Books, Kittredge subs?

[Nathanael Henderson <jude@pconline.com>]

   Greetings from a new list member!   I had given some thought to a wet
sub (essentially a scooter from hell) but after running into The
Vindicator web site I must confess a sudden desire to build a proper sub.
:-)   SO.  A few basic questions.

    The PSUBS site lists several books.  In particular, I'm curious about
the ABS book on design/construction standards.  Does this book give the
sort of level of information that would be needed to work out a safe hull
design for a given depth, or is it more focused on materials and
manufacturing standards?   (The acrylic window book sounds interesting
too, but at a hundred bucks I can wait for now....)

    The Kittredge web site lists sub plans for sale--has anyone on the
list bought and/or used these plans that can comment on their value and
appropriateness for a first time builder?   It's a semi pricy product
for the higher end designs, although for 50+ blueprints it sounds quite
comprehensive.   I e-mailed Kittredge for more info on the work involved
in building his designs (he responded immediately, which is rare from
businesses).   According to him, the low end design (good to 250', acrylic
dome instead of steel conning tower) can be built for about $9,000 of raw
materials *if* you could do all the labor yourself, and he built the first
one in about two-odd months with one person helping him.  (Granted they
must have been working full time and were no doubt faster than I would be
the first time.)  Comments?  Does this seem reasonable?  I'd greatly
apreciate anybody's comments on the quality/functionality of his designs
and the ammount of work/cost to complete them.

    Domes, domes, domes.  Acrylic is a friend o' mine since I've built
fish tanks and other things for myself from it, which makes the idea of a
clear dome instead of portholes all the more tempting.  (I'm confident I
could machine a very heavy dome although it'd waste a lot of
acrylic...perhaps $700 for a block of plastic large enough for a 24" wide
12" deep half dome.)   Anyway, a question for the folks that have seen
acrylic domes up close and personal:   Is the optical distortion from a
smaller dome bad underwater?   And just how big is enough for a good,
comfortable view?


Nathan H.