To see fabrication pics for my boat,
the R300, go to the frappr link and hit more Cliff Redus' photos.
http://www.frappr.com/?a=viewphoto&id=2664457&pid=4280217&myphotos=1
The initial fabrication of the boat is complete and I have started a series of commissioning test. She has been in the water for the initial tea bag test. For the last 6 months I have been building a house with me son so have not done any further work on the boat. I hope to be back on the test program after my son and family have moved into their new house. Initial test confirmed basic buoyancy states and hull/hatch integrity and identified a bad solenoid valve.
The goal of this project was to design a one-man
submersible, designated R300, following ABS regulations as much as possible( but not to the point of classing) that would be
streamlined to reduce drag and entanglements and have adequate power for
maneuverability using control surfaces. In other words, an underwater jet ski. I have four years invested to this point, two in design and two in fabrication.
Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic, over
syntactic foam, is used for the hydrodynamic shell that covers the pressure
hull. There are two ballast tank systems, main and variable, which are soft and
hard respectively. The main ballast tank, comprising tanks forward and
aft, are located at the longitudinal center of gravity of the boat. Likewise, the
Variable Ballast Tank is also located at the longitudinal center of
gravity. Both the MBT and the VBT are
blown with air from four Catalina S-19 scuba tanks, regulated down to 25 psi
above ambient water pressure.
Longitudinal trim is achieved by hydraulically articulating a sliding
lead trim weight. A 120 VDC hydraulic power unit supplies high-pressure
hydraulic fluid to power hydraulic cylinders on control surfaces and the
hydraulic motor that articulates the trim weight. Boat systems are integrated
and controlled through an on board Programmable Logic Controller with a
touch screen operator interface. The propulsion system utilizes an axial
jet-ski impellor. The jet-ski nozzle is used for pitch and yaw control while
wing mounted ailerons are used to control roll. A 13 HP, DC series wound motor, connected to ten 12 VDC deep
draft AGM marine batteries, is used to drive the jet-ski impellor. The motor is
controlled with a MOSFET DC motor control unit. A drive shaft connects the drive
motor to the jet pump. A hull seal
around the drive shaft is a cartridge type double mechanical seal with an
glycol coolant acting as a barrier fluid between the seals.
R-300 SPECIFICATIONS
* 24 inch acrylic hemispherical view port * 13 hp DC motor *
Jet Impellor * MOSFET DC motor controller * 120 VDC main battery system *24VDC
Emergency battery system * Water Hard Variable ballast system * Drop weight system * Fly-By-Wire Control System * Air systems *
Oxygen system * Carbon Dioxide scrubber * Touch Screen Operator Panel/Display *
Carbon dioxide & Oxygen level monitors
* VHF Radio * Alarm and monitoring systems * Mechanical and electronic depth meters * Electronic compass *
Trim and heel indicators * External halogen lights * Fire Extinguisher *
Onboard battery chargers *
TECHNICAL DATA
MAIN DIMENSIONS
Length 19 ft
Beam 6.5 ft
Height 4.1 ft
Draft 31 in
Pressure Hull diameter 30
inches
Pressure Hull material ASTM
A516 Grade 70
Pressure Hull thickness 0.25
inches
Dry weight (excluding payload and pilot) 4,214 lbs
Operational depth 300
ft
Payload capacity (including pilot) 232 lbs
Drop weight 300
lbs
Crew 1
PROPULSION & POWER SUPPLY
Jet pump Jet
pump, axial flow, single stage
DC motor 13
hp DC motor with MOSFET motor controller
Main batteries 10
@100 Ah / 120VDC
Emergency battery 2
@100 Ah / 24VDC
Battery endurance 7
hrs (normal operation)
Emergency battery endurance 72
hrs (hotel load only)
GAS SYSTEMS
Main ballast - Soft 7.6 scf
Variable ballast - Hard 1.8
scf
Air 76 scf / 207
bar
Oxygen 78
scf / 139 bar
Oxygen endurance 7+72
hrs
Reserve of Buoyancy 10.7%
PERFORMANCE
Normal speed 7
knots (8 mph) for 8 hrs
Max speed 20+
knots for 9 minutes
Range 66 miles (normal operations)