The Seasteading Institute

Reply To: ClaytonB wrote:Well, the

[quote=ClaytonB]Well, the technical problem of being afloat has already been solved by ships.[/quote]

That's not necessarily true...yes boats can float but they are not meant to be anchored in the deep ocean in one location for extended periods of time. All the technical hurdles associated with that will need to be addressed, and most investors don't have "absolute faith that cost-effective solutions to all the technical problems can be found". Can these hurdles be overcome...probably yes. But investors are going to want to know what those solutions are before investing their money or signing a contract to put their business on your seastead.

[quote=ClaytonB]If TSI doesn't plan to host for-profit businesses in this ship to take advantage of the legal status of the ship, then what is the point?[/quote]

Again, you assume that the ship will have a "legal status" that certain types of businesses can take advantage of. There is no certainty that this is the case, and if you expect this to be an added value for potential businesses then you need to show them absolute proof that this will be the case. You cannot pursue the legal and business aspects in parallel...you need to have a solid legal basis before you even sit down with the first potential business partner.

For example, let's say one of the businesses you want opening retail space on your seastead is a hash bar. Do you think anyone is going to do business with you unless you can guarantee them there won't be any legal repercussions? You can't say to them "Come on, open your hash bar and I have absolute faith the legal issues will work themselves out". They won't even look at the contract until you can show them that they are legally protected when operating that kind of business.

Get the engineering and legal aspects worked out first, and then you can go to potential business partners with a well-defined plan that they can understand and accept.