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Hi Darek. Although the K boat plans don't call for stiffeners on the dome
ends, I have cut some rather large holes in the domes used on my sub. I have a
design for stiffeners that addresses the weakening of the domes from theses
holes. Because the domes are uniformly shaped, the stiffeners aren't as
difficult to fabricate as one might think.
Naturally, the front where the three ( possibly 5 ) windows are will need
the most additional support.
The first part going in is a floor grid. This will add a strong base to the
most "vulnerable to impact damage" part of the hull. Because the sub will
be trailered, loaded, unloaded and rolled around on the shop floor, this needs
more steel. The floor grid also supplies a flat bottom to the inside, creates an
area where the on-board ballast bricks are located and held in place even if the
sub is turned up side down ( ouch! ) and has a center area where part of the
ballast bricks are on a sliding mechanism so dive angle can be adjusted. This
slider will be moved by means of an electric linear actuator.
Now that a firm base has been established, the vertical stiffeners go in.
Three pieces go in beginning at the top hatch ring, and continuing vertically
down to the floor grid adjacent to the front windows.
Another one centerline at the rear, and two more centerline on each
side.
These 5 stiffeners add support to the top hatch ring continuing all the way
to the bottom grid. If you can picture the ribs on a pumpkin, it is much like
that.
I won't be using the "T" design favored by K boat builders. Instead, I'm
using a "ladder bar" style of cross ribs made from round stock to prevent
buckling of the stiffener ribs.
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