Re: ambient preference

[Rick Lucertini <empiricus@sprint.ca>]

SFreihof@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 4/14/99 8:02:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, stymer@home.com
> writes:
>
> << Good descents are the result of sufficient 'on-demand' air supply so that
>  you can keep the ballast tank air volume consistent and keep the sub at
>  about neutral buoyancy.  >>
>
> This is not something that I had considered to be a major problem, so I'm
> glad you raised the issue.  My question now is, what is a simple and reliable
> way to maintain neutral boyancy in the ballast tanks automatically?

Hi, Stan and Stymer -

The way I've come up with is to isolate the cockpit and have the cockpit become the
"hard tank".

Huh?  The fore and aft tanks are for surface use only to maintain freeboard.  OK so
far.

If we flood our fore and aft tanks completely so that a small portion of our canopy
protrudes above the surface, we are now close to neutral buoyancy.  At this point, if
we admit water into the cockpit, we'll descend slowly if we admit just enough water.

Compensation of the cockpit to ambient is what keeps buoyancy neutral without having
to constantly mother Mr. Boyle.  Isolate the bottom half of the cockpit from the top
half by using a kayak sock around your lower body.  You stay dry because the top or
ring portion of the sock is clamped onto a coaming or ring with a SS clamp band.
Your legs, hips and waist are inside the sock which has reduced cockpit volume by
conforming tighly to you body.  Much like a fly fisherman's waders.  As a matter of
fact, you can even modify the waders and forget the kayak sock.

Rather than repeat myself here, read my other posts from this evening.  They should
answer the question.


Rick


--
Rick Lucertini
empiricus@sprint.ca
(Vancouver, Canada)