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.
Your
reference to "only those with the appropriate resources should attempt
to build submarines" is not what I said in a previous message. My
exact quote was "If you don't have the resources to build a sub
properly, don't build it." My words do not imply that only the
wealthy, or only those with doctorate degrees should be building subs.
It also does not specify, nor restrict, the resources one should
use. It simply implies common sense. For example, if the
operating requirements of your sub require 6mm steel, don't use low-cost 55
gallon drums. To do so is not being innovative, it is being
stupid.
The suggestion that
innovation is being stagnated by calls for safe and proper
design/construction techniques, regardless of the resources available,
is diatribe by people who have an "anything goes" and "you ain't gonna tell
me what to do" mentality. Don't listen to them. Everyone has an
individual right to do what they want, as they want. However, when you
open your ideas to the public, you run the risk that someone else who has a
bit more knowledge, a bit more experience, and a perhaps a bit more sense,
is going to disagree with your resource choices and risk assessment.
That is their right.
-----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
site
I'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 think