I have
recently started working on a project here at Stevens Institute of Technology;
the Little Juliana Project. This project comes straight from the president and
aims to make a replica of Col. John Stevens steam boat which he made in 1804.
Our goal is to make a replica as close to the original as possible in both looks
and mechanical equipment, although we will be using new technologies and
materials to create a more operable ship. I have only been involved on in this
project for one week and I can already see how many standards we have to meet
in order to be in compliance with the several sets of requirements if we ever
want to see the fruits of our labor in terms of an operational replica of the
1804 steam ship.
The
ships mechanical components are mainly comprised of the boiler and the motor.
The motor was the project of the last semester and we are currently working on
designing and fabricating the boiler. Just in the first stages of designing we had
to consider multiple sets of standards that we have to meet when making this.
As you may have noticed, you do not see steam ships sailing up and down the
Hudson River anymore, being because they are not as efficient and somewhat dangerous
due to the actual fire that burns on the boat as its historic fuel source. Being
in the year we are in you would think that the government would not have many standards
for something that you would never consider to be relevant for the current
time. Wrong. While spending our first class thinking of designs we had to not only
consider the standards set by the coast guard for operational vessels, but also
the state of New York and New Jersey’s standards and furthermore the National standards. We have to take into account all of
these and any more states in which we may end up sailing into in order to be in
compliance. The tough part is not necessarily complying with the standards set
for an operational steam ship, but trying to comply with several sets of
standards at the same time.
Working
on this project and being in this class has certainly opened my eyes to the
sorts of complications that people can run into for everyday activities or
hobbies such as building a small ship, or rebuilding a car. This example really
only touches on the point of transportation vehicles, but I can now only
imagine what types of standards have to be met by commercial retailers of
ships, especially on something like a passenger ship where thousands of people
trust that the ship has been built correctly and maintained to standard. http://www.columbiapacificmaritime.com/files/upv_regs.pdf
is an example of a set of requirements just from the coast guard, not even
federal regulations, for a small passenger vessel and contains 52 pages of
requirements. I have a new found respect for the people who build and maintain
ships, especially commercial ships and cruise liners. The effort that must go
into a job like that is astounding and worth a great deal of respect.
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