1850 American Gold Tycoon

The San Francisco Shipyard’s dedication on the occasion of Statehood Day is big. pink

Accompanied by a sharp and piercing whistle, today's protagonist officially sailed out of the shipyard's dock through wind and waves.

The San Francisco Shipyard's Statehood Day tribute is two newly launched steamships.

One is the named Yongle-class cruise ship, which is a large cruise ship with a displacement of up to 5,000 tons.

His designer Jeremiah positioned the Yongle class as a large civilian cruise ship, mainly to meet the immigration needs of California.

The ship is 3 meters long and 4 meters wide. It is equipped with two walking beam steam engines from the Allaire factory to drive two propellers. The maximum speed can reach 11 knots and the maximum cruising range is 4800 nautical miles/8 knots. Using Hawaii as a transit point to replenish coal, it would be possible to cross the Pacific Ocean.

The Paradise-class ships also have a huge improvement in passenger capacity compared to the old ones that TWA inherited from Vanderbilt.

The ship can carry 65 first-class passengers, 106 second-class passengers and 980 steerage (third-class) passengers, as well as 110 crew members. pink

As for the other ship launched, it is a warship with a displacement of 3,300 tons. The ship was designed and built by Jeremiah and his shipbuilding team based on the design and manufacturing experience of the Bold, which took two years and three months to complete.

The ship is also powered by a walking beam steam engine from the Allaire factory.

The Allaire factory is the most well-known steam engine manufacturer in New York State. The marine steam engines produced by the factory represent the highest level of American marine steam engines.

The Allaire Factory has always had a good reputation. When Vanderbilt was still a shipping tycoon, the Allaire Factory was Vanderbilt's exclusive steam engine supplier. Even the steam engine used in Vanderbilt's personal yacht Polaris came from the Allaire factory.

In order to meet the growing shipbuilding needs in California, the Allaire factory opened a branch factory in California in 1852.

Equipped with a steam engine from the Allaire factory, the ship's endurance can reach 4,900 nautical miles/8 knots, and its maximum speed can reach 13 knots.

As for the ship's weapon system, it is an Armstrong naval gun specially customized for it by the Sacramento Arsenal. pink

Behind the two new ships are the Loach and the Audacity, two types of ships built by the San Francisco Shipyard since its establishment.

Jeremiah was an expert in shipbuilding, he was also a ship dealer and the second largest shareholder of the San Francisco Shipyard. One of the partners of Alaire Factory.

He is a person who knows how to get things done. Taking the opportunity to present a gift to the sixth anniversary of the establishment of California, Jeremiah not only did his best to invite political and business celebrities from Britain and France, but also invited some Chinese businessmen from Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang.

Jeremiah hopes to use this opportunity to obtain orders from abroad and then open up the international market.

This is not because the San Francisco Shipyard is in economic crisis. In fact, the San Francisco Shipyard is doing very well. It turned a profit in 1855.

However, since the establishment of the shipyard, in addition to Liang Yao's Global Shipping Group's own production and use, which provided valuable orders for the shipyard in its early days, and subsequent orders provided by other local shipping companies in California to the shipyard.

The shipyard's performance in the international market has been lackluster. pink

After all, California is a small place. Although the shipyards are currently prospering, the local market will one day be saturated.

If the shipyard wants to continue to grow bigger and stronger, it must open up the international market, otherwise the ceiling of the San Francisco Shipyard will not be too high.

Furthermore, the price of large cruise ships is not affordable by small local shipping companies.

On the Yongle-class cruise ship, Jeremiah carefully introduced the Yongle-class cruise ship to potential customers on the ship, hoping to sell the cruise ship.

At first, the wealthy businessmen from various countries on board showed a very strong interest in the Yongle class.

After all, the Yongle-class parameters are very good-looking, there are no false standards, and the riding experience is also very good.

When they learned the price, most people became indifferent. pink

The price of a Yongle-class cruise ship is US$430,000, although this includes training costs for crew and mechanics, as well as vessel maintenance costs for the first five years of purchase.

But the price of US$430,000 is really too expensive. You can buy a battleship at this price.

We must know that merchant ships in the mid-19th century, sailing ships still have a high market share. Philadelphia just auctioned a sailing merchant ship launched in 1851 in 1851, with a load capacity of 1,060 tons and in good condition. It sold for US$28,000.

Even taking into account depreciation, the price of a new ship will not exceed $40,000. It is less than one-tenth of the Yongle level.

What's more, as a merchant ship, sailboats also have an advantage that steamships do not have, that is, sailboats do not need to burn coal, so the cost of use is lower.

It is not easy to get a rich man to spend 430,000 US dollars to try something new. The cost of trying something new is too high.

Liang Yao was chatting with guests on the front deck of the Yongle class, while the shipyard's fleet cruised along Jinshan Bay. pink

With a displacement of 5,000 tons, the Yongle class was also a giant in San Francisco, where huge ships gathered. It was very dazzling and attracted cheers from the citizens on the shore.

Liang Yao also smiled and waved to the citizens on the shore.

Elliot, the governor of British Columbia in the British Empire, sometimes looked at the Yongle-class cruise ship at his feet, and sometimes looked at the steam battleship not far away.

Yilu's bitter face showed the mixed emotions in his heart.

Since becoming an empire on which the sun never sets, British bureaucrats have been particularly sensitive to the issue of sea power.

Yilu knows what it means to have a large cruise ship with a maximum cruising range of 4,900 nautical miles and a capacity of carrying more than a thousand people.

This means that if Liang Yao is willing, with just this ship, Liang Yao can deliver an entire regiment of troops to anywhere within 4,900 nautical miles without any supplies in the middle. Including British Columbia. pink

What's more, in addition to transport ships, Liang Yao also owns a fairly impressive fleet in the name of Umbrella Company, as well as relatively advanced-looking steam battleships.

Compared to the British, the French are much more open-minded.

"California's shipbuilding technology is advancing so fast. If it continues to develop at this rate, in a few years you won't have to buy ships from France." Trot, who came from Sarawak to support, said with a silent smile.

"It's not that California's shipbuilding technology is fast, but that Europe has long underestimated the industrial strength of the United States. I heard that your country is building a brand-new warship. Who can tell the future clearly? France is one of the top shipbuilding countries in the world. Liang Yao took out a Havana cigar, cut it and handed it to Tromoran, and asked casually.

"I heard that you moved the base of the French Navy's Pacific Fleet to Sarawak? Is it going well in Sarawak recently?"

California's shipbuilding industry has been able to achieve relatively outstanding results in a short period of time, largely based on the original foundation of the United States.

Liang Yao just pushed the American shipbuilding industry forward on this basis. pink

After taking over Vanderbilt's shipping empire and recruiting shipbuilding experts headed by Jeremiah.

Liang Yao almost controls the most advanced shipbuilding resources in the United States.

Strictly speaking, California's shipbuilding industry did not start from zero points, but from 60 points.

It is definitely easier to improve from 60 points to 70 points than from 0 points to 70 points.

Of course, it is another level of difficulty for France, like France, to catch up with Britain's 90 or even 100 points in the shipbuilding industry with 80 points.

Although France and Britain have a good relationship now, they are in the honeymoon period.

However, there were conflicts of interest between the two countries. Napoleon III's dream of making France great again destined that the honeymoon period between Britain and France would not last long. pink

The French are now building the first ironclad ship. After this ironclad ship is launched, the naval arms race among the great powers in the second half of the 19th century will officially kick off until it reaches its climax around the time of World War I.

"It's better to just do it than to be on a small island in the Pacific where it's hard to drink fresh water." Tromo accepted the cigar handed over by Liang Yao.

However, as for the new ship, this is a national secret. Before France's new warship is launched, he does not want to talk too much about this issue.

The fleet finally returned to the shipyard after circling Jinshan Bay.

Jeremiah returned to the shipyard in a very good mood.

Liang Yao smiled and asked, "I just saw you having a great chat with King Kamehameha III of Hawaii on the ship. Hawaii also wants to buy a Yongle-class cruise ship?"

"There is no demand for this in Hawaii. The King of Hawaii wants us to help him build a private yacht." Jeremiah said. pink

"Large boats are hard to sell. I tried my best to find one, but only one French businessman was willing to buy one first to test the waters. The others were very interested because of the selling price."

"It's always good to have a breakthrough." Liang Yao comforted, "If they think the price is too high, we can give them a discount in disguise."

"If the initial positioning is too low, it is easy to label manufacturing in California as cheap. American products, especially industrial products, are synonymous with cheap in Europe." Jeremiah shook his head and said.

"Besides, our boats are of high quality and advanced, and are worth the price."

"It's a disguised form of giving them a slight discount. The price remains the same, but we can give them some kerosene so they can cash in on their own," Liang Yao said.

"As long as we enter the European market and let Europeans know that California shipyards can build merchant ships that are as advanced as theirs, or even better, I think subsequent orders will be easier to win."

Jeremiah's considerations are not unreasonable. Steamships are the largest, most complex, most sophisticated, and most expensive industrial products in the world. They are one of the representatives of high-end manufacturing. pink

Setting the price too low will not only compress your profit margins, but also leave the impression of being cheap.

"This is a good idea. I will try hard to make these potential customers become loyal customers of San Francisco Shipyard." Jeremiah thought for a while and said.

"By the way, the battleship has not been named yet. We are waiting for you to come back to name the battleship. This steam battleship is the largest steam battleship in the United States. Even the Navy does not have such a large steam battleship."

What's your name? Liang Yao looked at the warship that followed the Yongle-class cruise ship as it sailed into the shipyard, its bow creating a huge wave of water on the water, and said after thinking for a moment.

"Let's call it the Julang level."