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Re: keeping my interest

Martin Sanderse wrote:

> <big snip>

 >The second issue is whether or not it ought to be slow or fast.  Doing surveys of large areas or
"exploring the waterways" imply >speed and freedom from a support vessel.  This limits manuverability
in poking around individual wrecks.  However, something >very good at poking around wrecks, (the
classic Cousteau diving Saucer come to mind) has a limited speed and range.

Hi, Martin, hi, all - Your situation may have more to do with the state of an intelligent mind than a
choice of building options.  You may be after <he says, hoping the readers take this with a grain of
salt> many experiences at the same time.  IMHO, if you make a choice of one or the other option for
THIS boat, it'll take the pressure off.  For the NEXT boat, why not choose the other type of sub?
ASlso, what's your water environment like?  That may have more bearing on your selection or options
and may make the decision for you.  Can you transport the sub to distant waters by trailer?  Do you
want to?

> Third, how deep?  Well, as deep as possible, of course, and I guess that's a question of
> how much money and/or skill you have.

Aw, heck, deep is boring.  Most of the interesting stuff is less than 3atm.  I've been as deep as
160ft in Thailand.  Saw a fish chasing a ray.  Big deal.  My buddy got severely narced and the light
was dim and fairly colourless.  Ho, hum. For THIS boat, why not an ambient pressure, dry cockpit, with
a long LOA so that your descents will be along a fairly shallow dive angle, say 5 degrees?  With this
kind of cockpit, you have to be careful but it can be done.

> So, in the experience of those with subs, or those who have settled on a design, what
> has been more useful?  Speed and autonomy, or manuverability for "close in" work?

How romantic are you?  [as in, poetic]  Would you like to watch the sunset with a pina colada in your
hands and a friend by your side?  Or, perhaps, the friend in your hands and the pina colada by your
side? You'll need a wide deck to sit two people for chatting.  That more or less implies a longish
boat.  And a longish boat implies a long hauler or touring sub.  Think about it.  Ref. my previous
post.  What do YOU want?

This is a great issue here!

Rick Lucertini
Vancouver, Canada