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Hi Brent. Thanks for the comments and pics. Yes, the nose cone on the "old
school" motor launch was the inspiration for my nose cone. There are lots of the
old mahogany boats up in Lake Tahoe and I've always admired the beautiful lines
and craftsmanship in those. I'm leaning toward brass plate for the smaller parts
on my sub like motor mounts and maybe the rudders. I'd like to get the hatch
plated too, but haven't contacted any plating shops yet to see about
feasibility/cost. I did price out some solid brass sheet for some parts
like the retainer rings for the viewports a while back. Pretty pricey! I can buy
brass angle and roll it into rings for those at a reasonable cost. That will
give me the old fashioned "port hole" look for the windows that I want. I'll be
interested to see how brass plating the steel compares in price. I can always
just paint the parts, and maybe plate them later. I'll need steel in several
components for the strength, but being a Harley guy, I just like stuff that's
shiny!
I like the wave piercing bow on your sketch. Would you
build a mock-up/model and test it's characteristics in a water
stream? I've found that to be a useful method of determining what something
looks like in real life ( versus a concept drawing ) and how the particular
design performs. It also points out problems in fabrication without having the
expense of building a full size component from expensive materials.
I see you have incorporated the plexi ring into one of
your sketches. I wonder how they made that ring. Do you suppose they took flat
sheet and formed it ? Or did they take a big cast plug and cut it out. Greg C.
did it that way for his first experimental piece I think, but it was only 4
inches tall. Still, he said he really liked the view through it. That may be
something I'll consider as an add-on for my sub at a later date.
I wish I had the computer skills to make the type of
renderings you make. They're very nice. I want to put together a
folder/brochure/marketing piece that I can use to drum up interest in my sub,
and have my daughters use it in their classrooms. The teacher at my grandsons
school is already using the test model and some pictures of the build in her
classroom, and wants me to bring the sub up for the kids to see when it's done.
It would be nice to have a few graphics for presentations in schools or maybe
even some corporate sponsors.
Speaking of Tahoe, I read where Scott Cossell ( squid chaser )
is going to be up in Tahoe diving his new sub. I think it said April. I plan on
going up to watch, and maybe get a chance to talk with him. Sure sorry I didn't
go to last year's convention.
Well, better get up to the shop. See you when you come down. Frank
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