On the river embankment, Master Wang and a few apprentices were tinkling and pounding.

Before, Chen Fan thought that it was just a matter of simply connecting and fixing a few small boats with boat nails and planks, but when Master Wang and they started construction, they realized that they wanted to be simple.

How can the master be the same as a layman.

It seems that Chen Fan himself is also an expert?

It's just that he didn't take this small sampan that was temporarily used for a few days seriously, and thought that after the big ship was launched, he would restore these small boats, so as long as it could barely be used for a few days.

And Master Wang's idea is different.

In his eyes, this boat is used to deliver goods to the local commission, if he just gets a few planks and nails, and makes it look like a patch, how ugly will it be to drive out?

Do you want face in Lujiawan?

And this boat is going to go to the river, no matter how small the wind and waves of the Yangtze River are, there will be wind and waves, and if you only use the nails of the boat, I am afraid that it will fall apart in a few days.

So even if it's just a temporary assembled sampan, he has to find ways to make it look good and strong.

His method was to nail the joints of the six small rowing boats with nails and thick wires to form a whole, and then lay a thin layer of wood on them.

The hull of the small paddle itself is very thin, and the curvature of the hull is not large, so it is not too difficult to lay the planks.

(The small rowing boat back then was paved with a wooden plank like the bow of the boat)

This kind of plank does not need to use good wood, even the most ordinary miscellaneous wood can be used, and in order to build a big ship, Master Wang even brought back the cutting machine in the construction team. After receiving the task from the brigade headquarters, it only took half a day to prepare the wooden planks and the thick wire pulled back from the construction team, and now just lay them on top.

The strength of the men was great, and in a short time the hull of the ship was strengthened and the planks were laid.

If you don't look below, if you look at it from above, it seems to be a big ship that is nearly two meters wide and 10 meters long.

It's just a little thinner.

Then everyone worked together to carefully push the big boat sideways into the river along the turf on the outer embankment.

This was not over, and without waiting for the boat to stabilize down, Master Wang went on the boat again to check, walking smoothly from beginning to end on the slightly undulating river, and even jumped into the water to see the situation below, to make sure that all the planks and joints were not loose, and then took people to install the mast and canvas.

When Chen Fan saw this scene, he knew that his suggestion was in vain.

Didn't you see that they were ready for a long time, otherwise how would these things come about?

Since the main power of this ship is a diesel paddle machine, this sail is not large, but only plays an auxiliary role, and the installation position is also in the bow, which will not have much impact on cargo shipment.

The main reason for installing this sail is to save fuel, and if it is smooth sailing when you come back, you can even come back without starting the diesel engine and raising the sail.

There was a busy boat over there, so Chen Fan squatted on the river embankment to observe and study.

He is not lazy, the main thing is that his task has been completed, the diesel engine lying next to him and the paddle machine that has been assembled are his job, and the rest has to wait for the ship to be assembled.

After more than half an hour, Master Wang stood on the boat and shouted to Chen Fan, "Teacher Chen, the boat is ready, you can come and see if it's okay." ”

Chen Fan stood up, "It's here." ”

Then he shouted to the person next to him, "Come and have a master help lift it." ”

Four people were immediately shouted at a loud voice, and without his hands, the diesel paddle machine was lifted onto the boat.

As soon as Chen Fan boarded the bow of the boat, Master Wang came over and said with a smile, "Teacher Chen, take a look, how is it?" ”

He turned to the boat and introduced, "The hull below is nailed with nails, and on the long side, more than a dozen nails are used between each two boats, and 8 are used for the wide surface, and even the bottom of the boat is reinforced with thick wires, so that it will not shake as much as possible."

Then the top was laid with planks and nailed firmly, so that as long as the thick wire below did not fall off and the planks above did not crumble, the boat would not fall apart. And then there is this small mast, which can be controlled by one person, and it is relatively simple, just learn it for a day and a half.

In the early years, many fishermen in our team went out to fish in this kind of small sailboat, and the fishing boat was equipped with this kind of small mast, which was simple and easy to use. ”

Chen Fan looked at the canvas they had raised and tried to control it.

This thing is really simple, like Robinson's own small sailboat, just a wooden pole hung with a canvas, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and a bamboo pole in the middle to prop the cloth apart, and two ropes hanging from the pole at the top can control the direction.

It can also be controlled directly by pulling the pole in the middle.

Anyway, the focus is on a humble one!

However, no matter how simple it is, it is also a sail, and after it is raised, it can still reduce the burden on the diesel engine.

At this moment, a gust of wind blew on the river, and the sails immediately puffed up, and the boat slowly sailed away from the riverbank.

Chen Fan was not in a hurry, tried to find the direction slowly, took the boat to twist and twist in the river for a short time, and returned to the shore to park again.

Master Wang looked at him with surprise on his face, "Have you learned to sail before?" ”

Chen Fan shook his head with a smile, "No, it's quite simple." ”

Master Wang couldn't help but be speechless, no matter how simple this thing is, it is a bit difficult, especially when the water and wind are against the wind, the sails are not good, and there is a danger of capsizing every minute.

He had been guarding Chen Fan's side just now, just because he was afraid that Chen Fan would make the boat spin around without holding the sails, but he didn't expect Chen Fan to spin around by himself.

Chen Fan looked at Master Wang and smiled, "This thing is quite easy to use." ”

Then he walked to the stern, "I'll install the oarscrew first, and then try the boat." ”

Master Wang followed him over and said with a smile, "It's ready, there is an extra wooden board at the tail, and a pair of steel frames are fixed, and the steel frame sticks out a section to the outside to place the diesel engine." ”

(Paddle Boat)

Soon walked to the stern, Chen Fan first looked at the tailframe, and he had a count in his heart.

Then assemble the diesel engine and the paddle engine.

Since the front cabin is a flat ground, three or four layers of cages may be superimposed in the future, so people need to stand and master the steering stick, so this steering rod is lengthened, even if you sit on a high chair more than one meter high, it will not affect the control.

After installing the paddle carrier, the main body of the boat is ready.

As for installing guardrails, preparing anchors, tarpaulins, mast lights, etc., just add them slowly.

Chen Fan added a pot of oil to the diesel engine, and with the violent roar, the river below immediately surged, and there was a faint thrust to push the boat forward.

The direction system used in the simplest paddle carrier, and even the thrusters of multi-ton ships used by water transport companies, is "reversed".

That is, if the boat is going to the left, the lever or rudder is going to the right, and vice versa.

Chen Fan held the control lever, stood proudly at the stern, adjusted the gear of the paddle machine, and the propeller that was still idling just now immediately received a thrust, and the big boat drove out steadily.

More than a dozen carpenters stand on the deck, either with their hands crossed or their arms outstretched, enjoying the rare cool river breeze.

Master Wang stood beside Chen Fan, smiling from ear to ear, and after a while, he turned his head to look at Chen Fan and said with a smile, "How about this boat?" ”

Chen Fan smiled and gave a thumbs up, "It's very stable." ”

Although due to the limitation of diesel engine horsepower, the speed of the ship may be less than 40 miles, which cannot be compared with the assault boat installed in a single small boat, but this speed is enough to run the prefectural committee and the county seat, and it takes more than two hours to run a trip.

Master Wang sighed lightly and said, "It's a pity, the bottom is still not good, it's just a few small rows put together, even if it is reinforced, if it doesn't matter, at most two or three months, the ship nails and wires will begin to loosen, or within half a year, the boat will fall apart."

Therefore, for the sake of safety, it is necessary to maintain at least once a week, mainly to check the falling off of the nails and wires, and then the loosening of the surface planks, so that it may last a little longer. ”

This is the same as the bamboo raft in the scenic spot, they also need to be maintained at least once a week to check whether the bamboo joints are loose, and they are always new and safe.

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, "Safety first, this is as it should be." ”

He steered the boat in the middle of the river, looked at the water on both sides, and said with a smile, "But wait another month, the renovation of the old boat of the water transport company will be completed, and the boat can be retired." ”

Master Wang felt a little sad when he heard this, he stepped on the plank under his feet, and said with a wry smile, "Actually, this boat is okay, but we didn't think about this aspect before, and we didn't need this aspect." ”

He looked at the boiling river and sighed softly, "Actually, if you build a big boat like this and go to the river to fish, you can get a lot more." ”

There is no diesel engine, and sails can also be installed, but Lujiawan can meet the food and clothing by planting rice, and there is no urgent requirement for fishing, in addition, the Bailang Lake brigade below is specialized in raising fish, and every household here is not short of fish to eat, why waste so much effort to get a big boat to fish?

Chen Fan frowned slightly, looked at the slowly moving river embankment, and thought if he really wanted to idle this boat in a month?

After a while, he looked at the green smoke rising from the village in front of him, his eyes suddenly lit up, he turned his head to look at Master Wang, and said, "Master Wang, when the big ship arrives, let's renovate this ship, add a roof to the cabin, and get dozens of seats to be fixed on the deck, how about it as a passenger ship?" ”

Master Wang hesitated for a moment and said, "Technically, there must be no problem, the roof of the shed is made of palm leaves, the shed is made of bamboo, which is lighter, and the chairs can be made of bamboo chairs or bamboo benches, these are all fine, but the problem is ,......."

He looked at Chen Fan puzzled, "Who are you going to sit on?" ”

Nanhu Commune has two ferries in the east and west, which is the self-reserved land of the ferry management office, is it difficult to grab business with them?

At that time, don't talk about you, Mr. Chen, even if the commune secretary comes, it won't work, the business of this ferry port is gone, which means that the ferry management office has no meaning of existence, and it's strange that people don't get mad.

The next second, he heard a very unexpected answer.

Chen Fan smiled and said, "Sit down for the students of our village elementary school." If you think about it, the village is in the 10th team, and the students in the first few teams are okay, they are all relatively close. If we use this boat to pick them up, we can get all of them to school if we turn all the way around.

Although it doesn't save much time, it allows students to walk less, and they can learn while on the boat, which is not a double win. ”

When Master Wang heard this, he couldn't help but laugh dumbly, "You have to go around in a big circle by boat, so it's better to set up a few carriages and let them all wait by the side of the village road, so that they can pull all the way over." ”

Chen Fan was right to think about it, although the carriage can't pull too many people, but those who are close can go directly by themselves, and if they can't have two more cars, it is better than consuming diesel.

He shrugged his shoulders and said with a smile, "In case it doesn't work, let's apply to the commune at that time to open a water passenger route from Nanhu to Yunhu and Gufeng County, and if you want to go there, go to Team 5 to buy tickets, and we'll send them over." ”

"That's not going to work."

Master Wang laughed and said, "If we do this job, it will be the turn of the passenger transport company to go crazy, how comfortable it is to take the boat, and the time will not be long, when the time comes, they will all come to our boat, who will take their car?" ”

Chen Fan was speechless when he heard it, so he simply waved his hand, "Then let's talk about it then, it's a big deal that in the future, let's raise more chickens and ducks, and pack the chickens and ducks of the other four brigades, and the three boats are not enough to transport, and we have to build ships again." ”

Master Wang was immediately happy, "It's still this reliable point." I heard that there was a three-masted sailing ship in front of the building of the water transport company of the local committee, which was the first ship of their company. ”

Chen Fan couldn't help laughing when he heard this, "Ouch, you still know this, I went to the prefectural committee twice, and I haven't heard of it yet." Then you have to give this ship a name first, or someone will ask later, what is this number? Let's say that there is no name, doesn't that seem uneducated? ”

Master Wang was only joking with him now, and said with a smile, "Naming this kind of thing must be determined by a cultural person like you, when you come up with a good name, I will get you a good piece of wood to engrave and nail it to the side of this ship, how about it?!" ”

Shall I come up with a name?

Chen Fan thought that the rolling Yangtze River was full of water, and couldn't help but gasp, and said modestly, "How can I be a junior to name it, it's better to go back and ask Secretary Yang to decide." ”

When Master Wang heard this, he couldn't help but nod his head thoughtfully, "Teacher Chen is still humble!" ”

Chen Fan smiled and looked left and right, "Hey, where is this?" ”

Master Wang stretched out his hand to build a shed and looked into the distance, and faintly saw the river turning in front of him, and couldn't help but change his face slightly, "Yo, it seems that there is 1 team in front, and this place should be 2 teams." ”

In such a short period of time, have all 3 teams run?

Chen Fan's eyes rolled slightly, "It's all here, just run around Lujiawan, transfer to Team 6 and go back." ”

Master Wang's face was speechless for a moment, you have nothing to do, we have to go back to work.

However, what Mr. Chen said is also right, everything is here, and it is okay to take a turn.

(End of chapter)