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Hugh,
Did you take a look at U-boat Worx ballast tank vent
valves when you were there? They look like they are using some sort of
mushroom vent. It seems like I keep finding that when it comes to
competition, people tend to go to one extreme or the other. I was
pleasantly surprised when I got into the commercial parakeet farming business in
Oregon, that all the other parakeet farms in the are worked together in one way
or another. We could order larger bulk feed orders, and keep are customers
supplied with others birds when are production was down. I like it when
people compete with quality, style, price, and service. Not put others
down, to push your self up. Bruce made a stab at SeaMagine, Hawkes and Phil in
that brochure as well.
Subs have so many different uses, that while one
configuration of designs will work great in one or more niches, it's not going
to be the best in all niches.
" There are sub vendors out there at
yacht shows selling inexpensive, shallow diving sub that have not been properly
engineered and certified, and if you use one, in our opinion, you are taking
your life in your hands.
The Triton represents the only
deep submersible design in the world today that was developed specifically to
meet the requirements of yacht based use. Every competitive submersible offered
has at least one fatal flaw when it come to yacht based
operations."
Do I need to say any thing
here? I'll have to call his bluff on that
one.
" One even puts a very large
metal mating flange at eye level around the passenger
compartment."
The SeaMagines have are a lot easier to get out of and
have more surface flotation then a Triton 1000 as well as some acrylic sphere
protection.
" The 3300 foot version of the
Triton allows even more versatility in diving depth and is popular among marine
archeologist of wreck-hunters.?
He's not even built one yet, and he's saying there
popular.
"Other classification societies of
other countries also class submersibles but non have the rigorous requirements
of ABS and some are simply chosen for their regulatory loopholes. For instance,
ABS would never award class to a submersible where opening the hatch in the
water would sink the vehicle."
~ Bruce Jones
What about the inflatable systems for emergency
surface egress that the Deep Flight Super Falcon and Deep Flight Aviator is
supposed to have, and that they cannot open the hatch from the inside as far as
I can see. Some Deepworker subs are ABS classed if I understand
Phil correctly.
Regards,
Brent
From: Hugh Fulton
Sent: Sunday, August 16, 2009 3:55 PM
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Sub Operation at the Discretion of the
U.S Coast Guard U-boat
Worx are in Breda, Holland not Dubai. I visited them and they are quite
professional and have a GL classification equal to ABS and acceptance in Europe
so Yes Triton brochure comments are misleading and rather pointed. The new
Seaquester is 3 man and quite roomy inside and well built. They are using
Li-ion batteries. I
think that Triton have the edge but they are much more costly. Competition
brings out the best and the worst in people. Chs
Hugh From:
owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
[mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of Jay K.
Jeffries Brent, From my discussions with the US
Coast Guard while assisting with making plans for the Maine trip, the issue of
?classed? never came up. The USCG can stop you from operating on any
navigable waters if they think that you present a threat or a safety issue
(whether to yourself or to others). Well it looks like Jones finally
has subs in the water?it has taken him close to 20 years (and they are the large
luxury yacht submersibles that he keeps pushing but just a copy of Link?s
original concept). Haven?t spoken with him in years but it looks like he
hasn?t changed. Wasn?t U-Boat Worx building out
of Dubai? If so, they are under indictment for embezzlement as I posted a
while back. R/Jay From:
owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
[mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org] On Behalf Of Brent
Hartwig I had a phone
conversation with Bruce Jones a while back, and he tried to make it sound like
only classed sub are allowed to operate in the U.S. waters. Of course we
know that unclassed subs have a range to currently work in. But he
didn't want to hear that. I guess some just want subbing to be a very
very exclusive club. I had also heard that in some busy harbors the Coast
Guard wants you to file a dive plan, and get clearance. Like was done when the
S101 was diving in the Seattle area. Have you guys heard about the below data,
and is there a statute I can reference? "In
most countries, including the United States, it is illegal to commercially
operate a sub not built to classification standards and operated without a valid
class certificate. In the U.S. it is at the discretion of the U.S. Coast Guard
Captain of the Port at so whether to allow private home-built or non classed
subs to operate without paying passengers in U.S
waters. Submersibles that are not classed by any
classification society cannot be insured and they cannot legally carry
passengers for hire. Small, inexpensive submersibles like those sold by U-Boat
Worx fall into this category."
For more info on Triton: http://www.tritonsubs.com/files/triton-brochure.pdf There is also quite a bit of
data on the Triton subs in this new PDF brochure that is interesting. I found
the U-Boat Worx comments to be a bit rude. But maybe that's just me. As is turns
out Bruce Jones lives just minutes from me. How crazy is
that. Regards, Brent
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