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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello, all,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>First things first, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Mikael, a college student studying mechanical engineering. I’ve had an interest in building my own submarine for about 3 years now, after building small ROVs with my robotics team and competing in the MATE championship. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The sub I want to build is a 1atm submarine that can carry 1-2 people and dive to about 150-200ft. The main purpose of this would be an engineering challenge to myself. <o:p></o:p></p><ol style='margin-top:0in' start=1 type=1><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>What general advice would you give me to get started? <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>How do I do this safely? I think I need to address the elephant in the room of the recent Titan tragedy – how do I avoid having that happen to me? There’s the obvious, design with plenty of safety factor, build in redundancy to life support and surfacing systems, etc. What else do I need to be aware of? In particular, what are the less obvious/more obscure issues that might crop up?<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>What skills do I need to pick up before embarking on this project? I have a little bit of experience with machining, I’d need to get better to make parts I’d trust with my life. I can only assume I’d need to learn to weld. Are other skills like SCUBA necessary? Do I need to learn HAM radio for any communications devices?<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>Ballpark, how much would this cost to build? To operate? What costs are involved in the process that I likely wouldn’t expect?<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>How do you source/fabricate your pressure hulls? I’ve heard of people using propane tanks, but also that doing so isn’t really the recommended strategy, because detailed information on them is scarce. I have no idea how else you’d fabricate something like that on a hobbyist budget.<o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>What books/reference material should I pick up? So far I’ve picked up Manned Submersibles, Concepts in Submarine Design, as well as the ABS rulebook and the Design, Construction, and Operating Guidelines from the PSUBS website. <o:p></o:p></li><li class=MsoListParagraph style='margin-left:0in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'>What other questions should I be asking? <o:p></o:p></li></ol><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you very much for any help you can provide! I know that’s a lot of questions.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> - Mikael<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>