Re: Construction and Design References?

[Dick Morrisson <rmorrisson@unidial.com>]

Steve,
I'm kind of in the same boat, er... sub.  You know, the sub "SS Wannabee".
The list of books from the PSub main page reference is excellent.  I have
purchased several recently as I am getting more serious about building a 1
atm, 1 man sub (and I'm thinking about 1500 ft design depth).  The best all
around for the money (my opinion) so far is "Submersible Vehicle Systems
Design" from The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, for $75
plus $6 shipping.  It is 425 pages, hardbound, and covers a lot of ground,
er... water!  If you want some really "dry" reading (ho ho ho, stick a fork in
it!) try the ABS book "Rules for Building and Classing Underwater Vehicles,
Systems, and Hyperbaric Facilities".  It is also $75 as I remember, about a
half inch thick, softcover, and covers the nitty gritty of hull design in
excruciating detail.  If you want to see port design in equal detail pick up
the ASME book PVHO-1-1997 for $145 plus $17 s&h.  I have a lot of reading to
do and I had all this beer money saved up 'cause I hardly drink at all anymore
;-)  Of course, this is only if you want a sub which takes advantage of the
hundreds of people who spent thousands of hours and millions of dollars
defining the envelope.  You could always just "heft it" a few times and call
it good!  I'd rather you played it safe and we talked about our mutual
accomplishements on this site in 10 or 15 years as a number of the others are
doing now about theirs.
Have fun, whatever you do, and remember to stick a fork in it!
Dick Morrisson


Stephen Baker wrote:

> Greetings all! I've been lurking for awhile just to get the flavor of this
> group. It seems to be a decidedly zany flavor, indeed! My question(s)
> regard basic information sources. Here in the middle of the country, the
> libraries are rather short on pertinent material! What would be your
> recommendations for references for the following types of information?
>
> 1. Basic/beginning submarine and/or submersible design.
>    a. Theory and design of hull penetrations
>    b. Practical application of ballast, trim, etc.
>    c. Window/port design and fabrication
>
> 2. Information specific to subsystem design.
>    a. Propulsion
>    b. Batteries
>    c. Control systems
>    d. Environmental systems
>
> 3. Lots of other stuff that I left out!
>
> If there is a FAQ for this, I couldn't find it. Thanks for any suggestions
> that you might have! (Maybe it SHOULD be a faq!?)
>
> Steve B.