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How much do you think the "Condos" will end up costing?
The article says 25k to 50k but I am betting the price goes up. I would almost be tempted to buy one and use it for vacations :)

But I want to see it finished, I would not pre-buy into this.

https://news.bitcoin.com/crypto-cruise-ship-satoshi/

I wish Elwar success with this project but:

• What's the monthly fee?
• "Condo" is a huge overstatement for those cabins - anyone who's been on a cruise ship knows.
• The cabin isn't why people go on cruises so it really depends on what else will be offered on board.

I agree that pricing doesn't look right unless the "homeowner's association fee" is like two grand a month.

agreed on all points! We always get a balcony room but that is so we can have the breeze and hear the waves at night - we are never in the room during the day.

And based on cruise ship room sizes, I do not see this as something someone would want to live in on a permanent basis. Would need like 3 adjacent rooms and then complete remodel of the space of these 3 rooms to be a solid small "condo".

It's a cool concept, even having the potential to create a fleet if it were to catch on. That is before this damn pesky global pandemic hit. I'm of course just assuming that when the ship is docked individuals would be allowed to come and go as they please. Not to mention the fact that they state some cabins will operate as vacation rentals. A year ago, I wouldn't have a bad thing to say about the idea, as long as the population was set at a fraction of what cruiselines normally carry and you can still feel like you can find a space to yourself, outside your cabin it'll probably be a hit. For those that can afford it, as most people probably can't pack up and take residence while still maintaining a job.

No one can predict the future, but present actions tell me there is a decent chance this isn't the last time I'll see an event like this in my lifetime.

The ship was last renovated in 2017 AFAIK and they're claiming it will be in operation in January after acquiring it in November and it still needs to sail to Panama... what I'm saying is that it probably won't be reconfigured from its 700+ cabin capacity. Again, more details would be nice and I think Elwar was posting about it in WO so perhaps someone could dig it up... or ask him to comment here.

Good point, I found 2 of his posts that were more descriptive. Sounds like my work issue could almost be solved as they discuss a "Factory Barge" for his company's other projects. More surprising to me is he is mentioning possibly only a few hundred dollars/month I'm assuming condo fees.

You have it right about capacity, sounds as though it will be 700+ units.

I would like to see them consolidate multiple rooms (if someone was to buy multiple perhaps this could be an option) then the ship would be less crowded. Also, the cost might be down because not everything would be free like a typical cruise ship - you wont eat free all day long for zero cost - yes, they can have the food available but instead you now have to pay for it. They might not do all the room cleaning for free, you might have to do it yourself or pay them.

I see it less and less like a cruise ship and a instead like a small floating city idea.

Hey guys, yes it will not be so much like your typical cruise. We're even trying to come up with another term than "cruise ship" since it will be stationary. You will need to pay for the things you utilize on the ship (electric, water, food, entertainment, etc.). I agree, it is more like a very small town.

Many people think they would get bored quickly but you have to remember that when you are on a cruise, you're not working and you're scrambling to do every little thing during your one week that you can hardly take a break leaving you needing a vacation after your vacation when you get home.

But if you're working every day, busy, etc. things will become a lot less boring. As most people were stuck in their apartments for the past 6 months, if they were able to go out and go to a restaurant that would be a step up from the isolation.

I like to think of each cabin as your bedroom as suchmoon mentioned. The rest of the ship is your living space.

It will likely not be for everyone. That's why we're targeting young folks, perhaps fresh out of college or around there. When I lived in my first apartment it was just big enough for my bed. But I lived next to campus where I spent my day. It is certainly not a 3000 sqft McMansion so we're not targeting people that need that to be happy.

My goal is to keep the prices down. We want this ship filled quickly so we can buy our next one while the prices are low.

We are likely selling way below what they can go for but we're more enthusiastic about making this work than making big bucks. Every one of the investors could lose the money they put into this and not be too affected. We are in this for the bigger picture.

As for the idea of joining 2 or 3 rooms. We're working with the insurance company and will consult with the engineers but I am all for customers buying 2-3 adjoining rooms and opening some walkways. Our main engineer said it mainly depends upon if there is a bulkhead between the rooms, and we need to look into it more but at the very least, a door between rooms should be possible for most cabins. There are already several with that feature.

For monthly maintenance fee. That is something I am working with our ship management company, Columbia Cruise Services, to determine the monthly cost to maintain it. They have given me an estimate which is quite high but it is based upon a normal cruise. We are running the numbers and I believe we can get the number down to a reasonable amount so people can live there without needing to be super rich.

Part of that monthly maintenance will be covered by the rent we charge for the commercial areas. Bars, restaurants, shops, etc. Again, I want to keep prices down because I want people to live there so if you have to pay $50 for every meal it's not viable. To make up for no kitchens in the rooms we're giving all residents 20% off at the restaurants. This passes some of that cost on to tourists.

We'll have each restaurant have buffet options if people want to pay for a meal plan. My wife plans on opening a small Thai restaurant in the food court which will have a few items that would be on the buffet plan which she would be compensated for with her share of the meal plan payments. She would choose some more common foods as "all you can eat" while keeping some specialty/expensive items as optional pay-as-you-go items.

The ship is currently in the Mediterranean. Our engineer just left here (Panama) on Friday and will finally be able to board the ship in 2 days after a lot of travel and quarantines. He will stay on until we finish the purchase November 4th, then work with the new crew to sail it here to Panama where it will be anchored.

I hope Bitcoin enthusiasts come live on the ship and test out new tech in a micro economy where we can try new things to see how well it works in every day life.

Register online, auction begins November 5th.
https://ocean.builders/cruiseship

If it was plausible with being away from most of my family in the states, I would so want to do this lol

might be worth it to buy one for vacations though.

I saw someone was already updating the wiki page.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_(ship) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_(ship))

I find this project incredibly interesting and am looking forward to the details and auction.

Hello. I was just checking https://ocean.builders/shares/, where Minimum share amount is $10,000 payable in BTC. I'd like to know how much dividend per share worth $10,000 is expected to generate per year? Any rough estimate available? Also, will purchasing share require KYC if paid in BTC?

The shares are not a speculative or investment instrument.

They are shares of a SeaPod. If 30 people buy a share worth $10,000 they can buy a $300,000 SeaPod and split ownership.

I like those pods, wish I could put one of the land ones on my 3 acres. but way out of my price range. But I still like them a lot.

Nice work if you can get it!

Sadly way out of my price bracket. In another lifetime, perhaps.

P.S. Do you need an entertainment manager?

I remember a scene from a documentary that the biggest challenge in cruises is not maintenance or catering but keeping people entertained so they don't get bored but this ain't really a cruise ship more like a novelty hotel, and people who would go on that kind of vacation probably don't do more than sleep, drink and enjoy the sun and the sea, and sometimes do some remote work.

Still, there is one thing I'm curious about, knowing what happened last year in Thailand, why Panama?
I understand that the weather and sea conditions are good there, but are you sure you won't piss off another moronic government that has nothing better to do?
Good luck with the project!

I love the idea, and everything seems reasonable. Given the limited information I know I see this filling up with somewhat wealthy individuals to start. I say this because the first thing someone like me needs to look for is work. Sure I could come up with 25K, plus a bit to survive a few months by selling my home and cutting ties with a mortgage and whatnot. After a few months without employment in my field, I'd be begging for meals.

Others it would work for are possibly the online gig economy assuming it's feasible to get consistent high speed internet access. Someone like my wife teaches online ESL from home, and could carry on the work, or in-person style tutoring if the market was there. Obviously there will be some "maintenance" staff, but I don't imagine there are a lot of positions. This is more the end of things that I'm curious about, as I read your company is considering opening a plant near the vessel, which could also open up a small amount I imagine.

This project essentially needs to mimic a small working class town to be viable, and towns go down pretty fast if there isn't regional employment.

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Apart from that being a ship, how fast could it pull anchor and move. Less concerned with the Panama government all of a sudden caring what the wealthy are up to, and more so thinking tropical storms. Have you developed ERP's to leave the region should there be signs of a destructive storm headed your way?

Great points and part of the whole point of the ship was so that we have a place to house all of the employees for the manufacturing of future floating platforms. This is just the springboard for something bigger.

I know the big question on everyone's mind is "what is the monthly fee". I have a good estimate which should be reasonable but I'm not throwing out numbers that may make people upset if I have to change them once we get more solid numbers. I am in talks with the ship management company on estimates on their end. Remember, we are going to be renting the commercial space. If I could pay all of the maintenance fees through those payments I would but it appears that there is some overflow that needs to be covered by room fees (there is a trade off between having businesses that are so expensive that you can't afford to eat vs raising the monthly fee).

We chose Panama, especially the Gulf of Panama, due to its geographic location outside of the hurricane and tropical storm zone.

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/images/1851_2017_allstorms_sm.jpg

Though we are currently headquartered on the Caribbean side of Panama, we had to move to the Pacific side due to the path of storms.

As for emergencies, we will ensure that we are at all times able to lift anchor or release the mooring and move the ship.

It's happening!

May I present...the MS Satoshi (https://oceanbuilders.com/cruiseship).

https://scontent.fpac1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/124194357_10157601153876179_7478327214567973118_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&ccb=2&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=VAST7oFfJ0MAX9fOu2k&_nc_ht=scontent.fpac1-2.fna&oh=da5c60a40d497bbfe12242ad411088bd&oe=5FCCE100

As for monthly fees, we have those listed here: https://vivavivas.com/faq

I would love to do it but my wife will not lol she doesnt want to leave FL where so many of our children and grandchildren live

Damn it looks awesome, I love the whole idea! I wish I'm decade younger, wouldn't think twice!

That is a beaut. Hope everything has been going well with the auction of units and goal of getting operating costs down.

I did get curious the more I pipe dreamed this. What is the law enforcment on board and/or overall justice system situation going to be like. I'm fairly ignorant to maritime law and how the legal lines blur when inside a countries waters, and/or flying a flag from another country (I'm assuming you still have to do this). Just more random thoughts as I think about life on a floating city.

I'd have never tought I'd ever answer this in a Bitcoin forum, but what a funny thing; iy's going to happen. I'll try to give the short answer tough.

Legal lines are defined based on the distance from the coastline; so you have 3 different zones before reaching international water: coastal water, territorial waters (coastal to 12 miles) and the Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) (12-200 miles). I'm also writing this by heart in the middle of a lecture, so some definitions may change a bit from the actual ones; but that's not the point...

Since coastal and territorial waters are the one real close to shore, they are of no importance to this thread, except for when the ship is going to port. This cruise will most likely operate on International waters. Taxes and law enforcement agencies can still board your ship and even detain it inside the EEZ, and that wouldn't be very good for our felow crypto enthusiasts.

Once outside the EEZ, International waters, the laws and regulations from the flag state are still applied; and are actually the only ones applied and are enforced mostly by the crew and any private security that may be hired. It's the closest one will ever get when a captain was the judge, police and a couple more things; that no longer happen in practice. There's a small issue I see to this tough; and it's the actual depth of the international waters.

Many people may not be aware of that, but ships can't actually anchor anyway; the lenght of the required chain to anchor in a 400 meter depth area would be too big, with the weigh that would have, so ships can only anchor in rather shallow areas. Knowing that, I'm prone to believe that the ship would be left adrift most of the time, which raises a couple of flags inside of me from a navigational security standpoint. Fuel consumption will be huge too; so some sort of hybrid clean energy plant would be a great idea to reduce the amount of electricity that the diesel generators would need to produce.

And even if this last part is mostly speculative, I can always be corrected; because we are all here to learn new stuff (or at least I hope so).

PS: Starting to speculate.... setting up a mining farm close to the keel might be a good idea here. The only downside is that the electricity would be supplied by the generators (and that costs fuel), and that the satellit internet is not usually the best of the best. Otherwise, you have a huge area that would have a great natural refrigeration system; you could just set up some lines and with a "small" pump, keep the water running so that it never overheats...

The ship will be close to shore near Panama City.

We will not be a seagoing vessel which eliminates about 25 international maritime treaties that we would be subject to otherwise.

We hope to create a special economic zone in the water but I cannot promise that at such an early stage. Though we have the full support of the Panama government.

With cabins starting at $25,000...what are you waiting for?

https://oceanbuilders.com/auction-page

The only event I recall happening in Thailand involving cruise ships (this year) is that they turned one away from docking because they were scared that passengers with coronavirus were onboard. There must be something I'm missing here. Did Thailand pull off some fines or restrictions on cruise ships last year? Would appreciate someone explaining the situation.


How do sailing ships manage to put up with all those treaties?  :o

An interesting and unusual idea. I would like to stay there for a while, but living there for at least a couple of months is torture, in my opinion. Sea rolling on the ship, small cabins, limited walking space - all these are the disadvantages of this venture.

if anyone moves in, can you please post pictures of your move in here?