Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 733 - 641: The Revolution of Inland Waterway Transport (Requesting Monthly Ticket at Month's End)
Joseph still stared at the paddle-wheeler not far away, “Can that ship sail?”
Borda was uncertain, “Perhaps it can, I remember Mr. Geoffrey saying it was serviceable, but he towed it here from upstream of the Loire River using a tugboat, and since then, it’s just been left there.”
“Please have Mr. Geoffrey come to see me.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Half an hour later.
Geoffrey was obviously very nervous in front of the Crown Prince, nodding, “Yes, Your Highness, it can sail. I have piloted it all the way from Berry to Nantes.”
“Very good.” Joseph’s eyes lit up, “Can you show me?”
“This,” Geoffrey looked troubled, “Your Highness, its steam engine has a slight malfunction, but once it’s repaired…”
“How long will it take to fix?”
“5 days. But I don’t have enough repair funds. You know, the price of an LJ26H is extraordinarily high, and the repair costs are even higher.”
Joseph nodded, “I’ll cover the repair costs. Then, is the design of this ship mature, do you have the blueprints?”
Geoffrey seemed somewhat embarrassed, “Your Highness, actually, I designed an escort ship driven by a steam engine, but it isn’t completed yet. And it seems the navy no longer needs that, I mean, the Mediterranean Light is far superior to my design.”
“No no,” Joseph immediately said, “I don’t need a warship, I mean, the ship moored at the dock.”
Geoffrey was startled, then quickly nodded, “Yes, Your Highness, the ‘Boloskafi’ has been continuously refined for several years, it is quite mature.”
Now France could provide him with a reliable steam engine, so unlike in history, he didn’t abandon the project halfway but successfully built a steam paddle-wheeler.
Joseph smiled, “That’s exactly the kind of boat I need. Mr. Geoffrey, you’ve done something quite remarkable.”
“But it is completely inferior to the ‘Mediterranean Light’…”
“The structure of a paddle-wheeler is simple, its cost far lower than that of a screw-driven ship, and it is easier to maintain.” Joseph said, “So it has its own stage. Oh, can you show me its design?”
Yes, the steam paddle-wheeler was indeed the ruler of the 19th-century river transportation domain. Even on the eve of World War I, many inexpensive and durable paddle-wheelers were still traveling on rivers around the world.
Joseph had originally planned to have someone design a steam paddle-wheeler for transportation, but paddle-wheel and screw propulsion are two completely different technological paths. At the moment the designers at Brest Shipyard were busy with steam warships, so the paddle-wheeler transport project had been temporarily put on hold.
And now Mr. Geoffrey had singly designed a paddle-wheeler, a surprising and unexpected delight.
After a short while, the blueprints for the ‘Boloskafi’ were laid before Joseph.
It was a vessel of 70 tons displacement, 32 meters in length, and 7 meters in width, equipped with an LJ26H-type steam engine, with a designed speed of 8.5 kilometers per hour. With the assistance of its two small sails, it could reach a speed of 9.2 kilometers per hour.
Joseph, a layman in this field, turned to look at Navy Shipbuilding Director Borda, “What do you think of the design of this ship?”
“Ah, to be honest, the overall design is somewhat rudimentary.” Borda carefully examined the blueprint, “However, the structure seems reasonable, and the power setup is quite creative.”
Joseph said, “Then based on this, is it feasible to design a small transport ship?”
“Yes, Your Highness, just by optimizing the hull shape and adjusting the cargo hold layout, it would be completely suitable for transport.”
“Very good.” Joseph’s expression was like someone who had received an unexpected gift from the heavens, “Please assign an experienced designer to help Mr. Geoffrey perfect the design.”
“I will do as you ask, Your Highness.”
Joseph knew that a civilian designer like Geoffrey, however talented, surely could not compare with top military ship designers in terms of engineering practice. A collaboration between the two would be most efficient.
He then looked at Geoffrey, “I hope to see a design ready for production within three months. Can you do that?”
The latter never expected his “waste” design to catch the attention of the Crown Prince and immediately nodded vigorously, “Yes, Your Highness, I will do my utmost!”
Joseph nodded, “If I am satisfied with this ship, I will invest 1.5 million francs to establish a shipyard to produce this type of ship.
“And you will receive a 10% share of the shipyard. Oh, and the patent for the new ship will still be yours.”
Geoffrey’s breathing accelerated with excitement. Shares plus patent licensing fees amounted to at least 200,000 francs – he would become a wealthy man overnight.
He almost shouted, “I swear, Your Highness, I will not disappoint you!”
Everyone present was astonished by the Crown Prince’s willingness to spend millions.
Borda quickly suggested, “Your Highness, this kind of small boat only requires an initial investment of two to three hundred thousand francs. Don’t you think that…”
But Joseph decisively shook his head, “Thank you for your suggestion, but I need a very high output, perhaps even 1.5 million won’t be quite enough.”
He was well aware of the tremor steam paddle-wheelers would send through the river transport sector once introduced.
You see, inland navigation is different from maritime shipping; there is hardly any wind on inland waterways. So most vessels are rowboats, with some being sailing rowboats, and on special waterways, they must be hauled by tugboat workers. Not only is their speed very slow, but the human labor costs are also not low.
Steam paddle-wheelers solved these problems well. A speed of 8.5 kilometers per hour might not look like much, but it was much faster than human rowing, and it could maintain speed consistently over time, unlike rowers who had to rest frequently.
Moreover, steamships could break free from the dependence on tugboat workers. During the peak transportation season, other shipowners might have to wait a whole day to get tugboat workers, while steamships would have already reached their destination.
This meant that steamships could make two or even more trips in the time it took ordinary rowboats to make one trip. Although they burned a lot of coal, they also saved on rowers’ and tugboat workers’ wages. All things considered, the cost of transportation by steamship would be half that of current methods!
Later on, when they designed vessels equipped with 52 horsepower steam engines and with a displacement of over 90 tons, the costs could be reduced even further.
This was a game-changer.
It was foreseeable that once France’s steam paddle-wheelers were in production, all shipowners involved in inland navigation would have to switch to new vessels, or they wouldn’t stand a chance in competing with others.
Joseph didn’t delay a minute, immediately asking Borda to bring in professionals to begin planning for the shipyard.
Historically, building warships was a money-losing proposition; it was only civilian vessels that were profitable. Joseph figured if the steam paddle-wheeler factory was profitable enough, he could invest in taking a controlling interest in Brest Shipyard, and through expanding production, drastically reduce the construction cost of warships.
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