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Yes, I saw the post. The sub was for sale at $10K. I think Jon or someone
told me it was built back in the late 60's and proved to be unstable. My guess
is that was caused by the low center of buoyancy.
The testing I've done with my sub model seems very stable. The center of
buoyancy is above the center of gravity by about 14 inches, and unless I push
the model over 30 knots, it tracks real straight.
I do have a few ideas about how to lower the center of buoyancy after
reaching the surface so waves don't wash in, but I'll wait for actual sea trials
before I worry about freeboard.
The saucer sub for sale had a tower hatch, where mine doesn't. Maybe an
inflatable ring around the hatch will be enough.
Cousteau's sub was saucer shaped, and about the same thickness as mine, but
didn't have big exterior ballast tanks that I could see.
I haven't been able to find many pictures of it. If you see some, let me
know where.
Thanks, and see you at the convention? Frank D. Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL.com. |