Shed Upgrade #2

Fig. 1 & Fig. 2.  The sand base.

Fig. 1.
14/01/2016

Fig. 2.
14/01/2016

Fig. 3 & Fig. 4.  The plastic is down.

Fig. 3.
16/01/2016

Fig. 4.
16/01/2016

Fig. 5 & Fig. 6.  A work in progress of the leveling.  We had boards on either side of the shed walls and a string line in the center, using a board between the two we got it reasonably level a half at a time.

Fig. 5.
16/01/2016

Fig. 6.
16/01/2016

Fig. 7 & Fig. 8.  All nice and smooth, just waiting for it to dry.

Fig. 7.
16/01/2016

Fig. 8.
16/01/2016

Fig. 9.  The sub is back in, level, and ready for work.  The next part to finish is the Elevator and Diving Controls.

Fig. 9.
19/01/2016

Battery Compartment #2

I finished off the battery compartment yesterday.  It holds both batteries perfectly and now I'm undercoating the front interior.  As far as I know, that's all the welding needed at the front, but I'm not going to do the full overcoat until everything has been completed.

Fig. 1.  Here I'm cutting the brackets to the curve of the hull so that they can be welded.

Fig. 1.
11/01/2016

Fig. 2.  Now I'm ready to weld it in place.  I haven't much room to move as I weld, and it gets very hot in there...

Fig. 2.
11/01/2016

Fig. 3.  Both ends are welded.

Fig. 3.
11/01/2016

Fig. 4.  I got in there with my drill and wire disc to clean all the surface rust off the steel ready for an undercoat.

Fig. 4.
11/01/2016

Fig. 5.  The first undercoat is done.  I'm thinking of using electrostatic painting to help the top coat of paint get an even cover.  While I painted I had to use a pipe from the outside to breath through, and a vacuum cleaner helped suck out the fumes too.

Fig. 5.
11/01/2016

Fig. 6.  A quick look at what color the top coat will be.  The final coat won't be applied till the whole sub is done.  I wanted a bright warm color to help reflect the light around inside.

Fig. 6.
11/01/2016

Next I'll be finishing off the Elevator & Diving Controls.

Shed Upgrade #1

Over the next week and a half progress on the sub will slow as we get the shed ready for a concrete floor.  We've got everything out now and have started leveling off the dirt and gravel base.  Saturday the 16th is concrete day!

Fig. 1.  I managed to hoist the sub off its platform then move the platform on top of a piano trolley Dad made years ago.  Once I lowered the sub back down I tested it for stability (by that I mean I rocked it back and forth to see if it would fall - it didn't) then I moved it outside.

Fig. 1.
09/01/16

Fig. 2.  The first bit of sunlight the sub has seen in nearly two years!

Fig. 2.
09/01/16

Fig. 3.  The sub lowered in place under the carport.  I can still work on it here, but most of my time will go into helping Dad get the concreting done.

Fig. 3.
09/01/16

Fig. 4 & Fig. 5.  The shed ready to begin leveling off.  You can probably see the top corner where the sub was is the highest point.  It needs about 100 mm taken off it before we can pour the concrete.

Fig. 4.
09/01/16

Fig. 5.
09/01/16

Battery Compartment #1

Here's the start of the battery compartment.

Fig. 1.  The front is all cleared except for the forward left & right trim tank water valves.  They'll need to remain because the battery holder can't go too close to them.

Fig. 1.
04/01/2016 

Fig. 2.  I cut some 20 mm x 20 mm x 3 mm angle bar for the batteries to sit on.  Here I'm setting them in place to see where the best position is to get the batteries in & out easily.  Having said that, they won't need to come out unless they need replacing.  They will be able to be charge via a mains plug in the conning tower.

Fig. 2.
04/01/2016

Fig. 3.  The two rails with their threaded ends that will be welded to the hull interior.  Each rail will be bolted down separately and can be removed if needed.

Fig. 3.
05/01/2016

Fig. 4.  A cardboard mock-up of the battery.  I'll use this as something to test out the position of the rails inside the sub, rather than trying to lift a 20 kg battery in and out every time it needs a test.

Fig. 4.
05/01/2016

Fig. 5.  I've cut two pieces of wood at 31 cm each and clamped them at right angles to the rails.  They are square to each other and the rails.  It's now ready to go into the sub and be tailed to fit the hull and forward dome.

Fig. 5.
07/01/2016

Fig. 6 & Fig. 7.  The cardboard & the real battery sitting in place.

Fig. 6.
07/01/2016

Fig. 7.
07/01/2016

Next I'll be welding it in.

Hoist Bar

Here's a quick update on the hoist bar.  It's made to lift the sub and keep the chains away from the conning tower.

Fig. 1.  The parts were already cut out, they just needed welding together.  Here it is ready to go.

Fig. 1.
01/01/2016

Fig. 2.  Finishing off the welds so that they're strong.

Fig. 2.
01/01/2016

Fig. 3.  The bolt & eye which is the center.

Fig. 3.
01/01/2016

Fig. 4 & Fig. 5.  Ready to test.

Fig. 4.
01/01/2016

Fig. 5.
01/01/2016

Fig. 6.  Lifting it up, it's obvious the back is really heavy.  The batteries weigh in at 40 kg and will be right at the front, hopefully that will sort it out close enough.  If not, I guess I'll buy another battery...

Fig. 6.
01/01/2016

Rear Dome #3

This is the last of the Rear Dome Updates.

I welded the last two pieces on today.  It took about five hours to do but now the rear dome is done!  Next I'll be working on the battery mounts inside the front dome.

Fig. 1.  I cleaned up the first bit to weld before breakfast, and now it's ready to weld.

Fig. 1.
01/01/2016

Fig. 2.  The first weld bead down the edge of the hull.

Fig. 2.
01/01/2016

Fig. 3.  The rest is all clean and ready to weld.

Fig. 3.
01/01/2016

Fig. 4.  The second last panel tacked in place.

Fig. 4.
01/01/2016

Fig. 5.  The second last panel all welded.

Fig. 5.
01/01/2016

Fig. 6.  The last panel welded.

Fig. 6.
01/01/2016

Fig. 7.  The last little hole is covered.

Fig. 7.
01/01/2016

Fig. 8.  All the welds are cleaned.

Fig. 8.
01/01/2016

Fig. 9.  All painted.

Fig. 9.
01/01/2016

Fig. 10.  The last part of the dome to tidy up.

Fig. 10.
01/01/2016

Fig. 11.  All the tips cut to length.  Nothing fancy.

Fig. 11.
01/01/2016

Fig. 12.  Welded and cleaned up.

Fig. 12.
01/01/2016

Fig. 13.  All painted.

Fig. 13.
01/01/2016

Fig. 14.  The Motor & Elevator system is back on.

Fig. 14.
01/01/2016