the Independence-class are in San Diego. In a wonderful statement regarding these 2002 entities the Navy stated, “… the maintenance and sustainment for these “optimally manned” ships have been evolving, with maintenance execution teams meeting these ships wherever they are to conduct planned maintenance.” This, I assume, means they still aren’t working worth a darn even as the original set of LCS ships have been culled and scraped and new ones built.
The new idea for a mission is to be a “murderer of drones”. The ships have a large number of unmanned air vehicles. The Navy promoters suggest that the LCS vessels be reconfigured for helicopters, vertical takeoff and landing planes, and Fire Scout drones MQ-8 B and MQ-8C. They suggest the addition of the UMS Skeldar V-200, Schiebel CamCopter S-100, ShieldAIVBAT, Skyways V2.6B, or even the AeroVironment T-20 drones.
When all else in the Navy fails, confuse, confound, muddle, and obscure. Someone wants them to launch and/or destroy drones. Considering the attacks on Ukraine and Israel, drone warfare is the next Big Thing.
General Eisenhower stated that the key to winning the War in Europe was, “Logistics, logistics, logistics.” The old sailing adage is “what can happen, will happen out there.” The USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN-75) was sent to the Mediterranean as a response to the Russian attack on Ukraine. It returned recently and the report on the ship was disturbing because it cited a major dilemma with logistics.
The ship was incorrectly loaded with supplies for the cruise. As one admiral complained, bureaucracy took over. The wrong supplies were loaded and the needed equipment was omitted. Worse, because of the high-level technology, the ship was without certain materiel simply because they couldn’t anticipate what went wrong and lacked the space to carry back-ups for everything. Today’s carriers carry a variety of jets and helicopters from fighters to electronic warfare planes, from large supply transport choppers to rescue helicopters. Add to that, the AEGIS defense system that unifies all defense and offense systems, plus supplies for feeding and caring for the crew, and you end up with a major need. Worse, we simply cannot supply ships throughout the world with the materiel they might need when they need it. And the beat goes on. Or was that, for the want of a nail?
The Navy’s four unmanned ships spent 5 months sailing over 46,000 nautical miles testing the feasibility and sustainability of these vessels that were controlled from Port Hueneme, California, or aboard another U.S. Navy ship in the region. Two of these ultra-modern additions can be crewed by a small number but the other two have no facilities for people.
The test also provided data for an Integrated Combat System that will eventually replace the AEGIS system currently used. Traditionalists have denounced the spending on uncrewed ships complaining that we need more larger, strategic cruisers and destroyers. Technology, however, offers a glimpse of a future where warfare will be conducted from an office in Nevada or New Jersey. Iowa, naturally, will oppose any new development within the state.
RANGER and MARINER escorted by a Japanese ship in the Western Pacific
The best-laid plans of mice and men…well, you know the verse, and it happened to the Navy compliments of an engine fire. The USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008), a transport carrying supplies for the Ukraine, had a severe engine fire that forced the ship back to Jacksonville, FL. The needed equipment and materiel will be delayed for at least a month.
Unfortunately, this incident reminded this writer of the Finnish War between Russia and Finland in 1939. The tiny country with a population of only 3 million, at that time, was invaded by the Big Bear with more troops than men, women, children, cats, and dogs in Suomi. Everyone in the world was upset and promised supplies, arms, ammunition, and sundry aid. Sweden couldn’t quite get the goods across the Gulf, England’s planes were late and never made it there, and the story was virtually the same around Europe. The bad news was that only Nazi Germany seemed to aid Finland, and then they expected an alliance in return. It came back to haunt the Finns after the Continuation War of 1943
ENVIRONMENT
A frightening article in SEA HISTORY, a publication of the National Maritime Historical Society, relates how research aboard the WESTWARD, a private yacht now a sailing research ship, on plankton in the Sargasso Sea fell apart when their neuston nets failed to collect plankton because they were filled with plastics. These nets, used back in the days of Darwin, area metal rectangular mouths connected to an ultrafine material. So, the research re-did its mission and collected plastics for study.Most plastics are created from ethylene and propylene, two very basic organic chemicals, that do not break down naturally. From 1971 to 1987 the amount in the Sargasso Sea quadrupled. Worse, added to this mess are the tar balls from oil spills and drainage. These even
Neuston Net
coagulated with a tarball filled with plastic. The level of plastic in the universe is daunting. Some data predicts that in 25 years we will have 12 million tons of plastic in our landfills.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre) is NOT a floating island of plastic but rather an area filled with plastic particles. A single neuston tow would probably come up with 700 pieces of plastic debris. Fish, even in the freshwater lakes and rivers in America, have plastic in their intestinal tract or within their tissue.
Eric Church Stone
If you haven’t read the RICK WATERS series by Eric Church Stone or have listened to one of his 15 albums, then you are missing “good stuff”. Eric is an old friend and I enjoy being around him and his fiancée, Kim.