Boat-building in fibreglass and wood for the region, from the yards that already exist

A first step

Go to one of the existing boat yards and ask the owner for the cost and build time of a standard fishing hull and a small leisure boat. Then send photographs of finished work and that price to resort operators and fishing families in the Maldives, and ask for a request for a quote in writing. One formal enquiry from outside the island shows whether the yard can sell beyond its own beach.

Who pays first

A resort operator or fishing family in the Maldives who needs a sturdy hull delivered quickly and trusts a yard a short sail away.

What leaves today

The yards build for the local fleet only, so the regional demand for boats is met by yards in other countries.

The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.

The test

Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?

The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.

In the book

• Ch. TwoAn Island Nobody Has Counted
  An ocean eight times the size of the land

More from cluster 13

• 251Sailing charters and a yacht marina at Galle or Trincomalee, with the crew trained here
• 252Diving schools at the wrecks of Trincomalee and the reefs of the east, certified to international standard
• 253Sport fishing charters with catch-and-release, sold to the Gulf and Europe
• 254Sea-cucumber and seaweed farming in the northern lagoons, which Japan and Korea buy
• 255Tuna graded, loined and vacuum-packed at the harbour for the sashimi market, not sold whole
• 256Crab and prawn from the lagoons as a branded chilled export, with the lagoon's name

All 20 ideas in this cluster