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Good morning Hugh and thanks for the nice comments. Ya, I try to keep
things as simple as I can.
I want to be able to carry spare replacement parts, or be able to get basic
parts no matter where I am.
As far as bumping into things.......Well, first off, these little boats
don't go very fast, but they're heavy and even at low speeds will generate a lot
of impact force when crashed into something that doesn't move.
Not only do the boats have their own weight, but also the water in the
ballast tanks. Add it all up, and these things have a LOT of mass.
A boat with a dome front ( or ANY plastic,
anywhere ) needs some sort of protection for that area. If you look at the
K boats, they all have a steel bumper running from the front MBT down to the
hull, just below the front view port. George was no fool, and that's just one
more design detail that shows the genius of his design. I've often thought that
the tower windows could use a little protection too.
My front window is located inside the front MBT "tunnel"
which will give me some protection from front or side impacts.
Additionally, I am installing a 1 inch plexi cover in front of the 3 inch window
disk, which should protect the disk from impacts and also deflect water or any
smaller pieces of debris from hitting the main window. Here's a little
sketch......
My thought here was to improve the hydro-planing aspect of the boat and add
a little protection at the same time. When I was doing flow testing of the
various models I had made, the models tended to wobble as the speed increased,
especially when on the surface where I was testing for tow-ability. Once the
flow got above 5 knots, the sub models started to bob up and down, and
worse yet, side to side. Not so bad with a small model, but I knew it could be a
serious problem with a 3 1/2 ton boat being towed at 20 knots in choppy
water. Once I added the front cover to the models, The track straightened right
out. I still got a little up and down action from simulated waves, but generally
the bow stayed up high, and the boat model stayed straight. I went with 1 inch
for strength. Now, keep in mind, this was all done with models that are
only 2 feet long. I tried to make them fairly accurate as far as weight balance
( front to back ) and general shape/dimensions, but only sea trials
with the " real deal " will prove whether I have a design that
works.
Getting back to protection, I have two windows on the top that are going to
need some type of bumpers also. Probably will go with some type of " eyebrow "
so if something comes at them from the front, side, or above, I have something
there. Haven't finalized that design yet.
I'm a little freaked out about breaking a window, because as I've said
before, I plan on diving up-close to big rocks, and expect to encounter not only
currents, but also wave action. As an old scuba diver, I know a little about how
the water behaves near large objects, and I'm SURE I'm gonna hit those
rocks! Hopefully I just need to repair the fiberglass fairings when that
happens, and not scuttle the boat.
I fully expect to break off the dive planes regularly, so I designed them
to break at a given point, and can replace them with spares in just a few
minutes. If they snag on something, I should be able to break free with the subs
power, by shearing the soft bolts holding the dive planes in their mounts. It's
easier to replace them than break something else like motor mounts, etc. or
worse yet get stuck.
Frank D. |