Re: HP, weight and visability

[Ray Keefer <Ray.Keefer@eng.Sun.COM>]

Hi "Marsee,

> Not to pooh-pooh ABS as a source of guidelines, but isn't ABS certification
> a tremendous pain in the neck? ABS certification is required to carry paying
> passengers, but what purpose does it serve for a psub? :-o Joe

Yes, ABS certification is a tremendous pain in the neck, pocket book too!
When I build my 1 atm I'll use their book as a guideline but I haven't
decided to get certified by them or not. Probably not since more than half
the costs would be in getting certified plus the yearly recertification 
costs.

If you plan to carry passengers the Coast Guard would require insurance. To
get insurance you will need certification. To get certification... and so on.
You might be able to get away with things if you occasionly sneak another
person onto a two man psub, but if anything goes wrong, watch out.

One advantage of Kittredge's designs is that they have gone through the
approval process. So while you would still have to get your particular hull
certified the overall design is previous approval. So the overall costs would
be down a bit.

Still, I haven't made up my mind as two which way to go. Is certification
really necessary? Anyone actually talk to the Coast Guard?

Regards,
Ray