Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Hello All

["D. Blake" <dblake@bright.net>]

Hello Doug:
The name Doug seems ever more present among psub folks.  Welcome to the
discussion group.
Yes, the notion of creating, building, and finally operating a submersible
is awesome.  Very few people are interested in such an undertaking.  As a
clinician in the mental health field, I can say without hesitation that most
of those interested would probably fit into some catagory of diagnosis if
the situation presented itself.  But of course we avoid situations where we
might be diagnosed, right?  I'm kidding.  Although, if you read the archives
you will no doubt come across the word "crazy" here and there.
I don't know about psubs being in it's infancy.  In fact, the heyday seems
to have been in the 60's and 70's.
Today there are R.O.V.s doing the work of underwater exploration because of
the advances in technology.  I think the reason for the lack of regulation
is because of the brief time manned submersibles were used, and the lack of
public attention.
I agree whole-heartedly that we need some organization to define parameters
and develop standards.  The "white papers" in the archive are a good start,
but need to be expanded upon.  We just need to do some research and get busy
putting it down on paper.  Like many others, I have had my fill of research
papers while in school, but it would be very beneficial to the field if we
would just discipline ourselves to the task.  In the end, we could pat
ourselves on the back.
Again, welcome to the group.
TTYL,
Big Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: DSmith4038@aol.com <DSmith4038@aol.com>
To: Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org <Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org>
Date: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 2:34 PM
Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Hello All


>             Hello all !! My name is Doug Smith and hail from Whitby,
>Ontario, Canada. I have been involved with the mechanical side of nuclear
>power for almost 30 years. I thought I would join your discussion group on
>PSUBS. The topic interests me and I have great respect for those of you who
>have successfully built subs. To be able to grasp the concept, build a sub
>with your own hands and then to safely pilot it to depths unknown is not a
>feat to ignore. Of course there are always other valuable contributors who
>maybe do not have the knowledge or skills or funds or fortitude or physical
>capabilities to build a sub yet I must tip my hat to them as well for their
>invaluable input. One of our centuries greatest men, Albert Einstein only
>contributed his intellectual knowledge to his fellow mankind. It took other
>great men to convert his theories into nuclear energy & space travel. This
is
>the power of a group, immense.
>         After having visited many of the web sites on home built subs to
get
>a feel for what they are all about I am left with an impression. The subs &
>the people involved  remind me of those involved with home built airplanes
>many years ago. It appears as though PSUBS is in it's infancy. Many people
do
>not seem clear on regulatory requirements, safety, use of professional
>standards, etc. In PSUBS "mission statement" there is no clear mention of
>"safety". I guess one could say it is buried in there somewhere but safety
>must be one of those things that is constantly in "your face". In nuclear
>power, safety & the enviroment are our main focus. Cost is secondary. This
is
>the way it has to be. If cost is too much then you simply close down rather
>than compromise safety or the enviroment. Put safety where it belongs,
>upfront in every aspect of your projects.
>For me to build a sub since I am not an actual Engineer I would want a good
>set of pre-engineered blueprints. There does not seem to be a good
assortment
>of these available. There does appear to be some but everyones tastes are
not
>always the same. Since plans for my sub are not present I wonder of I could
>design one? Why not? Provided I had the plans checked by a subject matter
>expert P.Eng this is a way I might go. Now comes the confusing part. I like
>to use proven standards for things like view ports, hatches, drives,
>shells,etc,etc but proven standards do not seem readily available off the
>webs. There does seem to be a lot of professional "subject matter experts"
in
>the discussion group but rather than jointly making a set of standards for
>critical components each is off doing their own thing. The power of the
group
>seems to be faltering. Maybe only conveying different concepts is the
purpose
>of this group. Oh well, enough for now. I look forward to the discussions
in
>PSUBS!
>Regards
>Doug Smith
>905-668-5061
>