Das Boat
My post of June 19 referred to a riverboat, a very interesting craft.
An NGO called Innovative Resources Manangement, IRM, was given the job of having a riverboat constructed to be used by the Independent Electoral Commission. The vessel would cruise up and down the Congo river and its' tributaries supporting the work of the Commission.
An IRM man, a 21 year veteran of the Uruguayan Navy, was given charge of this project. He found that the money available would not cover the cost of having a new vessel built in the riverboat yards here in Kinshasa. He had to think of something else.
He bought a 200 ton freight barge with a flat bottom and a pointy prow. Then he bought a number of standard cargo containers, the kind you see on the big container ships and the kind the Congolese make corner police stations out of. The containers were fitted out as berthing quarters, conference rooms, a galley etc. The tops were cut off and given raised rounded roofs. Two rows of modified containers were mounted on metal stilts and placed on either side of the barge with a passageway in the middle. The whole thing was topped with a large deck and a pilot house.
The boat is propelled by a surplus U.S. Army pontoon (as in pontoon bridge) tender. The IRM man had high praise for the pontoon tender. It is powerful, durable and pushes the whole assemblage at 2 to 3 kilometers upstream against the strongest current.
The Uruguayan Navy man recruited and trained the crew. He said they do well but he can't get them to stop hanging the laundry out on the rigging when VIP's are scheduled to come on board. The best he could do was get them to hang the wash out on the stern rather than the bow where the gangplank was. It was hanging there when I was on board.
We all had lunch in what I took to be the wardroom after all the sked ceremonies were aborted. The food came out of the pantry through a small sliding door in the bulkhead and it was very good. During the meal we discussed Lincoln's foreign policy, amongst other things. Great fun that was, I felt like a character in "In Harms Way" and the boat didn't get sunk in the end.
What a job the Navy man did. He designed and supervised the construction of the boat, provided it with a competent crew and said every single step of the way was hard. Nothing came easy. This is the Congo you know. But he did it and the place is better for his being here.
He did mention though, that the Uruguayan Navy was more fun.
An NGO called Innovative Resources Manangement, IRM, was given the job of having a riverboat constructed to be used by the Independent Electoral Commission. The vessel would cruise up and down the Congo river and its' tributaries supporting the work of the Commission.
An IRM man, a 21 year veteran of the Uruguayan Navy, was given charge of this project. He found that the money available would not cover the cost of having a new vessel built in the riverboat yards here in Kinshasa. He had to think of something else.
He bought a 200 ton freight barge with a flat bottom and a pointy prow. Then he bought a number of standard cargo containers, the kind you see on the big container ships and the kind the Congolese make corner police stations out of. The containers were fitted out as berthing quarters, conference rooms, a galley etc. The tops were cut off and given raised rounded roofs. Two rows of modified containers were mounted on metal stilts and placed on either side of the barge with a passageway in the middle. The whole thing was topped with a large deck and a pilot house.
The boat is propelled by a surplus U.S. Army pontoon (as in pontoon bridge) tender. The IRM man had high praise for the pontoon tender. It is powerful, durable and pushes the whole assemblage at 2 to 3 kilometers upstream against the strongest current.
The Uruguayan Navy man recruited and trained the crew. He said they do well but he can't get them to stop hanging the laundry out on the rigging when VIP's are scheduled to come on board. The best he could do was get them to hang the wash out on the stern rather than the bow where the gangplank was. It was hanging there when I was on board.
We all had lunch in what I took to be the wardroom after all the sked ceremonies were aborted. The food came out of the pantry through a small sliding door in the bulkhead and it was very good. During the meal we discussed Lincoln's foreign policy, amongst other things. Great fun that was, I felt like a character in "In Harms Way" and the boat didn't get sunk in the end.
What a job the Navy man did. He designed and supervised the construction of the boat, provided it with a competent crew and said every single step of the way was hard. Nothing came easy. This is the Congo you know. But he did it and the place is better for his being here.
He did mention though, that the Uruguayan Navy was more fun.
posted by Carl at 2:58 AM
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