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Hi Brent. I've had the same type of experiences with building inspectors. I
can see the need for stringent requirements on any structure where people may be
at risk, but sometimes the interpretation of the standards is left open to the
individual inspector, often making it up to a person with little or no direct
experience in that particular field to determine what is "up to code" and what
isn't.
The process is basically the same, with plan review and step by step
inspections, whether it be a house, a bridge, or a submarine.
Unfortunately, ABS has a monopoly on the process here in the U.S. and as
such, can charge as much as they want.
Alicia is a good example of how the process of obtaining a
certification can become a costly and time consuming affair but remember that
the sub was designed to take paying novice passengers into a potentially
deadly environment so the safety factor must be extremely high. Alicia is much
like that sub designed by U.S. subs and I can just imagine how many man hours it
took to develop the design. Sure would be nice to have a check book that big.
Karl has a very robust sub, and like Peter, started small and learned along
the way. That's pretty much the approach I'm taking as well. I've got tons of
calculation sheets, many hours of design work for different portions of the sub
and it's workings, and still have a long way to go but it's not near enough
paperwork to even approach ABS. I'm a safety freak to some degree but my
resources are limited so I'm relying on the testing phase to give me the
confidence to dive my sub to it's design depth. I've gotta figure out a means of
operating the sub and it's systems remotely so I can send it down empty (
connected to a cable of course )
and let it sit there for a few hours while monitoring the sub through
onboard cameras. It's not that tough but it's going to be pricey. It's kind
of screwey that ABS won't let Delta change their windows or what ever without
re-certifying the entire design, if in fact that's the case.
Governmental bureaucracy can be a pain no doubt, but they are just covering
their ass. Fortunately for us, like ultra lites and similar toys, they allow us
to take risks with our own lives as long as we don't kill someone else. It could
be very stifling to innovation if everything that got thought up had to be
approved by the government. I like to think of us as being similar to the Wright
brothers. Adventure is where you find it! Frank
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