Hello All, I am a new member to this discussion group and, being new to the whole subject of personal submersibles, have a few questions for the rest of you to help me decide if the whole idea of building my own submersible is a sensible choice for me. I do NOT want to go further down the road of resource, financial and emotional investment if its an unrealistic venture. I’ll tell you a bit about me, my intended submersible and also the area where I intend to use it. My name is Paul Lassen and am 46. I live in Rosebud, Alberta, Canada (about as land locked as you can get) near Calgary. I have a masters degree in Industrial Design and currently work as an acoustician who assesses and designs solutions for industrial noise. I have spent my life building virtually anything that strikes my fancy. Including everything from violin family instruments, rally cars, engines, boats, product models, homes, tools, stereo equipment electronics, on and on. I have also been an instrumentation mechanic / technician in the oil and gas sector. I have good confidence in my ability to build a submersible with one exception. Welding. I have virtually no experience welding and I can only imagine the importance of a high quality weld to the building of a safe PSUB. Can the necessary welding skills be gained through adult education courses, some additional reading and practice? I get the sense that at least some of you have done just that. Am I right? If you know of good resources for welding education then please pass their titles / URLs / whatever along. What kind of welding is appropriate / necessary for our kind of welding (stick, MIG, TIG)? Is there an exceptionally well suited model of welder that people know of? Are there welder models to avoid? My hope is to build a K-350 with my own little modes. I intend to use it in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada where I now boat regularly. On the surface its a stunningly beautiful area of intersecting fjords and inlets but below the water I just don't know much. Neither does anyone I've spoken with. I have oceanfront recreational property there which can act as a good base and the invertebrate speciation there is really second to none. Depths are between 30 to 60 metres for perhaps 50% of the various inlets of Clayoquot Sound while the remainder is 60 metres down to 170 metres. Visibility was poor the one time I’ve bothered to dive there (I far prefer more tropical destinations for SCUBA) and surface observation of visibility seems to indicate that this is the norm. Water is typically 11º C (52º F) without much seasonal variation. The idea of building and operating a PSUB has really captured my imagination. I just need to know what it will take to get to a skill level where I can make welds that will result in a safe and reliable submersible. I also want to know if cool mirky waters (at shallow diving depths) will allow any kind of observational enjoyment or if I’ll be consistently disappointed in what I am unable to see down there. Does visibility ever improve at depth? Finally, explain to me the reasons that the K-350 has become such an apparently popular PSUB? I'll be grateful for any responses. Cheers, Paul Lassen |