1,000 boats to push flood waters October 11

BANGKOK: -- On October 11, a fleet of some 1,000 boats would help push water from the Chao Phraya River into the sea fast, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said Saturday.

At the boat project launch held at Nonthaburi's Pakkred Pier with 40 boats attending, Plodprasop said that this voluntarybase project would help drain water three times faster, from two knots to six knots, and prevent floodwater from pouring into Bangkok City.

He said the 1,000boat fleet would push water down to the sea on October 11, as to help lower flood in the Chao Phraya Riverside provinces such as Sing Buri, Angthong and Ayutthaya.

-- The Nation 2011-10-08

A stupid idea is not getting better when you repeat it every day...

ummm...what about the left and right sides of the river?

Hope those soi dogs know how to surf....This really has to be the stupidest thing I've heard during the 15 years I've been in LOS.

You'd have to be travelling at the speed of sound for it to be effective.

Where's the moron smiley when you need it?

I really hope they put some measuring devices out there so this can be verified or busted. Of course it would help if the results were honest.

The idea sounds dumb but at a certain scale it has a chance. If you put 100 boats in a small canal and they all went full throttle, you would expect the water to speed up.

But I doubt you can have any measurable effect on a large river with 1000 boats

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

An anagram of Plodprasop is Sad Plop Pro.

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

No it is not feasible. The PTP minister is a laughing-stock on forums all over Thailand and most especially Thai language forums.

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

No it is not feasible. The PTP minister is a laughing-stock on forums all over Thailand and most especially Thai language forums.

Laughing stock all over Thailand ? Methinks soon he will achieve that on the world stage.

What's next, turn your desk fans against the wind when a hurricane hits?

What's next, turn your desk fans against the wind when a hurricane hits?

You're not paying attention. You turn your desk fan with the wind, so the hurricane will finish more quickly. Disable the oscillating mechanism for best results.

How deep is the river I wonder when it is at full flood. At best 1000 boats tied in place and turning their props will assuredly increase the flow of water where the boats actually are but how far in front and behind them will it have much affect. the energy will be dissipated pretty quickly I would imagine and in any case not affect the full depth of water. If you had boats in sets across the river turning their props spaced about 100m apart then maybe some effect would be noticed - but this river is very long and you would need 1,000 boats every mile or so to have any chance. This is just a non starter and I wonder where the 'scientific' analysis has come from the Science Minister must undoubtedly be relying on. Not sure this minister is in the right ministry!

I always wondered what happened to Baldrick and his "Cunning Plans" after he left Black Adder.

Now all I need to know is how he got Thai citizenshi.

Who is more crazy?

The person proposing these stupid ideas or the people who put him in charge?

Now the hub of innovative technology

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

No it is not feasible. The PTP minister is a laughing-stock on forums all over Thailand and most especially Thai language forums.

Any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid.

— Archimedes of Syracuse

1000 floating objects traveling in the same direction at the same time displace their combined weight of fluid upwards and outwards.

____cup-O-coffee of Thailand

What will really be laughable is that the water will indeed move in a direction and at a greater rate, but I suspect not in the direction hoped for. The force of 1000 boats and their inertia will cause more displaced water to flow over the embankments and into the public sector due to 1,000 boats moving into the area.

The wake alone, as they plow downstream will also create havoc. They are not bring the flow with them because they will be going faster than the flow, and instead be slicing the water and grading it to the left and the right. The water being pushed to the left and the right will not be able to recede back because of the string of wakes by the follow on boats adding to the outward push or force of the lateral displacement.

If you ever sat in a canoe when a slow moving, larger boat trawled by, you'll get an idea. Now multiply that times 1000. Anyway, we'll find out come October 11.

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

No it is not feasible. The PTP minister is a laughing-stock on forums all over Thailand and most especially Thai language forums.

Any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid.

— Archimedes of Syracuse

1000 floating objects traveling in the same direction at the same time displace their combined weight of fluid upwards and outwards.

____cup-O-coffee of Thailand

What will really be laughable is that the water will indeed move in a direction and at a greater rate, but I suspect not in the direction hoped for. The force of 1000 boats and their inertia will cause more displaced water to flow over the embankments and into the public sector due to 1,000 boats moving into the area.

The wake alone, as they plow downstream will also create havoc. They are not bring the flow with them because they will be going faster than the flow, and instead be slicing the water and grading it to the left and the right. The water being pushed to the left and the right will not be able to recede back because of the string of wakes by the follow on boats adding to the outward push or force of the lateral displacement.

If you ever sat in a canoe when a slow moving, larger boat trawled by, you'll get an idea. Now multiply that times 1000. Anyway, we'll find out come October 11.

You missed one part of this stunning plan. He plans to tow the boats to bridges, piers, whatsoever before they turn on their engines full throttle to waste thousands of liters of diesel.

This is really sad. For the sake of Bangkok residents I hope the government isn't relying just on this plan to alleviate the flood waters....

Cayenne, I am sure prayers have been addressed to the correct recipients too.

I've been reading about this, but is this idea even feasible? Will it actually speed up the outflow or will it just create dangerous waves that crash against the river bank?

It sounds like a pilot telling a bunch of passengers about to crash to start flapping their arms.

No it is not feasible. The PTP minister is a laughing-stock on forums all over Thailand and most especially Thai language forums.

Any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid.

— Archimedes of Syracuse

1000 floating objects traveling in the same direction at the same time displace their combined weight of fluid upwards and outwards.

____cup-O-coffee of Thailand

What will really be laughable is that the water will indeed move in a direction and at a greater rate, but I suspect not in the direction hoped for. The force of 1000 boats and their inertia will cause more displaced water to flow over the embankments and into the public sector due to 1,000 boats moving into the area.

The wake alone, as they plow downstream will also create havoc. They are not bring the flow with them because they will be going faster than the flow, and instead be slicing the water and grading it to the left and the right. The water being pushed to the left and the right will not be able to recede back because of the string of wakes by the follow on boats adding to the outward push or force of the lateral displacement.

If you ever sat in a canoe when a slow moving, larger boat trawled by, you'll get an idea. Now multiply that times 1000. Anyway, we'll find out come October 11.

You missed one part of this stunning plan. He plans to tow the boats to bridges, piers, whatsoever before they turn on their engines full throttle to waste thousands of liters of diesel.

Plus there aren't really any deep draft river vessels with large, ducted screws here in Thailand. It will create turbulence at best.

No, this is not the only thing that is planned. They are having a ceremony to ask for mercy from the Water Goddess!

This alone should be grounds for impeachment of the minister as it undoubtedly doesn't have the qualifications of heading the ministry of Science... for heaven's sake!

Just in case somebody is bored on this lovely Saturday evening.

"Flow Dynamics in Open Channels and Rivers"

River Flow.pdf

This is the land contour from north of Auttaya South to the bay. A flood control channel although expensive would protect all of the communities south of it's inlet if sized appropriately. The slope shows it would be a very simple construction project. It would not need to be a concrete structure. The first southern 75 km stretch would protect Bangkok and the rest of the northerly section would protect Auttaya. If they were serious about flood control they have to invest in more than the gasoline for motorboat taxis. The path of the channel could be adjusted to minimize impact on the public and as it would remain dry during the major portion of the year could be crossed in many places without bridges. The laminar flow would transport water very quickly from the north to the bay. The extreme northern inlet could be located close to Pa Mok and the inlet south could be located close to Ratchakham.

Bring back khun T, the man who thinks ha can walk on water, he fix it in no time and soon all will be milionaires, remember he promised.

The series of shots shows the construction of LA's flood control channel, it's finished operation during non flood periods, and fully functioning during flood conditions. The bottom shot show a channel which is not lined with concrete.

Probably the biggest problem with this approach is how to incorporate the many irrigation canals the channel would intersect during it's path to the bay. But with appropriate forethought I am sure this could be addressed. Avoiding major water paths as in the pic below would likely be a requirement. This of course is a long term solution. It is likely to late for realistically addressing the current flooding situation with any workable solution.

At the boat project launch held at Nonthaburi's Pakkred Pier with 40 boats attending, Plodprasop said that this voluntarybase project would help drain water three times faster, from two knots to six knots, and prevent floodwater from pouring into Bangkok City.

So, boats somehow push water in such a way that it flows three times faster than before. With lots of water in front of those boats still flowing somewhat slower we will get the water spilling over the banks of the Chao Phraya flooding BKK suburbs left and right.

Surely even if the bed of the Chao Phraya was still followed with water already flowing as a higher speed, an increase of the flow would cause erosion and be possibly catastrophic to the banks of the river especially since it has all these nice curves.

Luckily the effect of this boat project will be almost nihil, so don't worry folks

come on guys cut them some slack, they are just trying to look likre they are doing something since they can really do nothing at this point in time. I think give all the residence in Bangkok a paddle and tell them to go down to the river and start paddling this should speed up the river as well.

Wow, this is the best idea ever. Why don't they put all the monks into the river and tell them to kick with their feet. This way they don't have to waste fuel at least.

i have a better ide................

we get 1000 boats to collect 1000 buckets of water from the river every day and go out into the ocean and drop it there.

I have patened this idea in case you try to copy me and I will get a percentage of every bucket collected.

Next problem, please

A lovely way of stiffling discussion about the government antics, well done phiphidon.

Nothing to stop you discussing about government antics. I'd just thought I'd help out before anybody said something they might regret. I posted the exact same article in a thread about this before, however some people then just couldn't help themselves. Sometimes it's worth putting a bit of effort into investigating a subject before sticking your oar in, so to speak, and I'm not addressing this to you AleG.

Antic discussion begin..............