Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 09:05:45 -1000

["JANE PATTON" <landnsea1@verizon.net>]

Hi Vance

Thank you so much for your speedy reply!  I had called John (the guy who
builds the K-subs in New York) the other day and he had never herd of anyone
who had built their subs to ABS standards and it sounds like I am hearing
the same thing from you.
I was surprised to hear that he doesn't even X-Ray his welds when he builds
one for somebody.
This is all new to me so I must be a bit over cautious.  I live on the Big
Island in Hawaii and thought with our clear water and all, and the fact that
I plain just want one to play with, it would make good sense to be able to
take a paying passenger down from time to time to help defray the
construction costs etc, but since we live in a sue happy environment, it
would be a good idea to have liability insurance and to get that "from what
I understand" it has to be built to ABS standards.
Do you have a K sub or other and do you or have you spoken with people who
charge a fee to take people down?
Thanks
Rick

















----- Original Message -----
From: <VBra676539@aol.com>
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 10:44 AM
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2004 09:05:45 -1000


> Rick,
>
> ABS engineering studies used to run about $50,000 (for a new design) give
or
> take a few bucks. I know that Capt. Kittredge ran his plans and calcs
through
> the engineering staff at the Bureau about thirty years ago and got a
tentative
> approval. This did not approve all subs built to the plans, but rather
> suggested that the plans and calcs themselves were sufficient to build an
acceptable
> vehicle if built to strict standards. They (ABS) would argue a good bit of
it
> today, as that study is very dated by current standards. I don't really
know
> what they would charge you today for this service, but it would probably
be
> like starting all over again.
>
> Keep in mind, the plans approval is only the start of charges from them.
You
> must get the initial approval first, then build to their standards,
complete
> with quality control, pressure tests, weld inspections, x-rays and all the
> rest, plus whatever verifications their inspectors call for. It is
complex, and
> expensive. Lloyd's of London has similar requirements but may, in fact, be
> somewhat easier to cope with. It's worth a call, in either case. These
people love
> this stuff!!! Phil Nuytton might have time for an answer on this, and is
on
> the board of directors, thus extremely well versed in the why, what, when,
where
> and how of it. And you can always just dial the Houston number and ask a
few
> questions. It never hurts, and there will be somebody there perfectly
happy to
> talk to you about this.
>
> Why do you want ABS certification? It's really only required if you are
going
> to work commercially. If that's what you are planning, then you definitely
> need it for insurance, etc. But for your basic backyard baby, why bother?
The
> K-350 is small, clunky and inefficient--it's cheap, and it is built like
the
> proverbial anvil--and it is awesome great fun. If you build it to the
highest
> standards, and operate it safely, then it will serve you very well indeed.
>
> Beyond that, you're going to need more submarine. More power, more
payload,
> more ROOM!!! If you are, indeed, going for certification, I think you'd be
> better off going to Mike Stahle at SST or somebody like that and have him
design
> and build something to current standards. He guesstimated about $450,000
for a
> modern PC-14 type sub rated to 1800 feet or so and ABS certified.
>
> Good luck,
> Vance
>
>
>
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