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In a message dated 3/13/2010 7:20:43 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
jimrudholm@gmail.com writes:
There are segmented rotomolded plastic pontoons: One possible problem with using plastic pontoons would be repair if you
punched a hole in one. With metal, you can weld it up, with plastic ??????
Hey Dean, when you say you're going to add syntactic foam.....won't you
have to add an equal amount of lead ballast to counteract the foam ?
If the goal is to add reserve buoyancy it seems the best option is to make
the ballast tanks bigger, or add some inflatable ballast. There's not
really any maximum for ballast tank size, other than the amount of compressed
air you carry. The more buoyancy created by blowing ballast, the higher the
hatch sits. When they're flooded and submerged, it still has to achieve
neutral buoyancy.
Another option would be to increase the size of the hard VBT and drop some
lead weight. That could be done inside the sub if there's room for it. Maybe I'm
not getting the point of using the foam.
I've been considering the inflatable bag idea for mine just for towing. The
area directly in front of the main 20" window could be used for a cone shaped
bag, protected by the bow shield. It would give me another 400 pounds of lift at
the nose. Might be handy while towing at high speed in rough water. When
deflated it could sit flat against the tunnel roof so as not to block the
view.
Frank D.
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