Hi Doug. There's plenty of room inside, but I want to avoid any shafts
penetrating my hull. I know that the "block-V " seals work, but I can't figure a
way to put a ball valve on a shaft. ( just kidding )
I want to have a valve on every hole I make in the hull just in case I
crash into something and damage what ever is going through the hull. I plan on
being very close to the rocks along the coast here and with the wave action it's
just a matter of time before I get slammed up against them. I may lose a motor
or get some big dents in the ballast tanks, but I want to be able to valve off
anything coming through the hull. I'm making the fiberglass fairings with a
bumper section that's 1 inch thick running the length of each so it can take a
pretty good hit. That's the most obvious place besides the side motor/dive
planes where a hit will come. The front of the sub is pointed and heavy steel in
case I can't stop in time, and the way the steel struts are mounted to the
hull, it will spread out the impact over a large area. Just trying to make this
thing as "robust" as I can. I wish I could put a 100 horse motor on there so I
could plow through stuff like the kelp beds here. They can get very dense
and that's where a lot of the sea life is. Frank
D.