Hi Rick. I didn't mean to step on your ambient design toes my friend.
Regarding the ambient subs, I was speaking in general terms of what is mostly
out there
as an ambient. As are the markham and sport subs as you mentioned,
which are open to the sea as you mentioned. I haven't seen any totally dry
ambients like
the one you are designing Rick. So perhaps in your case your ambient
WILL be totally dry, but you must admit the norm is that they are not. How
many other totally dry ambients are there? Could you name me a few?
Rick you mentioned doing a decompression dive in an ambient sub like it was
normal procedure. No WAY I would recommend that! A decompression dive is
tricky
enough using regular scuba. What if you were saturated from being too
long pressurized and were unable to maintain your depth for decompression and
shot
to the surface? Painful death. There is just too many things that could go
wrong doing a decompression dive in an ambient sub. Is is possible? Yes. But is
it wise,
necessary, prudent, or especially safe? No. Sorry my friend, but in
this instance I take exception to your telling the newbies something that I feel
is inherently dangerous
if not outright inviting suicide for them to go out and build an ambient
and think it is ok to do a decompression dive in one. I really feel
it is not responsible to tell them that is ok to do.
Perhaps I am not as able a builder as you are Rick, and my
wetsub may not seem complicated to you even when it is all put
together, but to me it has been
VERY complicated to build. and much more so than a strip built kayak, and
it's just a wetsub. I had the basic body (I had to repair) of the sub
as it was in the 1966 movie "Destination Inner Space" but I have had to rebuild
the dive plane pivots
using materials at hand and creating things as I went along. There was
a host of small things I had to do and make and I won't bore you with the many
small tedious things
and will just mention SOME of the things. I fabricated a motor mount
for it using an aluminum stop sign. That was a pain to do totally
by
hand without ANY type of press or metal shaping equipment. My tools
are very limited since most of them were stolen two years ago..
I'm building an easy escape canopy for it because of shark and gator
infested areas where I go searching for WW2
aircraft wrecks. That hasn't been easy forming that canopy, plus I still
have to install my internal hard ballast bladders and soft ballast pipes on the
sides and route air to them as well as install the air tanks.
I still have to locate or fabricate a variable speed water and pressure
proof switch for my motor control. I still have to compensate my motor
against pressure. I still have to attach the battery pod, electrics, yadda,
yadda, yadda.
Nothing I have done on my wetsub has been easy. Everything has had to
be designed by me and created as I went along. A long slow process for me.
I don't want
newbies to think it is a weekend project. I understand what
you are saying about cruising in ease dry Rick. I know what you mean
about wanting to tour instead of scuba.
Besides you can't drink your latte using scuba right? I understand that
your dry ambient is perhaps somewhat cheaper and easier to build than a 1 atm
sub and is without the problems
of having to construct and test a pressure hull. I am glad the ambient type
design works for you Rick and who knows maybe one day I might like to try
and build one myself if I get bored with my wetsub.
But I question the NEED and safety to perform an ON
PURPOSE decompression dive in an ambient. If there is anyone else
here at psubs who thinks doing a decompression dive in an ambient is safe,
please speak up.
I do wish you the very best on yours and would be interested in knowing how
you keep water or even water condensation out of the hull's interior
with it being ambient.
As you said... "Bill, I luv ya, baby", I feel the same way for you
and my fellow psubbers Rick. Please tell me you would never purposely do a
decompression dive in an ambient. We'd like for you to be around a while.
Bill Akins.
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