Hello
Simon,
First of all, congratulations on your website. Nice job. It would also be nice to see a link back to psubs.
It has been shown by numerous projects in progress or that have been completed, that a well designed, safe, and functional sub does not require resources in a "big way". There's a difference between "big way" and "safe way". There is ample evidence of home-built subs fabricated in a "safe way" by people who do not have resources in a "big way". Conversely, there is no guarantee that fabricating a sub with resources "in a big way" inherently results in a sub built the "safe way". These are indisputable truths which can be proven by both example and demonstration.
In reference to your question "...I ask is it not more appropriate to achieve what you can with the resources available while understanding the risks you take?", the answer is; that is something which is for you to decide, not PSUBS. Only you can decide what risks you are willing to take. Only you can decide if trading the resources required for a particular design, for "resources I can afford", is acceptable for you. PSUBS has no enforcement power over you. There are no "PSUBS police" that are going to break down your door in the middle of the night, confiscate your sub, and relegate you into a life of just surviving. From an individualistic perspective, you could certainly conclude that the answer to your question is, yes.
I think the real question you want answered is more properly written as "...I ask is it not more appropriate - for PSUBS to support people - to achieve what they can with the resources available while understanding the risks they take?" From a community perspective, we could certainly conclude that the answer to your question is, no. Without understanding the specifics of the "resources" and "risks", such endorsement would be much too broad. PSUBS is not some street corner where home builders arbitrarily meet, talk a bit, BS a bit, and then go on their merry little way. PSUBS is an internationally known public location which is read by segments of the commercial and research submersible industry, the civilian government, the military, law enforcement, and the media. We have more than 350 people on the mailing list and the web site averages more than 30,000 visitors each month. As has been pointed out by others, what we say matters, if for no other reason than the sheer volume of people who have access to the material we present and don't know as much as we do about submersibles.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org [mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org]On Behalf Of simon blackburn
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 8:59 AM
To: personal_submersibles
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] New web siteHello chapsI've been following the site for a good number of years, like many people just listening and learning. The recent discussions have me thinking with regards to whether people such as myself have a place in these forums or whether they should be left to those fortunate individuals with the resources (time and money) to pursue the dream in a big way. I recently started a web site to focus my mind on actually achieving something and wanted to get it to a reasonable point before publishing the address on the forum. With the recent discussions and statements that only those with the appropriate resources should attempt to build submersibles, I ask is it not more appropriate to achieve what you can with the resources available while understanding the risks you take?I know, maybe because of what I've learnt here I don't have resources to build a 1 atmosphere, so I start with a wet sub in shallow water which as a qualified diver I can bail out of. Anyway will my wetsub when complete be a threat to the Psubs community? I live in the UK and I guess bad press here is more likely to get to North America than from China. I can assure you I plan on living long enough to see my grandkids and my kids are only 7 and 10 so I certainly don't have a death wish.Although my site and project are a long way from complete I'll let you view my website and pass the comments you feel are appropriate. The address is;Let me know what you thinkSimon