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Hello all,
Like all of us here, I have this wierd
fettish with subs. U-Boats are my "thing". (Peter Madsen is cool
in my book) I have dreamt of building one for years but always thought it
beyond my scope. That was until I stumbled upon PSUBS.org. By tuning
into discussions and reading everything I can get my hands on, I am coming to
the realization that "normal / average" (perhaps that isn't the right
term) people build these things and not some excentric millionaires or
something. (you know, the same guys that take solo hot air balloons around the
world). Over the period of several months, my confidence has grown to the
point now where I tell myself, "I could build one of those." The group here at PSUBS is indeed "special". I admire
each and every one of them for following their passion, whether they bring it to
fruition or not. The guys that actually get something in the water have
really accomplished something unique.
Does anybody have any thoughts on direct drive
diesel / electric propulsion ? I am still contemplating whether that is
the way to go, or whether a guy should use the diesel / electric as a generator
to power the thrust motor ? I like the direct drive method for it's added
efficiency, price (Only have to buy one motor/generator instead of two, one
generator and one thruster) and generally more "U-Boat" like, but I am
wondering if the engineering required to get the shaft connected in line with
the clutches and bearings through the pressure hull while maintaining pressure
hull integrity is worth it. (what does it take to seal that shaft
?). I also have concerns with the mechanical dependability of the
two clutches that would be required. (Could be a real bugger to get
in there for maintenance and replace). The other way would simply mean
connecting an external electric thruster to the battery source that is being
charged by the diesel which I believe would be easier to do. (Am I right here
?).
I'm more interested in building a 1ATM
U-Boat resembling sub that has decent surface performance rather than
something that will dive deep. I'm aiming for an operation depth of
35M.
Thoughts / opinions on propulsion ?
Myles Hall
Saskatchewan Canada.
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