actually, there is more info in Carter's log book. A naval constructor was sent out from Richmond with letters from Mallory written in late December, 1863. The constructor was to go on to Texas and look into building an 'ironclad gunboat'. Carter was to have gone with him, but Banks offensive up the Red River intervened. Carter later wrote the constructor telling him to look into the possibility of building small torpedo boats in Texas. The original report from a CSA General was negative. The nearest rolling mill was 300 miles away and of low capacity. The bar at the end of Buffalo Bayou precluded vessels with a draft of over 5 feet (doesn't specify tide state). Lt Phillips was detailed to Galveston on a scavenger mission and returned to say that he had found unused railway iron in the Houston area. Carter then notified Mallory that if they could set up a Naval blockade runner operation it might be possible to import equipment. He specified that he needed a separate Paymaster for the job and that Confederate money in Texas was discounted at the ratio of 20:1. He estimated 15 months to 2 years to build an armored torpedo boat if the materials were available. His earlier inquiries about building a small torpedo boat specified "of the class currently used at Charleston". Of course, both the Davids and Hunley were used at Charleston.