Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] SCUBA Limits


Hi, Paul/all:
        Idling down thru' some posts, I noted Paul's comment on a 'poor
mans DeepWorker' (or similar) as an alternative to SCUBA. Thought you might
be interested to know that Nuytco was approached by a couple of large
aquariums to build a very shallow, low-cost DeepWorker that would be used,
ostensibly, to feed fish or clean the windows of the aquaria or something -
but was actually to pull people in to 'see the submarine'! This came about
as a result of our having DeepWorkers in such aquariums as Newport beach,
Oregon, Monterey, Ca, Seattle, Wash,Vancouver, BC, etc., It was only a
fweek or so, each, but people jammed the place to see the subs operate - up
close! Most important to the aquariums, it brought attendance by local
people - who were tired of seeing the same ol' fish displays - back up. It
had been mentioned to us before, by the Sydney and the New Egland Aquariums
 - and I finally did take it  seriously enough to build two different
'shallow' sub hulls, one in a hybrid composite fiber (glass and carbon
mixed in an epoxy matrix) and one in light mild steel. The depths required
for most aquariums are quite modest - the structural strength required to
stand handling  the thing in and out of the water was greater than the
depth required integrity - so, I figured, why not make it deep enough that
it could double as an aquarium specimen collecting sub? They can already
collect with SCUBA so, the only big advantage would be bottom time - -
unless it went deeper than the average SCUBA diver. So I settled on 100
meters - 320 feet. The steel hull we built was nearly the same as
DeepWorker - just a little shorter leg tube -  but one third the thickness
and much, much, lighter. Cheaper , too - thinner domes, lighter stainless
hatch seat rings, etc.,  but still  not dirt cheap.  We'd had some
considerable experience with light, mild steel,shallow hulls used in a sub
series called 'Sea Urchin' in the mid- 90's and that knowledge helped get
the cost down.-But, the composite hull more economical by a considerable
factor, but had to be stiffened with large diameter aluminum tubing hoops
in the hatch sealing area and in the leg tube. 
        This was all a few of years ago. We already had all the test data
from Sea Urchin but nothing comparable from the 'plastic' DeepWorker. so we
set about to pressure test the 'plastic' - but then got an order for four
DeepWorker 2000's. So I put the 'plastic' hull aside in the the
'to-be-continued ' part of the warehouse ( along with the 7,000 foot 'Deep
Roamer') and there it sits.
        Recently, I  had a thought ( always dangerous, our guys tell me)
What about just selling the 'plastic' (or lightweight mild steel) hulls,
battery pods, domes, etc., as a kind of a kit. Sorta like K350's but
jazzier looking (in my biased opinion) and I guess the question that I
didn't research any further was: what would it have to sell for in order to
be attractive to home builders? 
Any thoughts? (I can hear Vance thinking 'Jeez, are you nuts? don't you
have enough problems now?) 
Regards
Phil Nuytten 




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