On the Design and Construction of Military and First Responder Aluminum Boats

摘要

Aluminum is a commonly used material for military and first responder craft, especially those between 6 and 24 meters. The main reason for this is that compared to the recreational boat market, the military and quasi-military boat market is very small and the range of missions is large, from boats intended to work Aids to Navigation on inland rivers to surf capable boats for use in the most severe conditions any boat might experience. This implies that extensive customization and design for mission is required to produce a cost effective boat. The advent of computerized design and cutting has greatly reduced the cost of aluminum construction such that in certain applications, aluminum construction is cost effective on a limited production or custom basis as well as for series production, and that is the reason why aluminum one-off boats are common in commercial service. I have accumulated a range of more or less random information on the design and construction of these boats, mainly in the 20-65 foot range, for commercial and military use. None of this information is particularly novel, but it may be a useful compilation for other designers. I also have to confess to a substantial degree of self-plagiarization; much of this paper is gathered from other papers or articles covering specific topics that I wanted to bring together and correlate.