Hi Marc - I have seen many Superyacht-submarines concept the last 20 years.
One of them was my own concept in the early 90ies about 90 feet long.
Was shown as eye catcher on the superyacht show in monaco for teh yard I am working for at that time.
Lot of intresst from : reportsmans. Not one of the rich guys was intresst in.
"Looks small in the harbour.."
" I need something with sunbathing are, whirlpool and helicopter landing pad.."
" I like my private area and don't one to see the crewmembers - except the stewardess"
Some answers from people normally owned megyacht.
Submarine designer should think about this answers before the get to there drawing boards.
The superyacht-submarine "industry" is still waiting for the one rich guy building a autonomus submarine.
But this guy with the big pocket is still on dive station.
Most of them are very happy with a big superyacht and a small submarine as tender.
vbr Carsten
"Marc de Piolenc"<
piolenc@archivale.com> schrieb:
A lot of derision was recently heaped on a submersible luxury yacht
concept bruited by an Italian shipyard and reported by CNN. But
something in the article struck me as a challenge to those "in the
know." A spokesman for the shipyard said that they were looking for
consultants.
What if one or more of the leading lights of the personal submarines
networks were tapped to advise these builders? What would he/they tell
the yacht designers about the concept they have now, and what
modifications would he/they recommend, and why?
Although I am NOT a leading light in the field of personal submarines, I
have fantasized for decades about a personal submarine large and
comfortable enough for cruising, or even living aboard, and even done
some calculations and formed some opinions. I would like to try
launching the discussion, which I hope will be fruitful. Referring to
the CNN report:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/07/01/concept.yacht.designs/index.html?fbid=owi0rlu2C1-
It's fairly clear from the graphics that the outer hull of this thing is
the pressure hull (portholes visible), not a "soft" external casing,
which means that ballast provisions must necessarily be "hard" and
located inside the pressure hull. That, and the sheer size of the round
wiewports located just aft of amidships tell us that this beast, as
conceived, is meant only for shallow submergence. The absence of
internal stiffeners and bulkheads in the interior drawings reinforces
this, and also dictates the use of an inherently stiff, thick hull
shell, possibly of sandwich construction.
That said, what advantages would the ability to submerge to a modest
depth give the submarine yacht that might justify the vast additional
cost of building a huge submersible? The most obvious is the ability to
sightsee, to view the wonders of the shallows: reefs, lagoons... But
this could probably be adequately provided by a glass-bottomed surface
vessel. Handling rough weather is another advantage - one that
absolutely requires the ability to submerge. Equipped with a snorkel,
the yacht could use the full power of its diesels to make a rapid
passage through even the roughest weather. Even though, snorkeling, it
could not submerge below the convection zone of large surface waves, the
power of its propulsion system, allied with powerful hydrovanes and an
automatic stabilization system, would iron out most of the bumps and
allow a fair body like the sub to power through a storm at over thirty
knots. If the hull shape were optimized to minimize wave-making near the
surface, it might do better still.
There are disadvantages, of course, besides the greater expense of
building the beast. Like water ballast, all fuel tankage must be
internal, which makes venting, and protecting the passengers and crew
against fuel fumes and spills, a major design task. At snorkel depth
there's no problem because there is a continual influx of fresh air and
aspiration of interior air into the engines and expulsion out the
exhaust. With the boat completely buttoned up and on electric
propulsion, the problem gets more complicated.
The big viewports will have to be altered - I don't know of any outfit
that could mold a one-piece acrylic port that large. The result would be
mullioned, and might resemble a rose window more than a porthole.
Best,
Marc
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
The personal submersibles mailing list complies with the US Federal
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Your email address appears in our database
because either you, or someone you know, requested you receive messages
from our organization.
If you want to be removed from this mailing list simply click on the
link below or send a blank email message to:
removeme-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
Removal of your email address from this mailing list occurs by an
automated process and should be complete within five minutes of
our server receiving your request.
PSUBS.ORG
PO Box 53
Weare, NH 03281
603-529-1100
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
The personal submersibles mailing list complies with the US Federal
CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Your email address appears in our database
because either you, or someone you know, requested you receive messages
from our organization.
If you want to be removed from this mailing list simply click on the
link below or send a blank email message to:
removeme-personal_submersibles@psubs.org
Removal of your email address from this mailing list occurs by an
automated process and should be complete within five minutes of
our server receiving your request.
PSUBS.ORG
PO Box 53
Weare, NH 03281
603-529-1100
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
************************************************************************