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Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Introducing myself

Dear Risk.
 
We live pretty close together. I'm a Tampa native but reside a few miles north of Tampa now in Hudson, Fl. We ought to get together sometime and I could show you my sub.
It would be nice to have another kindred spirit to bounce ideas around with.
Regarding using aircraft canopies as a section of your pressure hull, I would not even consider it. They might be fine for a wetsub if drilled to allow co2 to escape,(I considered this for mine at one time)
or even an ambient half dry sub, but I would not trust my life to an aircraft canopy that was never designed to withstand extreme underwater pressures. I'm not an expert and
my only experience is building my wetsub, but I would strongly advise against that. The aircraft canopies I have seen are not thick enough for this application.
Bill Akins. 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2005 8:32 PM
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Introducing myself

Hello everyone,
 
I just joined the PSubs list and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm in the Tampa Bay area of FL and go sailing whenever the boats are working. When not repairing the sailboats, I'm fixing the Jeeps and trying to get some camping done when it's not too blazing hot.
 
One of my goals is to create a one to three-place sub. capable of descending to 500'/250psi. I only really want to go as deep as 250'/125psi and maybe 400'/190psi on occasion. I just figured on 500' as a safety measure as there is no place within the submersibles range from the Tampa Bay shoreline that approaches 500'.
 
I'm on a tight budget, and don't have the capabilities (or even the desire) to shape steel and aluminum to meet my needs. I don't even plan to start building on the sub. for at least 5 years, but would like to get the design as thought-through as possible. However, I believe a composite hull of fiberglass and wood (a combination of strip-planking and plywood) would be more than sufficient for such shallow depths.
 
I've been considering a "cab and chassis" design, where pressure hulls are removable/interchangeable on the same chassis. This way turning a 1-place sub into a 3-place sub would only require building a new pressure hull with identical mounting points. The control system would obviously have to be sufficient for the largest pressure hull that could be mounted to the chassis.
 
For the pressure hull, high-visibility is a must both above and below the pilot. I've been wondering about the feasibility of using aircraft cockpit canopies as transparent sections of the pressure hull. Does anyone have information on this?