Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Ballon recovery was: Sub Safety

["Nero Wolfe" <wolfe19@megsinet.net>]

Well. given the depth you are working from, you are VERY VERY correct.  it would take huge amounts of air at that depth to inflate the bags just a little.. given that you survived.  I was running on the assumption of a reasonable depth, say less than 100m, and the cabin had already been blown free of water.  I'm thinking this would be more of a "our depth control died, get us up now"  more than "our hull failed, we should be dead" system.  

Running on those asusmptions, just one or two scuba tanks would be able to provide enough gas to get the boat to be positively boyuant....  (if my calculations aren't shot :-) )  Without rigid tanks, there's really no way to surface from really deep water when the hull fails.  Now if a fitting fails, and you need to get up SOON, again the system would still be practical ;-)  It won't work at the depths the CSSX is designed to hit.. then again, not a lot is going to save you if the hull fails at that depth...  

This idea developed from me spending a lot of time wondering what I'm going to do when a boat like the liveaboard decides to blow a fitting or something.  and starts taking on water.  or some hose outside the boat bursts and I loose depth control.  

Given that you were able to not have the hull completely flood, and were at a 300foot depth, what volume of air would be required for the CSSX to be boyant again?