Submarine missing

[Muss Muggins]

I got a beer that says there ain’t a hammer on board. They’re not even wearing shoes. Unless they were able to break off some interior pieces, I got another beer that says there’s nothing aboard substantial enough to whack the hull hard enough to register on a sonar
buoy . . .

It's hard to distinguish the difference between a dot and a dash when sending Morse code with a hammer. Carbon fiber would not ring like steel.

73,
Rick

 

[venomballistics]

I got a beer that says there ain’t a hammer on board. They’re not even wearing shoes. Unless they were able to break off some interior pieces, I got another beer that says there’s nothing aboard substantial enough to whack the hull hard enough to register on a sonar
buoy . . .

If you're wrong... It's not by a whole lot

 

[Squarebutt]

There's a long youtube video by a 20-year veteran of the U. S. submarine service listing the many problems with the design and structure of the Titan, and the lack of redundancy of the many critical systems, the lack of an escape hatch if it was bobbing on the surface undetected by rescue teams, etc., etc. He is not at all optimistic.

 

[DWalt]

I had also thought tht having htch thr could be opened from the intrio our be a good safety feature. No help when submerged but could be a lifesaver on the surface. At least it could let some air in.

 

[Sam D]

Why wasn't it tethered to a ship?

 

[Truckman]

Why wasn't it tethered to a ship?

Allowing a length of 2 1/2 miles plus an unknown extra length to compensate for the undulations of undersea currents against both the surface craft and the submersible would result in a cable at least 3 1/2 miles long...Factor in the thickness of such a cable (coated woven steel for strength and flexibility) and the result is an enormous amount of weight, requiring a winch capable of hauling it back out of the water...You can also imagine the undersea currents acting against the submersible while tethered to such a cable whipping it back and forth at will...

It doesn't sound feasible from an engineering or operational standpoint...But I'm no expert here either so I'll listen for other opinions......Ben

 

[Bald1]

I watched an episode of Exploration Unknown once hosted by Josh Gates I think. He went down in that sub for a test run. He was going to go down to the Titanic site later. The sub was plagued with problems. He bailed out and scrapped the planed show. Here in NY if I put an electric trolling motor on a rubber raft I have to register it with the state and be able to pass Coast Guard inspection. Just to catch a fish in the Erie Canal. Yet these billionaires are building rockets to go into space and submarines to go to ocean floor. They endanger the lives of themselves but more importantly they endanger the lives of every person tasked with rescuing them. I pray for their safe return. But none of this had to happen. Leave the exploration to NASA, Navy and Coast Guard.

 

[steelslaver]

I have been known to jury rig a few things and make due. But, not things like brakes, steering, wheels, and would not do so with parachutes, airplanes or submarines.

They are/were all big boys, they paid their money and took their chances. Ya, even at 19. Yes, I feel for them, but I also think of the lives that could be saved for what is being wasted trying to save them from their own jackpot.

Reminds me of the idiots who went for a hike on the Iran border, the lame brained woman BB player who went to Russia with some weed.

 

[BSA1]

I have read that the window on it is only rated safe for 1,300 feet. The contact with submarine was lost only 1 1/2 hours into the dive. The stress of repeated dives could have weakened it enough to fail after they passed 1,300 feet depth.

Too much time as passed for them to be rescued alive even if they are found. I hope it was implosion as slowly dying from lack of air would be a horrible fate.

 

[Truckman]

Reminds me of the idiots who went for a hike on the Iran border, the lame brained woman BB player who went to Russia with some weed.

Not to mention the unarmed nature lovers who still become the lunch menu for bears......Ben

 

[dmn57]

I watched an episode of Exploration Unknown once hosted by Josh Gates I think. He went down in that sub for a test run. He was going to go down to the Titanic site later. The sub was plagued with problems. He bailed out and scrapped the planed show. Here in NY if I put an electric trolling motor on a rubber raft I have to register it with the state and be able to pass Coast Guard inspection. Just to catch a fish in the Erie Canal. Yet these billionaires are building rockets to go into space and submarines to go to ocean floor. They endanger the lives of themselves but more importantly they endanger the lives of every person tasked with rescuing them. I pray for their safe return. But none of this had to happen. Leave the exploration to NASA, Navy and Coast Guard.

Not to mention the expense of such an effort. It will be interesting to see how many millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars, along with the additional international contributions, this mess is going to cost. I'm all for government services coming to the aide of those that incidentally find themselves in bad situations, but in this instance we're talking about extremely wealthy individuals that knowingly and willingly placed themselves in harm's way by participating in an activity in an unproven, potentially unsafe vessel in an incredibly hostile environment.

 

[steelslaver]

Not to mention the unarmed nature lovers who still become the lunch menu for bears......Ben

Speaking of those kind of people, it is time for the annual Yellowstone Bison petting competitions to kick into high gear.

But, more in comparison to the Titanic tourists is the number who perish on Everest. But, even the fact that an average of 10 people a year die on that mountain does not stop others from lining up to "pay their money and take their chance"

 

[OLDSTER]

 

[mtgianni]

As a retired gasfitter, please have someone record and post on social media as you cut the portholes. This one could also take a while to get the smell out.

 

[Truckman]

As a retired gasfitter, please have someone record and post on social media as you cut the portholes. This one could also take a while to get the smell out.

There'll be a slight upcharge if the tourists want portholes - even more if they want them glassed in......Ben

 

[steelslaver]

As a retired gasfitter, please have someone record and post on social media as you cut the portholes. This one could also take a while to get the smell out.

No problem, first I would fill it with water to reduce the volume, then I would stick in a hose and fill it with an inert gas like argon, nitrogen or CO2. My next move would be to use a hole saw to put a couple larger vents. Then drain most of the water out and heat the bottom, till the last of the water steamed it out.

I have cut apart several smaller bottles. One became a forge and the other is my foundry. I also, once chopped the top off a methanol barrel using a similar approach.

PS, the propane is easier to get rid of than the mercaptan which, as you know, is is harmless but the actual source of the odor.

If you made that into a small sub and attached a couple type C breathing air bottles to it you could take it down 50' to 60' with no problems or you could run a hose off a compressor (special oil and intake filters) to it. I knew several sea cucumber and urchin divers that dove that way a lot. You would need a scuba regulator to keeping the pressure on the inside equal to that of the depth. Attach releasable ballast and/or flood say the walled off front and rear portions. Trolling motor for power and well sealed lithium battery.

Would I? Maybe if I would have if I had the money, knowledge and skills I have now at 30. Far less risky than taking a 5" thick carbon fiber tube down 2.5 miles. Besides with that type of equal pressure sub you could leave by an hatch and just exhale out all the way to the surface.

 

[Sistema1927]

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.

Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea! Amen.

 

[ColbyBruce]

“Besides with that type of equal pressure sub you could leave by an hatch and just exhale out all the way to the surface.”


Is this Boyle’s Theory. I think it was included in a Robb White book I read years ago.

 

[lihpster]

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours."

 

[dockmurgw]

Now reports of the discovery of a debris field. Millionaires need to find a new hobby and leave ocean grave sites alone. Unfortunately, before long these people will be hailed as hero's.