Well, there IS the Gulf Stream to carry that stuff, and you live on the
East side of it, the last time I checked. Maybe they're coming from
Havana? However, somebody somewhere gets them. If we don't find them on
the web, we'll ping on Phil the end of the month. Maybe he'll know.
Meanwhile, I'll call Pete Hoffman and maybe HBOI (if there is anyone
left up there who will talk to me). Otherwise, maybe I can set up a
cheap-o distributorship. Carsten might help. Those things are way too
handy not to have.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: Jay K. Jeffries <bottomgun@mindspring.com>
To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 6:57 pm
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
There has to be a source in the US for that product or a similar one as
we find the floats washed up here on the beach all of the time.
R/Jay
/ /
*From:* owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
<mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
[mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
<mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org?>] *On Behalf Of
*vbra676539@aol.com <mailto:vbra676539@aol.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, September 15, 2009 7:00 PM
*To:* personal_submersibles@psubs.org
<mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
*Subject:* Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
That's all I see for the moment. Let me make a call.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: Jay K. Jeffries <bottomgun@mindspring.com
<mailto:bottomgun@mindspring.com>>
To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org <mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 6:47 pm
Subject: RE: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
Vance,
Can you suggest a source in the US? I am only finding mostly European
sources.
R/Jay
/ /
*From:* _owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
[_mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:owner-personal_submersibles@psubs.org?>] *On Behalf Of
*_vbra676539@aol.com_ <mailto:vbra676539@aol.com>
*Sent:* Tuesday, September 15, 2009 6:48 PM
*To:* _personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
*Subject:* Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
You're welcome. And besides, those Nokalons look really offshore hanging
in the garage. No one else has them except the net fishermen.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: _Recon1st@aol.com_ <mailto:Recon1st@aol.com>
To: _personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 2:26 pm
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
*Vance I think we should keep you around. That is a good plan. Just
about every time I do*
*something permanent like, I seem to regret it a little later or at
least a better solution.*
*Dean*
In a message dated 9/15/2009 12:50:52 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
_vbra676539@aol.com_ <mailto:vbra676539@aol.com> writes:
Syntactic--is that a trick question? Before getting into all that
mess, I'd recommend taking your best SWAG and order some Nokalon
buoys. Get the kind with the hole through the middle and you can
string them on a pipe like beads on a necklace. They come in all
sizes and depth capabilities. Get the ones that are 9 or 10 inches
across. They won't be pretty, but you can add plenty of buoyancy
mighty quick with them, and figure out in the process if the
solution you need should be more permanent.
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: _Recon1st@aol.com_ <mailto:Recon1st@aol.com>
To: _personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 1:26 pm
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
*Vance yup she be fun. Lets see how you spell syntac foam*
*Dean*
In a message dated 9/15/2009 12:23:41 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
_vbra676539@aol.com_ <mailto:vbra676539@aol.com> writes:
Will 200# compensate for your VBT. If that's your only external
void, then it should be enough. If you are already running
short, however, then you're going to be thinking about auxiliary
flotation pretty soon, too. Hmm. Lots of problems. Fun, ain't it?
Vance
-----Original Message-----
From: _Recon1st@aol.com_ <mailto:Recon1st@aol.com>
To: _personal_submersibles@psubs.org_
<mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Tue, Sep 15, 2009 12:30 pm
Subject: Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Drop Weights
*I am not real sure on this. I wanted to have a 200 lb drop
weight. Just seems like a good*
*number to me. My sub is very stable and I am quite sure would
not be a problem. I do however*
*want it located close to my CG so I come up level. This problem
I must solve this winter as*
*now I only have about 110lbs to play with and it is not at my
CG. Not to mention I do not*
*have my arm on and several other little goodies.*
*Must be real nice having that much to play with. Ah to have it
to do over hehheh*
*Dean*
In a message dated 9/15/2009 10:54:48 A.M. Central Daylight
Time, _ShellyDalg@aol.com_ <mailto:ShellyDalg@aol.com> writes:
Dean, you mentioned that your drop weight was not very big
and the front was a little light.
It started me thinking about the size of my planned drop
weight. I've read about a lot of subs and there doesn't seem
to be a lot of commonality in percentage of drop weight used
for the various sizes of psubs.
I remember the little video about towing the Delta sub and
during the submerged part of the video they said it had a 40
pound weight that could be dropped.
Other subs had drop weights that ranged up to 400 pounds.
I wonder if there's a danger in having too big a drop
weight. Can it cause problems when it's released?
An advantage to a large drop weight would be that when
dropped the sub would have more buoyancy and be able to
"tear free" from a minor entanglement like the kelp we have
around here.
The disadvantage could be a too rapid ascent and maybe some
instability once you reached the surface.
Both of these could be quite dangerous.
The surface instability may not be that critical because at
least you're back up where you can be reached by the surface
crew and a line can be attached to the sub.
The uncontrolled ascent rate is the thing that I was
worrying about.
I had planned on a pretty large drop weight. More like 750
pounds. The drop weight mechanism is designed in a keel
shape, and has a bunch of wheel rollers so I can roll the
sub around when it's on the floor in the shop, and when
launching the sub it can roll on and off the trailer.
The actual lead weights will be shaped to fit inside the
steel keel form and bolted in. The total weight can then be
adjusted by adding/removing weights but the steel keel
mechanism itself weighs about 250 pounds.
The total lead ballast needed to sink the sub is going to be
close to 1800 pounds. Most of this is bolted to the floor
inside with some of it on a sliding mechanism to adjust trim
angle.
These are rough numbers at this point of the build and my
float test will determine exactly how much is actually
needed depending on what all I put into the interior of the sub.
Adding a passenger, equipment, and later improvements like a
manipulator arm or whatever can be compensated with the
underfloor weights.
In the model testing I did the sub wobbled during ascent
when it was simulated dropping the weight but it stayed
level and fairly stable on the surface. It's the wobbling
when coming up that concerns me.
Anybody got any thoughts on this?
Frank D.
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