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[PSUBS-MAILIST] Thoughts on homebuilt submarines...
There is more than one way to obtain your own
submarine; and they all provide different forms and levels of
experience.
If one buys and operates a sub, he may learn how they work.
If one starts with a set of plans for an
established design, he may learn how subs are fabricated.
But if one starts from scratch, he will need to
understand everything from initial design to recovery on the trailer.
Of the three methods described above, the third is
the most challenging and difficult way of acquiring a sub; but (I believe) it is
also the most rewarding.
When I began my involvement with homebuilt
submarines, I did not have access to a computer; there was no PSUBS website
where people could exchange information; I didn't know anyone else who had built
his own submarine; and, while I searched for knowledge in every place available
to me (and had the published histories of past-masters as a guide) most of the
skills I developed were self-taught (derived of
trial-and-error through my own research). It was like groping in the
dark along a path paved with numerous mistakes, frequent self-doubt, and
occasional risk; but the personal satisfaction that came with eventual success,
coupled with the acquired ability to progress in building own subsequent
designs, made it all worthwhile.
Having a submarine is great; but getting there is a
big part of what it's really all about. Or at least, that's how it was for
me, anyway.
Pat