Kids and projects (was: crude childhood submersible death-trap fun)

[Michael B Holt <michaelbholt@juno.com>]

On Sun, 25 Jul 1999 01:08:04 -0500 David Buchner> writes:
>I think it's great to hear two guys *hoping* that their kids are doing
>crazy dangerous things behind their backs...

Yeah, well, we all better hope the mothers involved remain blissfully
ignorant of what's going on.

Back in the 50s, there was a couple of kids around here, on a farm, who'd
built
a submarine out of an old above-ground oil tank.   The thing, as I
recall, had
two compartments and a watertight door.   They spent some time underwater
in a larger farm pond.   I'll see what I can find about that.

I don't see news reports about that sort of thing these days.   

I read once that the reason women don't like boats is because having one
is like having a pet hippo: it takes special care and feeding, it will
take a lot of their man's
time and it smells funny.   I wonder sometimes if kids today aren't of
that feeling when it comes to actually doing something?   (As opposed to
see it virtually done on the computer, that is.)   I suppose the feedback
is faster with a computer, and there's less mess.

Mechanics Illustrated from the 50s and 60s is inspiring.   

Does anyone know a 15-year-old who might be interested in building a boat
or 
a submarine?   
 
>What if you tell them you're building two so you can have a war? Mount a
>potato gun on each, on a turret. One guy rows, the other loads and
fires.
>My dad and I were actually planning something like this over the 4th
while
>we were together to blow stuff up. My idea is to use old plywood hulls,
saw
>out holes and cover them with something that will break away if struck 
>hard enough -- so you can actually do damage and sink each other.

I think you need therapy.   But I'd given that very idea some thought.  
I found out about coating gauze with paint, for the superstructure: that
way it wouldn't be
as hard to create complex shapes, and it would easier to duplicate when
it got hit.  
We should discuss this off-list.   I have some ideas for next year.

>This is of course the ultimate purpose when someone like me talks about
>building little submarines. You can bet I'll be asking about the best
>material to make torpedo tubes. Maybe I'll build the torpedoes first.

I found photos on the web of a couple of R/C guys who have battles
between a U-boat and a Sunderland.   The U-boat has never sunk, but some
parts (the conning tower, the dive planes and the deck) have had to be
replaced, and the 
flying boat has lost engines.   There are CO2 rockets on both.
 
>Come on. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who has fantasized about
arming
>his little u-boat, or at least sneaking up on fishermen and swimmers
with it.

I have a buddy here who keeps talking about adding rockets to a sub.  
Like the missile subs: just fire then vertically.   I'm not sure what he
has in mind.

Long ago, I'd thought it might be fun to see if sneaking up on girls
would be worth doing.   The water is too dirty to swim in, but a couple
of girls in a canoe would
be an interesting goal.

>"Sure I'll play with it after YOU build it for me" sounds like a fitting
>epitaph for our industrial civilization. Tell that kid as long as he's
>under YOUR roof, he'd better start building bombs and iceboats, and
>climbing around on the outsides of cars as they go down the road.

Might I quote you?


Mike Holt
-- 

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