Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] new photos

["Jeff Post" <jeffpost@rawbw.com>]

Hi Phillip,

I for one welcome having someone of you caliber on the list. I look forward
to seeing photos from prior subs, and drawings of you newest. I hope we see
you as a frequent contributor on the list.

Regards,

Jeff

----- Original Message -----
From: <Ppjanca@aol.com>
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] new photos


> I am new to the list and was hoping for some meaningful discussions. Since
> the subject matter today seems to be volatile gasses I would like to point
> out that all of the scrubbers that I have used in my submersibles have had
> provisions for layer of an inert filtration media (PURAFIL as an example)
> upstream of the lithium hydroxide. This layer does not need to be any
thicker
> than 1" and does a great job of neutralizing offensive odors. For
protracted
> scientific dives (up to 16/18 hours) it has been a blessing, especially
when
> everyone breaks out the H.E.R.E. bags after an evening snack of PB&J
washed
> down with Dr. Pepper!
> By way of introduction I have built nine fully classed manned submersibles
> and presently own an ASME / PVHO operation in Texas.
> I founded Research Submersibles, Ltd. (RSL) in Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and
> Turks & Caicos in 1980 and have been out of the pilot's seat since 1998.
As
> many of you know, RSL pioneered cost effective scientific research and
later
> was the first modern company (with all due respect to the Swiss) to make
> submersibles available to the tourist industry.
> I am pleased to say that we see a major increase in demand the manned
> submersible market and our company has made the decision to reenter the
field.
> We will soon begin construction of NEOS 3000 which will be a 1000 meter
fully
> classed manned submersible. I will be glad to share photos of the boat as
she
> progresses.
> I am in no way being judgmental when I look at some of the boats under
> construction/ consideration by list members. I started many years ago with
a
> scrap hull and clearly have not killed myself (or any one else) over the
> years, but some of the concepts that I see give me cause for concern.
Aside
> from the safety issues I will site dive planes as an example.  Modern
> submersibles simply don't use dive planes. Propulsion, attitude, and
> steering, are accomplished with thrusters (often very small) and I can't
> fathom (no pun intended) penetrating the pressure envelope with a dynamic
> shaft for main propulsion, the risks are much to great. One of the
recurring
> themes in designers outlining the specifications of their submersible is
"how
> fast it can go" when in fact we want to know "how slow can it go, and for
how
> long." Anyone who has ever seen the bottom go by at anything over 1.5
knots
> realizes that slowing down is the first order of business. Certainly, the
> ability to overcome strong currents is an important asset and perhaps I am
> overlooking the designers intentions.
> Years ago a wonderful man (an M.D.,actually) came to Cayman from the
> Midwestern USA and did a series of dives with RSL (19 in all I think); I
was
> fortunate enough to pilot for him on most of those dives. About half way
> through the series of dives (which ranged from 800 fsw to 3,200 fsw) he
made
> a confession to me. In truth, I had let him begin to manipulate some of
the
> controls, thrusters and simple hard and soft ballast adjustments (for the
> thermo/haloclines)...anyway, almost in tears, he showed me photos of the
> submersible that he had been working on for years (I won't mention any
> names)..and he told me that he was going back home and scrap the entire
> vehicle, because he learned how impractical his design assumptions were.
He
> made the analogy of a man who might undertake the design and construction
of
> an aircraft without the experience of ever having flown in one!
> Anyway, if any of you serious submersible builders would like to join us
> after sea trials and see our approach (based on 33 years of nonmilitary
> manned submersible experience) we would welcome the opportunity to humbly
> share our ideas with you in depth, and perhaps, at depth. I sincerely
> apologize for the length of this posting and hope that my injections have
not
> alienated any reader, that was certainly not my intention. I applaud the
site
> designer and simply want to stay off of the "DISASTERS" page!
>
> Best Regards:
> Phillip Janca
> Chairman
> HyperTec, Inc.
> World Leader in Hyperbaric Technologies
> 800-218-3588
> 940-564-5600
> 940-564-5609 Fax
> <A HREF="http://www.hypertec.ws">http://www.hypertec.ws</A>
>