cueastou mini sub saucer sp 350 - need ref material

[boatbuilder1]

hey gang does anyone have reference material or pics or links for this little babe
I am planning to make a 1/8 scale model
I have tried a variety of searches and get virtually nothing

chuck

[wayne frey]

You may want to talk

You may want to talk to Merrimen. I seem to recall in an old SCR something about the diving saucer. It seems like there were some books I had years ago on his journeys undersea that had some infor on the saucer.
What a killer boat that would be!! Some tips from Dave's flying sub would probably put you on track for building one.
Love to see that one!

[boatbuilder1]

hey bud thanks

hey bud thanks

[robert]

There's this book, hard to

There's this book, hard to find]http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4535340542[/url]

There are also several Cousteau books from the 60's which have pictures of it, but my bet is that the above book probably at least has approximately scale drawings or diagrams.

Old National Geographic magazines with Cousteau articles are also a source of info, but you'll have to piece it together.

Of course you could also write to the cousteau society, they have a website. I doubt you'll get drawings, but they can probably send you a list of books/magazines to pursue.

I'd sure like to have a display kit version of this. Strange that Revell/Aurora never did it back in the day. They could have done this, the Cubmarine, Aluminaut, Alvin...etc., the whole series.

[anonymous]

http://home.earthlink.net/~skipjack/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/ds-1d.jpg


Many articles with images and




Many articles with images and diagrams of the 'Denise' (named after the sub designer's wife) Cousteau's famous DS-2 Surcoupe 'Diving Saucer' exist in old National Geographic magazines in 1959 to early 1960's. Simply go to the public library! Beautiful color images.

The 'Denise' was really the first of it's kind, heralding man's exploration of the oceans with small agile submersibles. Denise's operating max. depth was 1000 feet. Though it was usually used in shallower depths. It is supposed to be still operating today much modified and under a different owner. I heard from someone it has converted to small swivel prop motors where the original swivel water jet tubes once where. In the original design, the water jet tubes could swivel around, but for simplicity and better easier control, the water jets were later fixed pointing aft. The water jets are very inefficient, but Cousteau wanted it this way, providing nimble control to objects up very close to the observer windows. I think maximum speed of Denise was 3 knots. The jet water pump was noisy too. Making close ups of many fish a delicate approach without scaring the fish away from the pump noise.

The purpose of 'Denise' was to provide a diver or divers up close exploration to greater depths with the same agility of a scuba diver (Cousteau invented 'Scuba' too), but with much longer diving times (in terms of hours instead of minutes) and no need for long decompression periods coming up to the surface. Asymmetric thrust from the water jets provided yaw or steering. Pitch was performed by two closed piston trim tanks fore and aft, pushing liquid mercury back and forth between two tanks. The same total weight, but it could be easily moved back and forth providing the pitch function effectively. A small hand operated piston tank was used to control depth (rather achieve near neutral buoyancy). An emergency weight could be released from the bottom of the craft in an emergency. If the support vessel crane was not near to lift Denise out of the sea normally, and emergency escape was necessary on the surface, an inflatable rubber skirt could be deployed around the top hatch if escape on the surface was needed without flooding and sinking the sub, since it had only a very small measure of reserve buoyancy.

Much has happened since, but little Denise was the first independently maneuverable small craft of it's kind, and showed the way for more sophisticated and much deeper diving submersibles.

I have a fiberglass 'Denise' which I have been saving and will eventually make R/C. I put this project away early to gain experience. Since it will be my smallest R/c sub, and to me potentually the more challenging I wish it to be the accumulation of all my modest experience. It will not need to wait much longer. And yes, it is not for sale.

With bright miniature flood lights in a swimming pool, it would make a nice companion to an Alvin model. Except the Denise with its bright lights (kwel!) would look like something out of Close Encounters. But in the case of Denise....the very powerful soft push of a repulse field force reflecting a completely different acceleration and mission profile would be 'nada' here. LOL.

Steve Reichmuth



Edited By Dolphin on 1116223753

[wayne frey]

That, Steve, is totally cool.

That, Steve, is totally cool. You gotta build it. It would make a great story for the Report.

[robert]

I'm completely envious! Was that

I'm completely envious! Was that a commercially produced kit, or a 1 off special?

[boatbuilder1]

once again Steve you have

once again Steve you have blown me off the face of the earth
you never seace to amaze me great find you old sea dog

chuck

[anonymous]

Changed my mind. Remodeling kitchen.

Changed my mind. Remodeling kitchen. It is for sale. $520.00 One of a few or one left.

Steve

[robert]

Oh you dirty dog....

(insert noises

Oh you dirty dog....

(insert noises of Robert rummaging around his apartment looking for something he can sell to raise the money...)


So what's included in the kit specificaly? The pictures appear to show a hull, maybe of Fiberglass, about 14" in diameter, with lower formed sheets to cover the pressure hull, as the real sub is? Anything else?

[Antoine]

hey Steve....

remodeling kitchen or is

hey Steve....

remodeling kitchen or is Herr Walter for something ?

Antoine.

[anonymous]

Antoine, Antoine, Antoine....

Walter? Yes, both.

Antoine, Antoine, Antoine....

Walter? Yes, both. Kitchen remodel and 'Project Auctung Baby'.

Steve



Edited By Dolphin on 1116382903

[anonymous]

I will take a image

I will take a image of all the components. It has two hemispheres which would be sealed with a silicone adhesive and three plastic bolts and butterfly nuts which you would have to buy in a hardware store. A threaded opening where the hatch is has a rubber gasket and secures tight. A hatch facade on top of it. This could be used for battery recharging and an on/off Rx switch, if you did not wish to use a magnetic switch. If major access to the inside of the pressure hull was need (hopefully not often, a knife could be used to break the rubber silicone seal around the hemispheres.

There is one watertight threaded seal for passing electrical wires threw in back opposite window ports in lower hemisphere.

Pitch control I envisioned using a heavy lead weight inside the sphere acting as a pendulum, operated by a servo. One serious 12 Volt windshield wiper pump could be used for jet propulsion. A servo arm could be used to pinch rubber hoses to constrict water flow out the nozzles for asymmetric thrust, a speed control would control the pump and total thrust. Another way would be two windshield wiper pumps, controlled electronically, which would be likely better, but much more expensive a system. A tiny piston pump would control depth rather precisely I imagine. A lead weight could be dropped in an emergency, linked to a Subtech 'sub safe'.

You would need a rubber gasket to join the two superstructure halves of the freeflood area, and would also be the scale rubber 'bumper' around the circumference of the 'diving saucer'. And you would need to add the details, and need to make the stainless steel (or make in aluminum?) viewing ports. The metal viewing ports perhaps could be filled with a clear resin, and the font and back faces of the 'lens' finished and polished. You could cure these in a pressure pot to collapse any bubbles formed while the clear lenses cured.

Pressure hull is 3/16 inch thick, 1/4 inch at the edges where they join. A battleship.

Add some little water proofed flash lights with reflectors, and wow.

Steve





Edited By Dolphin on 1116398711

[boatbuilder1]

in the words of the

in the words of the imortal surfer
thats aw aw awe some dude

[anonymous]

The Cousteau Diving Saucer featured

The Cousteau Diving Saucer featured in images above has been sold.

Steve



Edited By Dolphin on 1116805780