<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:12px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1487975544733_10487"><span>Doug,</span></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1487975544733_10487">Even up here in Canada it gets pretty darn hot in the sub at the surface while travelling to the dive spot. I have a engine compartment fan (400cfm) for air circulation and for pumping in outside air. Just the fan inside will keep the sub cool enough. In fact I usually don't have to run the fan constantly.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1487975544733_10487">Good report! A sub with no scratches is an unused sub.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1487975544733_10487">Hank</div> <div class="qtdSeparateBR"><br><br></div><div class="yahoo_quoted" style="display: block;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <div style="font-family: HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> <div dir="ltr"><font size="2" face="Arial"> On Friday, February 24, 2017 3:22 PM, Douglas Suhr via Personal_Submersibles <personal_submersibles@psubs.org> wrote:<br></font></div> <br><br> <div class="y_msg_container">Vance, that's definitely the way to look at it. Much rather spend a<br clear="none">few hundred on new hardware than a few thousand on boat / sub repair!<br clear="none"><br clear="none">Alan, I like the idea of the ice chest with blower... seems like it's<br clear="none">simple, safe, cheap and probably (at least) somewhat helpful in<br clear="none">cooling things off. Only thing is, once your ice has melted, perhaps<br clear="none">it would actually increase humidity? I guess you'd need a way to cap<br clear="none">it off after its effective use.<br clear="none"><br clear="none">It runs in my mind that someone here on PSUBS recently tried to build<br clear="none">one (maybe Brian Cox or Brian Hughes?). ~ Doug<br clear="none"><br clear="none">On 2/24/17, Alan via Personal_Submersibles<br clear="none"><<a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org" href="mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org">personal_submersibles@psubs.org</a>> wrote:<br clear="none">> Thanks Doug, great report.<br clear="none">> As far as heat is concerned; air conditioning is very expensive<br clear="none">> on power.<br clear="none">> I have read of commercial operations pumping cooled air into<br clear="none">> the hull before boarding. You could do this easy enough in your<br clear="none">> canal by running an extension cord to an air conditioner.<br clear="none">> This won't help when you tow off the coast. It might be a bit tricky<br clear="none">> trying to pump air in from your boat in rough conditions.<br clear="none">> One solution we have talked about is a chilli bin full of ice with<br clear="none">> a fan blowing air through it.<br clear="none">> Here is 1 of many videos on how to make one.<br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I2LqIbm4cFI" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I2LqIbm4cFI</a><br clear="none">> This guy suggests that you may also want to stick liquid refreshments<br clear="none">> in the chilli bin.<br clear="none">> They do sell air conditioning units for small boats.<br clear="none">> Alan<br clear="none">><br clear="none">> Sent from my iPad<br clear="none">><br clear="none">>> On 25/02/2017, at 10:06 AM, Douglas Suhr via Personal_Submersibles<br clear="none">>> <<a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org" href="mailto:personal_submersibles@psubs.org">personal_submersibles@psubs.org</a>> wrote:<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> Holy smokes is this email overdue - sorry guys - better late than<br clear="none">>> never (right?).<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> Greetings fellow PSUBBERS, Doug Jr. here with a basic trip / dive<br clear="none">>> report from our October, 2016 excursion to the Florida Keys with<br clear="none">>> submersible Snoopy.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> The group ended up being no more than my own family and my friend Mike<br clear="none">>> Patterson.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> To start off, we had a relatively limited amount of time on location<br clear="none">>> (about 6 days), considering that it was our first real trial with<br clear="none">>> Snoopy. Complicating matters was the fact that October is still within<br clear="none">>> hurricane season and the weather was not kind to us... we managed to<br clear="none">>> be down in the Keys between (and not during) hurricanes / tropical<br clear="none">>> storms, but the weather was still a major obstacle, giving us rain /<br clear="none">>> thunder / lightning / strong winds / rough seas / poor water<br clear="none">>> visibility... the works. Luckily the canal (of about 25 feet in depth)<br clear="none">>> offered us enough shelter to conduct some test dives in spite of<br clear="none">>> conditions.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> Snoopy herself offered us excellent service with no major issues (no<br clear="none">>> leaks, no electrical issues, etc). Prior to operation, we O2 cleaned<br clear="none">>> the entire oxygen system (hoses, gauge, reg, valves, etc.) and when<br clear="none">>> first in the water, my dad as support diver noticed an extremely small<br clear="none">>> O2 leak on the exterior reg (producing super small / slow bubbles in<br clear="none">>> the water). We rectified the problem by snugging up the fittings with<br clear="none">>> a wrench.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> With Snoopy right off the dock in the canal, we all had a great time<br clear="none">>> acquainting ourselves with buoyancy and thruster control, noting the<br clear="none">>> slight delay in reaction to input as well as the overall sensitivity<br clear="none">>> of the controls.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> In terms of trimming out for proper buoyancy (via trawl floats), I had<br clear="none">>> been concerned that Snoopy wouldn't provide enough positive buoyancy<br clear="none">>> for two heavier occupants, but my worries were belayed soon enough<br clear="none">>> when I tried to dive solo (with no floats in the tubes) and the sub<br clear="none">>> was WAY too buoyant. We ended up using all of the dive weights we had<br clear="none">>> on hand, plus a few 10 LB anchors that we had lying about and finally<br clear="none">>> I came to nearly neutral buoyancy (I weigh about 190lbs).<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> I don't have much doubt now that we have enough flotation in the<br clear="none">>> submersible's current weight/float configuration to safely dive two<br clear="none">>> heavier occupants, however, we ran out of time to test with two people<br clear="none">>> aboard.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> Aside from limited time and poor conditions, here are a few other<br clear="none">>> issues we encountered: As Alec, Steve and anyone else who rode in<br clear="none">>> Snoppy down in the Keys can attest, it gets HOT in the hull when you<br clear="none">>> are on the surface (even if just for a couple of minutes). Being under<br clear="none">>> the dome (in the Keys) reminded me of being in a greenhouse: hot and<br clear="none">>> humid. We need a better way to control the humidity within the hull<br clear="none">>> (if nothing else than for the electronics' sake). Air conditioning<br clear="none">>> would be a dream!<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> I made the silly mistake of not bringing a scale for proper weight<br clear="none">>> calculations (I assumed we had one at the house, but we didn't, then<br clear="none">>> couldn't find any at the local drug stores!?!?). So we were doing a<br clear="none">>> lot of guessing and checking when it came to trimming out. It took a<br clear="none">>> while, but we ended up getting a pretty good system figured out.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> The only real nasty experience we had through the duration of our stay<br clear="none">>> in the keys occurred when the davit we were using to launch and<br clear="none">>> recover the sub failed and dropped the sub down into the water. The<br clear="none">>> davits we use are rated at 5,500 LBS and Snoopy weighs in at around<br clear="none">>> 2600 LBS, so no problem... when the lifting equipment is new. Problem<br clear="none">>> is that these davits have galvanized cable that has a way of looking<br clear="none">>> healthy on the outside but ugly within the strands (after being<br clear="none">>> exposed to the elements for some time). On one of our last recoveries,<br clear="none">>> the cable of the davit we were using snapped violently, dropping the<br clear="none">>> sub about 5 feet through the air and right back into the canal.<br clear="none">>> Thankfully, it didn't occur when we were swinging the sub over the<br clear="none">>> concrete dock and no damage resulted... but it taught me a powerful<br clear="none">>> lesson in being prepared for the unexpected!<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> I know that to most of you guys these tips are common sense, but for<br clear="none">>> the sake of safety, let me review a few things to consider when<br clear="none">>> launching/recovering with cranes/davits:<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> 1. Never allow anyone under (or even close to) the vessel when it's<br clear="none">>> being hoisted.<br clear="none">>> 2. Use at least two tag-lines to control direction and arrest sway if<br clear="none">>> lifting from a single point crane.<br clear="none">>> 3. Don't lift higher than necessary.<br clear="none">>> 4. Inspect equipment regularly and replace components when necessary.<br clear="none">>> 5. Ensure hatch is closed and secured prior to lifting (this probably<br clear="none">>> saved Snoopy from going to the bottom of the canal, as the<br clear="none">>> 'splash-down' was extreme).<br clear="none">>> 6. (for dome hatched vessels), wrap spreader bars, pulleys, blocks and<br clear="none">>> other hardware in carpet (secured by tape or zip ties) so if a failure<br clear="none">>> occurs the submersible won't incur damage (another thing that saved us<br clear="none">>> - the spreader bar bonked Snoopy on the head, but she was protected by<br clear="none">>> thick padding).<br clear="none">>> 7. Never stand in line with tensioned wire rope. When it snaps, it<br clear="none">>> whips with tremendous force.<br clear="none">>><br clear="none">>> Although at the time I was shocked that what happened actually<br clear="none">>> occurred, in retrospect I'm happy it did, because for such a failure<br clear="none">>> to occur at all, it couldn't have had a better outcome or made a<br clear="none">>> stronger impression on me. Still a novice submersible operator, but<br clear="none">>> getting better with each lesson I learn! ~ Douglas S.<br clear="none">>> _______________________________________________<br clear="none">>> Personal_Submersibles mailing list<br clear="none">>> <a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org" href="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org">Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org</a><br clear="none">>> <a shape="rect" href="http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles" target="_blank">http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles</a><div class="yqt5448936262" id="yqtfd54016"><br clear="none">><br clear="none">><br clear="none">> _______________________________________________<br clear="none">> Personal_Submersibles mailing list<br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org" href="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org">Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org</a><br clear="none">> <a shape="rect" href="http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles" target="_blank">http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles</a><br clear="none">><br clear="none">_______________________________________________<br clear="none">Personal_Submersibles mailing list<br clear="none"><a shape="rect" ymailto="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org" href="mailto:Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org">Personal_Submersibles@psubs.org</a><br clear="none"><a shape="rect" href="http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles" target="_blank">http://www.psubs.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/personal_submersibles</a><br clear="none"></div><br><br></div> </div> </div> </div></div></body></html>