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