Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Hunley

[solomon D <solomondees@yahoo.com>]

Having most sunken subs on display would be nice. I
for one would like to keep some of those russian
radioactive nightmares far far away though :).

--- Akins <lakins1@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
> Hi Brian.
> 
> I am jealous! I can't wait to see the Hunley
> replica. Also hopefully to see the original one day
> when she is out of her fresh water tank.
> 
> I hope they find the Alligator soon also. I would
> like to see Simon Lake and other early subs
> recovered for preservation as well. WW1 and WW2 subs
> too.
> 
> To me submarines are special among wrecks. They
> represent the very best technology of their times
> and mans quest to explore another atmospheric world.
> 
> If I had my way every one of them that ever sunk
> would be recovered and put on display. Every last
> one. 
> 
> Kindest regards,
> 
> Bill Akins.
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Brian Cox 
>   To: Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org 
>   Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 2:55 AM
>   Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Hunley
> 
> 
>   Hi All,
>                 I saw the Hunley today!   Very
> interesting boat.  I had just planned to go down to
> Channel Islands Harbor take a quick look and then
> turn around and come back and work on a couple of
> projects, I ended up staying half the day. 
> 
>    The sub was set up outside the maritime museum
> with local civil war re-enactors in full civil war
> garb.  However there happened to be one fellow that
> had a blue jump suit on with a very distinct
> southern drawl who seemed to know quite a bit about
> the boat, I come to find out he built the replica.
> 
>   Not only did he build the replica but apparently
> he was the first one they called when they actually
> opened the Hunley up.  He described in detail how
> they went about removing  the rivets on the rounded
> panels.
> 
>   Luckily he didn't mind talking about the sub, in
> fact he was one hell of a storyteller / welder and a
> proud southerner to boot.  
> 
>   I'm sure many of y'all already know the whole
> story of how the boat sunk twice before it's final
> mission when it sunk the Housatonic.  All of the
> first two crews where lost.  When they recovered the
> boat they had a little problem. 
> 
>    The bodies had been in there a while and they
> were all bloated.  They couldn't get the bodies out 
> thru the hatches so a guy had to climb down in there
> and cut the bodies into chunks that were big enough
> to get out thru the hatches.  
> 
>   I learned stuff I didn't even want to know !!
> 
>   Anyway John filled me in on all the gory details, 
> I tried to steer the topic back to the operation of
> the sub and he was more than willing to oblige me!
> 
>   The sub is really a very sound design.  It is very
> interesting how they work the ballast tanks,  they
> had pumps to pump the water out so they could
> surface,  and they also had a depth gage tube which
> was calibrated to 66 ft .  The ballast tanks were
> actually open to the interior of the sub.  They had
> valving to pump water out of the tanks or out of the
> bilge if they needed.  They had a snorkel that was
> worked with a bellows.
> 
>   The 7 crank handles were each off set by 51
> degrees so as to balance out thrust of the muscle
> power.  It was truly a 1 atm sub even though the air
> would get compressed somewhat when water was let in
> to make the thing negative buoyant. 
> 
>    The ballast tanks were in each end of the boat
> where the sub tapers, and they were open to the
> inside. Only partitioned off by a steel panel with
> the top of the panel open at the top curved portion
> of the sub.
> 
>   Brian Cox
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 

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