Thai Flood Update - 2 Boats donated, design available free

by Narumon Juthaprateep on 15 Nov 2011 Andaman Boatyard, a leading Thai boat builder and Kipsan Beck, Chief Marketing Officer of PACE Development Corporation PLC., handed over the first two prototype boats, worth Bht 150,000, to help victims of the Thai floods to Ruamkatanyu Foundation, sponsored by PACE Development.

This year's flooding in Thailand has been one of the worst on record, with more than eight million people affected, including large portions of the country's capital, Bangkok. Businesses and homes have seen anything from 1 - 3m of water, with the most devastation affecting the areas 100-200km north of Bangkok such as Ayuttaya province. As one of Thailand's largest rescue foundations, Ruamkatanyu have been providing rescue kits, food, water and medical supplies to areas only accessible by boat for the last three months; the addition of two new boats allows the foundation to provide more aid to affected Thais.

The boat is designed by Andaman Boatyard and Kipsan Beck, a well known Shaw 650 sportsboat sailor in Thailand. The new, innovative construction is very simple using pre cut plywood and fibreglass with a boat taking only three days to build. The boat is very stable, and may be powered by paddles or an engine, capable of carrying 8-12 people at one time. PACE Development supported the innovative boat by donating two prototype boats to Ruamkatanyu Foundation to be used to deliver relief supplies to families stranded in flooded areas.

'While Andaman Boatyard usually specialises in high quality bespoke boat construction and production composite boats, with this design we hope that affected flooded areas can help themselves by building this very simple basic boat using readily available materials,' said Luigi Innamorati, Owner of Andaman Boatyard. 'Besides the boats donated by PACE, there are already several of these boats under construction around Thailand, and plans remain free to anyone wishing to build themselves.'

Andaman Boatyard and Kipsan Beck will provide free sets of plans to individuals and non-profit organisations wishing to construct their own boats. There are two sizes, approximately 8 X 16 feet, and 6 X 12 feet, and the design is easily scalable to other sizes. People can construct the boats themselves using readily available materials and tools. Alternatively, Andaman Boatyard can also provide precut kits or completed boats at a reasonable price.

For further informantion contact Andaman Boatyard:
TEL. +66 (0)38 70 60 60 or email info(at)andamanboatyard.com