Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] pressure hull parts arrived

I took the day off from my "real job" to work in the shop today. Checking the morning email, I had to smile when I read your post: not laughing at you, but relating to what you wrote. I know what you mean when you equate this to "Egyptian pyramid building". I've said that same thing myself.

Yes, even small subs are heavy. I'm sure we all know they need to be to counter buoyancy, of course; but when one actually encounters that physical aspect, it creates a whole new set of challenges, doesn't it? How do I move the monster around? (And the need to move it arises a lot during the construction process.)

I remember levering things around with a long steel bar on rollers (sections of large diameter pipe). I made a roller-mount so I could rotate the hull to optimum welding angles. There were a lot of opportunities to experiment with improvised jacking-means. It seemed like every task required a process of setup and takedown, adding to construction time. And often, I had to manufacture equipment to make the job possible.

Floor jacks, hydraulic (bottle) jacks, a chain hoist or "come along" are pretty handy to have. Working with a pair of engine hoists (cherry pickers) got me through a lot of tight spots when the boat approached completion weight. It was always scary: what if the damn thing falls? One does the best he can to ensure safety; but there's always the feeling of "walking a tightrope" when "your baby is hanging by a thread".

For the work I'm doing now, I made a 6-foot annular track of reinforced 4" steel channel that fastens around the sub at it's balance point; a roller with 8" X 4" steel casters for it to rotate on; and when I turn it over, I'm lifting the tail with a cable and pulley hanging from a cherry picker. When I get the sub at the attitude I need for the task at hand, I secure it with concrete blocks, wooden braces, and jack stands. It's a lot of work, and it adds to the expense; but that all seems to come with the turf when you're working in the garage or backyard of your house.

One of my next projects will be to build a good sturdy steel A-frame for a chain hoist. And one of these days I sure would like to have a fork lift. Those two pieces of equipment would make all this a lot easier. In fact, when my projects increase in size, the fork lift will become necessary.

Working with steel can be difficult. It's usually either hot or cold; it often has sharp edges or emits flying sparks and debris; and it's always, always heavy. Still, I find it one of the best mediums to work in, because of the variety, strength, and utility of what can be made from it. There will probably always be a certain amount of sweat, cuts, burns, and sore muscles involved in the backyard construction of a homebuilt steel submarine; but it's all worth it on "pay day" when the boat is finally sitting in the water, and you're getting ready to close the hatch for the first time.

Then, the question in one's mind changes from "how am I ever going to build this monstrosity" to "do I really have the balls to go underwater in it?" For me, anyway, that first dive wasn't so much a question of having the courage to do it; but rather (after all the time, work, and money I'd invested, and with all the people standing around watching and waiting, and my credibility on the line) being afraid not to.

As I've said before: all these things lead up to one climactic moment; and when you finally resurface that first time in your own homebuilt submarine, and the sunlight floods back into the cabin, it is like being "reborn". (If that's an exaggeration, it aint much of one.) All your efforts are vindicated; the theoretical becomes fact; and the adrenaline rush is awesome. It's an experience only those who have "run the gauntlet" can fully appreciate.

Congratulations and good luck on your project, Alec. I'd like to see some of you other guys start actually building your boats, as well. Make that work list. Start checking off the steps toward your first dive test. It won't happen overnight; but it won't happen at all if you don't get started. There aint nothin' to it but to do it. But you've got to start doing it.

And with that, now I must get up off my buttocks, trudge down to the shop, go through the unpleasant tasks of cleaning up the remnants of my last work session, and commence the next. Sometimes I get absolutely sick and tired of living like this; but I know that will all be compensated for when I put my boat back into the water.

I really enjoy it when I know another guy is actually building a sub, because I know what he'll go through, and I know the great reward he has in store on that first dive day, and beyond. I only wish you other guys who are still spectators would get in and get dirty with the rest of us, because in the end (if you take care to "get it right") I believe you will be glad you did.