The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1925-12-11
READY TO BUILD ALL !
STEEL FREIGHT BOATS
Elizabeth City Concern Has Plans For A
Large and Unique Ship Building
Industry

Will Elizabeth City have one
OF the largest and most unique
shipbuilding industries on the
South Atlantic Seaboard, Civ
ing employment to large
force OF skilled workers? There
is such a prospect and here are
the facts about it.
The Elizabeth City Iron Works &
Supply Co., owned and operated by
the Sanders brothers, have one OF
the best equipped marine railways
and small ship building plants In
the South. The concern has had
phenomenal success with its present
force and equipment and already
has the largest payroll Of any In
dustry in Elizabeth City.
For the past two years Brad
Sanders, president Of the company
has been working on standardized
freight boat of steel construction
that can be built as cheap as wood.
en- boat that can be operated at q
low minimum Of expense; and that
will supply an almost universal de-
mand for Il sturdy, medium draft,
cheap running boat with plenty Of
freight room. He has built such
boat and designed 1t in such q way
that it can be built from standard
lengths Of steel beams and plates
and put together In such a way that
it can be taken apart and sections
added to It. increasing Its length
anytime the owner needs a larger
boat.
There is steady demand for
such type of small freighter all
up and down the coast and OH the
rivers tributary thereto.
And the funny thing about the
boat business is, that everytime
somebody wants a boat they have to
shop around and get somebody to
build it and wait for months for
the boat to be built. That's why
there are so many patched up and
Sdjlapidated little old freight boats
chugging around The inland waters
+of the couHfy Railfer. thGn. wait
indefinitely for a beat to be built.
the man or company wanting boat
will pick up any kind of an old tub
TO make out with, just because they
want Il boat exactly when they want
il. e..
I'm the meantime the increasing
high cost of rail road transportation
IS causing business everywhere to
look 10 cheap water borne transpor-
tation for relief from eXOrbitant
freight costs. More and more small
freight boats will he built.
1t Is Mr.. Sanders idea that freight
boats should be as standard as
pleasure boats, wagons or automo-
hileS and built and carried In stock
the same way. Pleasure boats are
now being built that way with
phenomenal success and the price OF
pleasure boats has been cut square
ly in two by wholesale and standard
lied methods of construction. That's
what Mr.. Sanders wants to do with
freight boats and do it at Elyizabeth
City where it can be done i'm the
open all the year round.
One thing that is botheriug the
company Is the matter Of capital.
On an initia! capitalization of $4,000
they have built up Il business with
assets valued at near quarter Of
a million dollars and OIL which they
have issued much less than 100000
stock. all Of which is held in the
family. They will need $250,O00 to
carry out their plans to 90 into the
wholesale manufacturer Of freight
boats and they don't know whether
to take in so much outside capital
but If n way is found it is going TO
mean big business for Elizabeth
City-mOre highly paid workmen.
more new homes, more business for
the merchants and better collections
for the churches.