Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Re: Fiberglass

[MerlinSub@t-online.de (Carsten Standfuß)]

Carsten - from Germany

Michael B Holt schrieb:
> 
> On Sat, 15 Jan 2000 09:19:45 -0800 "Marsee Skidmore" writes:
> >I've recently been pondering my fiberglass exoskeleton. Since I'm
> >diving to 300 meters, I don't want to use wood for substructure. Can I
> glass
> >over aluminum? Would fiberglass structural sections (tubes, I-beams)
> >work? How would you build a 30 foot fiberglass cabin cruiser hull
> >without wood?
> 
> Fiberglass may be a neglected material.  Both Burcher & Rydill and
> Busby speak highly of it, pointing out that it has the potential to
> go very deep.
> 
> In 1964, a German manufacturer offered in the United States a small
> one-place submarien made of "fiberglass reinforced with steel."
> The boat was limited to 95 feet but the hull had been tested to
> 350 feet.

They build two types of subs in 1964 in Germany in fiberglass. 
One is the doubleseater "TIGERHAI" which is now in the hand of Anders
Lundin and you will find some pictures of it on the PSUBS picture
Gallery. This sub use steel skeleton and fiberglass. Working deep was
114 feet. One was sold to the USA.

The other is the "HAGENBURG" a very nice single seater with a dive deep
of about 164 feet. Some of this vessels was also sold to the USA.
I think this vessel was a reinforced fiberglass boat and maybe some
remains are still on the Keys... 

If fiberglass get real wet it will lost 30 % of the strength ..(maybe
forever?)

I have had two motorboats made from Fiberglass and foam. During my
work to add a echosounder for a sonar I found out that both ships was
wet in the foam. If you want to use fibreglass in a submarine do it 
without wood or foam.. Reinforced fibreglass seems better.. 

During my time as sonarglider-pilot we use planes made from
epoxy-fiberglass. This -epoxy- has much more strength than the normal
fibreglass and is much more difficult in fabrication. 
If we rebuild sometimes a crash-landing plane we use drawings from the
factory which shows every glass-plate including the directions of the
filament. 

But if you build your submarine from fibreglass - to test them unmanned
in a test tank or deep water 3-4 times of the working deep seems the
only way to find out that you have not a mistake in your design.

Carsten

> 
> I've always felt that fiberglass is a reasonable choice for a shallow
> diving boat.
> 
> Michael B. Holt                                Oregon Hill, Richmond,
> Virginia, U.S.A.
>                 "There's gotta be an excuse for some of this."