Chapter 624 - 285: The Man Who Will Become Pirate King

Gao Tiande chuckled: "I was young once too."

Li Younan blinked, and thinking about it, it seemed true. Even that old anime ’One Piece’ was enough for a young man to turn into a middle-aged guy.

Gao Tiande said: "Building a ship that can travel around the world is a completely different concept from building a car on land."

"Recruiting crew members first is directly beneficial to shipbuilding, especially in the design phase, it can make your yacht’s configuration more suited to actual usage scenarios, as the crew are the ones who will operate the yacht in the end."

"When experienced crew members get involved in the design phase, it makes the design more reasonable and practical and avoids creating designs that look good but are hard to use, reducing subsequent modification costs."

"Additionally, especially seasoned ocean sailors, they are familiar with the durability, repair difficulty, and compatibility of various nautical equipment, which is very significant for purchasing parts."

"Especially some experienced captains, they know exactly in which remote ports you can buy which parts and which engine brands are more reliable."

"After all, the biggest difference between sailing at sea and a road trip inland is that when equipment on the ship malfunctions, there isn’t always a repair shop nearby to help fix your ship."

"There are many details too, that only truly experienced crew know, like where on the deck anti-skid textures need to be added, where to install safety hook points, and even professions like chefs, if recruited in advance, can provide you with a lot of useful advice."

After listening to Gao Tiande’s advice, Li Younan felt grateful. It had to be said, if he were to figure everything out on his own, he might run into problems in these areas.

Seeing that Li Younan was listening, Gao Tiande smiled: "What size yacht are you planning to build?"

Li Younan thought for a moment, after all, he had skills in ship driving, so he had some concept of the size of a yacht.

Generally speaking, yachts are graded by length, often divided by total waterline length. Entry-level is under 20 meters, internationally 65 feet; this kind of small yacht is a pain for ocean voyages.

Next in size are medium yachts, 20 to 40 meters, which can support coastal navigation. Theoretically, yachts of this level can travel worldwide, but if you want a comfortable journey, they’re still too small.

A true ocean-going yacht is over 40 meters; with Li Younan’s finances, if he goes all-in, he can only afford to build a large yacht between 40 and 60 meters.

Beyond this size, there are highly customized superyachts.

But for Li Younan, they don’t mean much. Such yachts can carry submarines, speedboats, helicopters, and are used by the truly wealthy or national scientific research teams.

Thinking of this, Li Younan said: "Forty to sixty meters is the limit I can afford."

Gao Tiande paused for a moment, then said: "A yacht of this size is a true ocean-going yacht, capable of carrying about 10 crew members, but the construction period is about 18 to 24 months."

Hearing two years, Li Younan felt a bit disappointed. He could steer a ship, but wasn’t very clear on how a ship was built. These skills hadn’t given him the knowledge related to the manufacturing process.

That long?

Seeing Li Younan’s troubled expression, Gao Tiande’s eyebrows relaxed, and he spoke with great meaning: "There’s a well-known manufacturer in China that once overcame a financial crisis thanks to my emergency funding. That guy still owes me a favor that doesn’t need to be repaid, so this time I can ask him to help."

Li Younan hesitated for a moment.

Gao Tiande smiled slightly: "You don’t need to worry about anything. These favors, to be honest, aren’t much use to me."

"I can help you get internal cost pricing, 30% lower than the market price, and also help you get prioritized scheduling, which might cut the construction time in half."

"If everything goes smoothly, a 24-month construction period might be completed in just 12 months."

"In addition, to build a qualified yacht, you need a professional construction team. I can ask that guy to send his best engineering team over."

"Once you’ve assembled your crew, you can move on to the practical operation phase."

Seeing Gao Tiande’s offer, if Li Younan refused, it would seem a bit ungrateful and dithering.

He laughed heartily: "Then, Uncle, I won’t be shy."

Gao Tiande also laughed happily: "That’s more like it. I came over today specifically to repay a favor. If you don’t accept this offer, I would have made the trip for nothing. Time is very valuable to me."

Li Younan nodded, then asked: "But Uncle, what made you decide to climb Mount Everest? I mean, for someone of your status..."

Li Younan’s question was purely out of curiosity, as he was still far from that truly wealthy class. Though he now had cash that many ordinary people might struggle to earn in a lifetime, he still couldn’t empathize with those top-level wealthy individuals.

However, top-tier wealthy individuals climbing Mount Everest is not unheard of. For example, China’s real estate mogul Wang Shi, who managed to grow Vanke from an asset of 12 million to a market valuation of 400 billion.