----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 8:45
AM
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Launched
Persistence!
Persistence is now official!
The following is a LONG account of launch
day.
We launched Sunday June sixth. What an
occasion! I never though it would draw such a crowd. I know there
were over a hundred people there, and maybe another hundred through
out the three hour we were diving and maneuvering in the
water. We served hotdogs and snack food to maybe every second
person. We brought four cases of soft drink, two cases of snack
food packs and a hundred hotdogs. We came home empty
handed. A little yellow sub in a lake sure attracts some
attention. Many of the people there were people that had a hand in
on some aspect of the project over the years of construction and
some were just long time friends. One special guest was my "just in
case" rescue dive and fellow PSUBS'er, Al Secore. He was kind
enough to bring his underwater cameras and shot some pics and footage in
the "pea soup" water.
The weather wasn't sunny but at least it didn't
rain as it has for the two days before. It would have been better if the
water was clearer though. Visibility was about two feet. I
couldn't see the front of the sub from the pilots seat.
At home we packed up and headed to the launch
site with food and a grill in tools in the back of the truck and the sub
following on it's trailer. The launch site is only about six miles from
home in a State park lake. It was chosen for it's close proximity and
the nice park setting for the people that wanted to see the launch.
I cleared the launch with the park officials two
weeks earlier. They were very accommodating. Truth be told, I
think they were quite excited that I chose them for the launch site.
When we arrived at the park I was surprised to be confronted with a four page
lawyer written document. It was a release to clear the park, the state,
the rangers, and probably even the governor if something goes
wrong. OK! If I have to. One surprise though, was the
requirement that I have a rescue diver present. I guess they didn't have
the same confidence in my little yellow toy that I did. A
rescue diver was discussed early on, but it wasn't a requirement, now it
was. It sure was comforting to know our own PSUBS, Al Secore,
was in route, with diving equipment and cameras. I signed and that was
that.
After all gather had a "look see" at the sub
on the trailer, including climbing up on the fenders to see inside, we moved
into position for a group picture. It was a BIG group, so getting
everyone together for a picture wasn't easy. It looked like a yellow
billboard. We all wore yellow T-shirts I had printed up for the occasion and
stood in front of the yellow sub. After that we repositioned the trailer
again on the ramp and started the launch procedure.
My trailer has a 19 foot tongue extension which
requires the trailer to be disconnected from the truck and then rehooked
with the extension in place between the truck and the trailer. The
trailer converts to a five wheel cart with a nineteen foot pipe to push and
pull it with. Just before it was ready to start into the water, my
nephew handed me a bottle of bubbly to bash on the bow as we
christened the sub "Persistence." As submarines
go, it's small so it was tiny bottle. Since we were in a State Park
where alcohol wasn't permitted, the bubbly was only tonic water. I waked
the tiny plastic bottle on the hull a few
times and then opened it and pored it out on the bow. It
fizzed like champagne and the crowd cheered.
By this time Al Secore was there and suited
up. The rangers, the lawyers and the governor could now rest
easy.
It was now my turn for a test of nerves.
With fake champagne still dripping from the bow, I clamed up and
into Persistence. The trailer was then backed down the ramp and
into the water. After I climbed in, I stood in the conning
tower and reaching out where I unlatched the bar holding Persistence to the
trailer. Once I could feel the sub floating I released the bar from the
sub and Persistence and I were on our own. I did
have communication with the shore through a walkie talkie. It worked
well even though there was no outside antenna.
It was time to make waves. I flipped the
rear thruster into reverse and taped the power switch. Persistence
backed away from the trailer. Next I tried the side
thrusters and used them to turn around. The fine tuning I did on
the props the week before reduced their bite in the water. They now
matched the thruster motors better and kept the motor current below
maximum.
With the sub away from the launch ramp about
a hundred feet or so, I closed the hatch and secured it. Things get
real quite in the sub when the hatch is closed. I couldn't hear any
of the hundred people watching from shore or anything else outside the
sub. It gives you a feeling that confirms, they're out there and
I'm in here.
I started releasing air from the
forward and aft MBT's. Persistence was slowly lowering in the
water. As the MBT's filled with water the sub pitched forward
then back some giving me quite a ride as it lowered. The
pitching was fifteen degrease forward then fifteen degrease to the aft.
Some of the pitching was my fault since I now realize that I was over
correcting by closing and opening the MBT vent valves to
balance them off. At one point I was worried that if the free
weights on the floor of the sub slid to one end, I'd be in trouble either
nose up or down. As the conning tower lowered into the water
deeper, the pitching settled out. I was still in contact with the shore by walkie talkie.
Seeing the pea green water rise over the outside
of the conning tower view ports was another psychological hurdle. By now
the people on shore were both out of hearing and out of sight. I knew
they could still see the top of the conning tower but I couldn't see
them. Air was still venting from both my MBT's. It kept
venting as I saw the water slosh over the top of the view port in the
hatch cover. I was officially underwater and going down. I still
had air in the MBT's but shut the vents off so I didn't get heavier then I
already was.
I knew I was in only ten feet of water but it
seemed that I was dropping fast and for a long time. Communication
with the walkie talkies was lost once Persistence was under about
six inches of water. All the while I was going down it was getting
darker and darker. I did mention the "Pea Soup" water, didn't I? I
felt a very gentle thud as Persistence came to rest on the bottom. I
have to admit, my hart was pounding at that point. I know, I
know! Only ten feet of water meant that if I stood on top of the conning
tower I could stick my head above the surface. But I was IN the sub,
remember?
I didn't even release all the air from the
MBT's and I was already on the bottom. I knew I had to remove some of
the lead ballast to set neutral buoyancy with the VBT. Ok I thought, the
five seconds that felt like five minuets I've been down here is enough time to
count as a dive. I shot a few short blasts of air into the MBT's and
started rising. It was getting noticeably lighter again as I neared the
surface. I popped a few more bursts of air into the MBT's and could now
see out above the water lowering past my viewport. I was back on
top and it was a comfort to know. It was comforting for two
reasons. One, that I could get back up, and two, that the gathered crowd
saw what they thought was a perfect dive. What did they know? It
went down and came back up!
The sub pitched for and aft again while
blowing the MBT's but rested smooth once they reached full empty. I
radioed with the walkie talkie that I was coming in to drop some
ballast. OK, was the first words I heard since leaving the
surface. I motored in toward the dock and unlatched the hatch. As
I opened it and stuck my head out the gathered crowd was clapping and
yelling. I thought to myself, I did it! I got through this launch
thing successfully even though I knew I had to shed some weight. It
really felt good to hear the crowd cheer though. Most of them knew how
long I worked to make this moment happen.
We unloaded forty pounds of lead ballast and I
dove again. This time was a repeat of the first dive, only now
I KNEW Persistence could come back up. After the second
dive I also came back in and handed out another forty pounds of
lead.
On the third dive the MBT's
vented all their air and I could still see the sky through the
hatch cover view port. I opened the VBT vent and water
valve, waited a few seconds and I once again saw water over
me. I played around with blowing and adding VBT ballast
until I was neutral buoyant. Persistence just sat there a bit below
the surface. With a short burst of the thruster pointing upward I popped
up and another short burst in reverse sent me down. Hey, this
is fun!
I did about ten dives the rest of the day.
They were all in relatively shallow water, eight to seventeen feet.
Two of them were with passengers, the two guys that were most involved in
the project with me. My nephew and a good friend. Both loved
the experience but were disappointed with the poor visibility. Next time
I'll try somewhere with clear water.
Throughout the afternoon I got better diving and
surfacing. I reduced the tendency of the sub to pitch
when operating the MBT's. I was over correcting at
first. The only hitch was an intermittent short in a wire coming from
one side thruster that kept blowing fuses. I knew
I crimped the cable while it was on a rack for painting but
couldn't see the damage. I'll have to work on that. It was
relatively easy to maneuver with the rear thruster and one side thruster
though. If I didn't have the rear thruster, I would have been in trouble
just traveling in circles.
The day ended with a near perfect landing on the
deck of the trailer where I reached out of the conning tower and grabbed the
holding bar and then latched it to the top of Persistence's hull.
Next we were both toed out of the water.
As usual there are a few little changes and
additions to be done. I need a shelf to rest a flashlight and the walkie
talkie on for starters. But other then some little things like that,
Captain George Kittredge designed a pretty good little boat. He also was
very accommodating anytime I contacted him through my building
process. I met the Captain twenty years in the past and again
two years ago. He's quite a remarkable guy.
Again, I want to give a big thanks to Al Secore
for coming down from New York to be my rescue diver and photographer. I
know he took a bunch of pictures. Every time I saw a flash go off
underwater, I thought I blew another fuse. If the water was clearer, we
would have some great pics. I know we'll have some good
ones to post anyway.
Also thanks to Ray and all you PSUBers that
helped me along with the project. The web site was a major factor in
Persistence becoming a reality.
Thanks, Dan H.