Pressure testing, THOOMP or BANG that is the question!

[shawl@torchlake.com (Jonathan Shawl)]

> Just a note on the use of "Bang" in describing hull failure.  The failure of a flourescent light bulb (tube) is the same as a "crush" failure and it sounds more like a "THOOMP" than a "Bang".

My spell checker said it is more like a "THUMP".Your are right I just couldn't find the right word, I stand corrected. ..er... uha...maybe?
Let me think again, if you were on the inside wouldn't it be a bang, followed by silence & darkness?
We better think about that one some more. I hope no one has to find out which is right.
Another way to pressure test a hull to about 30' before you put it in the water at all, is to use a vacuum pump to suck down the hull to -1 atm or about = to 30' depth, My first sub didn't make past 15" Vac or about = to 15'. I was lucky enough to be on the outside of my first hull when it went THOOMP! I was tapping on the hull with my knuckles to see what it sounded like and that's all it took to trigger it, the back end went flat in a split second. That is what happens to thin, unreinforced, and flat sections, at a relatively shallow depth.
Again just be careful.

Jon Shawl