[PSUBS-MAILIST] Thrust from a pump?

["Smyth, Alec" <Alec.Smyth@compuware.com>]

Title: Thrust from a pump?

I'm contemplating using water pumps as maneuvering thrusters (NOT for main propulsion). Cousteau's socoupe used a hydraulic pump for the jets, but I'd like to avoid that route if possible due to the excessive noise. DC submersible pumps are convenient but I haven't found anything beefy. I could try mating a trolling motor to a pump head. Submersible well pumps look promising because they're very powerful yet compact, but they require AC, and I don't think I can reverse them so I'd need four pumps instead of two. I could of course hang trolling motors off the boat font and back, but it really messes up the hydrodynamics of what can otherwise be a quite clean design, and the props on my trolling motors make them too large to duct into the MBTs.

Assuming I do settle on some kind of pump, the next question is how strong it needs to be. Does anyone know how to translate GPM (or LPM) into static thrust?

Any ideas or experiences would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Alec

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