Dean,
That
“crash barrier” is a false security, remember you have the weight of a car
compacted into a much smaller package. The crumpling will thus be much
more dramatic for a given speed. It seems that I remember you speaking
at one time of your goal being to be able to make 10-12 kts. I spoke
with members of the USS Ray after she hit a sea mount (now named Mount
Ray) in the Med back in the 70s. I can’t discuss the speed she was doing
but it wasn’t fast. The whole sonar dome was folded back in, well over
100 stitches made on crew members, along with several broken bones being set
or splinted. She was lucky compared to the more recent incident in the
South Pacific.
You
need to think of when your bow supposedly crumples, how will it affect your
other emergency gear? You no longer have a bow buoyancy tank, your gas
bottles may shear off (in & out of your hull), the crumpled bow may foul
your hatch, and your drop weight may be fouled. Underwater is not as
forgiving as other places that you can go fast and the margin for error is
very slim. Good luck!
Jay
Respectfully,
Jay
K. Jeffries
Andros
Is., Bahamas
Talk
sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.
- Euripides (484 BC - 406 BC)
From:
owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
[mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of
Recon1st@aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 9:34
AM
To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
Subject: Re:
[PSUBS-MAILIST] Air Tanks
Frank
I have about 5' of superstructure in front of the pressure hull, that is
design to absorb
impact
like the front end of a car. It will accordion .I should be able to survive a
pretty good hit. The K type front
ballast
tank and forward windows are protected fairly well
I
need a lot of proof of concept test yet but I plan on shooting fish
finders forward and to the side
as
well as down and may even try up. But even with this I can see going over an
edge down or
up
could still provide a surprise
The
need for speed has given me trouble my entire life hehhe boys and their
toys
In a
message dated 8/26/2008 10:44:09 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
ShellyDalg@aol.com writes:
Hi
Dean. 12 horse main thruster! That sounds very cool. I'm sure you'll get the
planes to work with that much thrust. I hope that new sonar thing David B.
is making works. That could be a real help in avoiding big, dark boulders. I
assume you'll have a fish finder for reading the bottom profile. I know
even in places with great visibility, Objects can appear very quickly when
traveling at high speed. I'm guessing that most dives are done at low speed,
but I put bumpers and a very strong nose piece on mine, knowing that it's
just a matter of time before I crash into something. The only really
vulnerable part on mine is the two 12 inch "eyebrow" windows. I'll need to
add some kind of guard for those. The main lower window should have enough
protection from the front ballast tank and nose structure. I also will have
a 1 inch piece of plexi in front of that 20 inch window. Mostly for
hydrodynamic purposes during surface transit/towing but it will also deflect
objects that might be headed for the window. Good luck, Frank
D.
It's
only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.
It's
only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.