I came to discover recently that my commercial mariner certificate (Transport Canada - Master, vessels no greater than 60 GT, carrying passengers) could be augmented with a passenger submersible craft endorsement. The requirements are simply a commercial diving certification of any valid type - (commercial SCUBA or surface supply), and proof of training / competency on the vessel to be piloted. Vessel specific training would be provided and documented by the manufacturer / owner. I am not familiar with the US requirements, but they are probably along the same lines.
PSubs, as with any non-commercial small craft, are not governed by the same rules. Here in Canada, any yokel can run a boat legally with an "operator competency" card - a bit of a joke certification available through an internet administered self-study course. I presume that there are no special requirements for submersible craft in this category. Again, I am unfamiliar with US requirements.
I do wonder how valuable a course on one specific K250 would be. Given that these boats are so widely variant in design deviations, control schemes, and other owner / builder customization, I would hazard a guess that while you may get a feel for how such a craft behaves generally, the course may not be entirely applicable to your own build, and that the training offered is likely geared towards someone who wants a sub ride and a cool wall certificate, rather than someone in the process of designing / building their own K250. YMMV.
If you are looking to get input on possible design changes or operational issues, you might do well to poll the list members to see if there are K boats you could examine, sit in, or possibly operate in order to guide your own build. Exposure to a number of different boats can't hurt, and seems to me to bear a greater potential benefit than this K250 course. Having said that, I do not own a K sub, I have never been in a K sub, and I have never dealt with the company in question, so take my comments with a grain of salt. On the plus side, having a training certificate from a well established company may have some bearing on insurance issues, so that may play into your decision. Plus, certificates are cool. I was thinking of pursuing the sub endorsement on mine just for conversational value, but a commercial SCUBA course here in BC runs about $5K, and then I'd have to plead with Phil to let me test dive a DeepWorker and write me a testimonial. ;-)
-Sean
On Feb 11, 2009, ShellyDalg@aol.com wrote:
Thanks Ray. That's interesting. It sounds like a lot of fun. I think I'll give them a call and see if the program still exists. I expect the basic systems on my little sub will be fairly close in operation to the ones on their K250, and it could help me on my first dives.I would like to take one or two of my daughters to take the course too, if they're interested. I wanted to get a little more info on it before I approached them, and will share the experience with the guys.If anyone else has thoughts on this thread, I'd be interested in hearing them. Frank D.
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