THE CHANDLER SECTIONAL RIVER BOAT

An Entirely New Type of Boat

Walker Chandler is not a naval architect, an engineer or boat builder,  but that has not deterred him from designing a new type of boat –or rather,   a multi-part boat system—that he is trying to bring to the market.  Like many designers,  he is now looking for partners in producing  and marketing  a boat he claims is “equivalent to the pickup  truck of  flat water.”

Originally from Atlanta, he is a country attorney with a canoeing background enhanced by his years as a Boy Scout and his adventures on Georgia’s rivers—all of which led to his designing  a true, sleep-aboard camping canoe.  Although not a draftsman by trade or training, over a period of thirty years he drew countless sketches of the sorts  of  boat he thought might serve the purpose,  which is to say,  one small and light enough for  car-top transport,  flat of bottom and without thwarts under which one  would necessarily lie when sleeping,  and one which could provide protection from sun and rain and which could—on top of all that,   be paddled, rowed, sailed, or motored and carry aboard  a porta-potty and the roof and side curtains necessary for privacy.  He thinks he has succeeded.   And,  oh yes:  the boat is sectional and scalable so that  depending on how many various sections  are  used, it can be configured as  a 14 foot camping boat,  a barge,  a floating, moveable  platform, a multi-seat row boat, a sail boat, a solar-powered boat, a  river patrol drone, and a pontoon bridge.

is simply called the Chandler Sectional River Boat—or CSRB   for  short.

And,  yes,  it is a sectional boat,  each  part of which  has a universal bulkhead  that prevents water and oil in one section from entering adjacent sections.  As designed, it also provides  for abundant under-floor and sidewall flotation and is narrow enough to fit upon  a standard utility trailer thereby eliminating the need for a dedicated boat trailer.  As each bulkhead is perfectly flat, the parts can be stood upon their ends for storage in garages, storage containers and warehouses, eliminating winterization issues. Numerous variations of insertable sections can be imagined—such as sections for water and fuel or sections for fish and ice storage.

Although not a patent attorney, the designer filed his own vessel hull copyright as well as a patent application—which was  granted .  But, of course in the boatbuilding industry,  all of that thought, design,  redesign and legal work is only part of the battle to have  a revolutionary new product  come on to the market.  That’s where Chandler is at now.

ABS plastic rotomolders have been contacted, but carbon fiber, aluminum or fiberglass methods might be considered.

The CSRB is designed to be a boat like no other, usable  as a  shallow-draft camping boat, an estuary and flat-water explorer, a rescue and rowing boat, day cruiser, day-sailer,  fishing boat, and  a long-range and long-term expedition and supply boat that can be motored, rowed, paddled and sailed—even dropped out of airplanes.  If properly equipped, its central  area can stay clean while providing protection from the sun, rain and insects.  It  can also provide the comforts and privacy of home so that unlike most small boats, one can look forward to whole days and nights spent upon the water without the many discomforts associated with the use of open boats.  Commercial, military, and rental uses are limited  only by the imagination.

If equipped with a remotely-controllable engine [ of between 4 and 25  hp] that provides electrical power to storage batteries, the boaters  may sit side-by-side and converse in normal tones, then switch over to the use of trolling motors to provide the sort of quiet, serene cruise that will allow better nature study and directional control.

[Inquiries may be directed to Mr. Chandler]