|
I found the below information from Marline Submarines interesting. "A combination of new generation Phosphate-based Lithium-Ion batteries and rare-earth magnet technology main propulsion motor provide performance and endurance remarkable for a vessel of this size and type." Also of interest to me is that both hemisphere ends are unboltable to make the sub easy to work on. Another interesting design detail is how he designed the side SBT's to attach to the external ribbing. I'm interested to know how he attached and sealed those tanks, since I've been thinking about different configurations to do just that. He might be using some sort of nasty sealant that would make the tanks hard to remove for maintenance. I was thinking of using some sort of gasket, lipped seal, or o-ring. But those can be harder to get a good seal in that sort of configuration. Frank, you should note that they are using a molded acrylic fairing in front of there forward viewport and cameras, much like you wanted to do. "Surrounding the forward part of the hull is the bow moulding, the upper half of which forms the bow main ballast tank by means of a GRP inner skin hugging the pressure hull forward hemisphere. This bow buoyancy counteracts the tendency to dive when running at speed on the surface. The lower bow fairing section features a bonded-in acrylic transparent section to allow observation from the viewport whilst maintaining the streamlined hull form. Neutral buoyancy whilst dived is maintained by two internal 1 atmosphere variable ballast tanks with a total capacity of 140 litres, located in the forward pressure hull section. The variable ballast allows some compensation for varying crew and equipment loads. Water ballast is pumped out using a positive displacement pump driven by an electric motor and taken in using external pressure, with impeller pump assistance for surface or shallow depth use." Regards,
Brent Hartwig |