Good Morning Joe
I caught you glued to the computer again, didn't I? ; )'
In regards to the NR-2 thruster arrangement, I was thinking about your aft X thrusters and thought it might perhaps be a better and cheaper arrangement for the aft thrusters to just be the basic one vertical and one horizontal. This way you'll have the use of the horizontal thruster for surface ops, without adding one in addition to the X thrusters in the rear of your sub, like your thinking of doing in the bow. If I understand correctly, the X thruster arrangement is primarily to limit the debris and mud that would be stirred up even more by a vertical thrust causing you trouble in visibility in you view ports. So since you don't have any stern view ports that I'm aware of I thought the X thruster arrangement might not be the best option for the stern of NR-2.
Regards,
Brent Hartwig
"Those are my principles. If you don't like them I have others. "
-- Groucho Marx