U-91035, aka PROTEUS has returned to PRIORITY ONE in the Shipyard 1 of 2

[QuarterMaster]

After may years languishing in storage, PROTEUS is back on the "ways", with a vengeance.

10 years in hiatus playing with 1:1 scale sailboats (and you think THIS is $$$??? hahahahahahahahahahahahaha, I pity your ignorance) I finally woke up at the “pop” sound my head made pulling it out of my tuchus and returned to my true love (and insanity). Then add another three years of using my USS SHARK SSN-591 (1:48 DeBoer SKIPJACK) hull as a test platform to develop all the necessary systems (POWER, COMMAND & CONTROL, BALLAST, PROPULSION) for all my other large builds and I have my "paradigm" for large boats (>60" LOA) established now.

So with all that in mind, I present the following status report on the boat that will most likely become my all time pride and joy. Even surpassing 591 which I had mentioned many times as being my favorite.

The Experimental Oceanographic Submarine U-91035, aka PROTEUS.

I generally break my builds down to 6 major categories, the previous four I mentioned, plus HULL and AUX. Those two I’ll cover at a later post.

POWER: 2x 6V-7Ah SLA batteries in series for 12V, downstream will be the power box containing the charging ports and dual remote 433mHz Standby/On/Lighting switch. Currently 591 has a single switch unit, she can sit in standby mode on a mooring all day (like at a regatta) and be easily turned on for running with the remote switch. PROTEUS and all other future builds will be the same. This uses the S3 T1000 dive box.




COMMAND & CONTROL: I settled on the S3 T2500 Clear, high-quality polycarbonate w/Marine grade SS fittings. It's large enough for 4 standard servos, as well as Bob's excellent line of available electronics (ESC, BLM, AD2 etc) and with the flip open lid, access to all these goodies is similar to our old school fiberglass boxes, but without the hassle of removing all the nuts holding a lid down. Like the modern WTC, it can easily be made to install as a "modular unit' for removal to work at the bench:




In the case of PROTEUS, I have the following items installed:
TX Robbe NAVY F-14: 75 MHZ Channel 78 Mode RCVR Futaba FP-R127DF
Ch Function Type Notes Function Unit Notes
1-Helm (Porportional):MTroniks Tank Mixer (In 1) Steering Mixer
2-Planes(Porportional):Bow Plane Futaba S3003:EMS Linear BB Conv.
3-Main Throttle (Porportional):MTroniks Tank Mixer (In 2) (Out STBD) Brushless ESC NAVY RACE BL 40 (Out PORT) Brushless ESC NAVY RACE BL 40 "Motors: 2x TURNIGY 2205/34 1500KV BRUSHLESS MOTOR w/
NQD-757 757T-6024 RC Boat Nozzle"
4-Stern Planes (Porportional): Stern Plane Futaba S3003:EMS Linear BB Conv. w/AD2 Angle Driver
5-Surface/Dive(ON-OFF-ON mom toggle switch): Operates NERS V2 Electronic Switch Surface/Dive 2x NERS v2 for R385 Air Diaphragm Pump or Vent Valve (XRN-0530 DC 12V 5.1KG/10mm Solenoid)
6-AUX (Porportional): Camera Rotate OPERATE HDKJ D3015 (w/Go Slow)\Camera Rotate GOPRO Session in Optically clear Pilot Dome
7-Gas Blow (ON-OFF Momentary switch):Fail Safe Gas Blow BLM w/NERS V2 Receiver Servo Switch-Clippard 2 ways Electronic Valve
Power Key Fob:MAIN Power/Light On-Off (PRT) 12VDC 2 Channel PWR Latched / Lighting control



BALLAST: Currently fabricating the tank from PVC stock. After discarding the Displacement System I had been using, I’m going with a hybrid “Bell Jar’ gas system. A Diaphragm pump will act as a Low Pressure Blower to complete blowing the tank after a quick burst of gas to bring the snorkel to the surface. Yes I will be using the actual recessed snorkel for air induction. At her surfaced trim, PROTEUS sits with her large horseshoe shaped “wing” as the waterline, evidenced by this screen shot from the film:

To do that I need a very large ballast tank, and we’re talking on the order of 227 cu inches. So all this talk and videos I had done in search of “my” preferred ballast systems was really all about this in the end. after all the test bed herself, 591, only has a ballast tank of 75 cu inches. Again, the LPB will allow minimal use of the onboard gas reserve. FWIW, the expansion ratio of 1,1-Difluoroethane (C2H4F2) R-152A, aka Propel:
Density of gas as Liquid .91g/cu CM
Density of gas as NTP 2.97g/cu M
When vaporized at 70°F, the expansion ratio is ~322:1.
This means to have 3 COMPLETE full blows (I like doing things in 3), I need an onboard gas reservoir on the order of (someone check my math)...(227*3)/322=2.11 cu inches of liquid. Say 3 (Ha! that number!!) cubic inches since I don’t wish to ever completely fill the tank, gives me a ¾ Cu pipe length of 6.75”. Call 6” (2.65in^3) close enough for Government work. Since I don’t wish to constantly fill that, the LPB makes sense.
Here is a mock-up of it in green foam: Give you a sense of general arrangement as well.......


Propulsion continued on next post due to Picture limit of 12 per......

[QuarterMaster]

U-91035, aka PROTEUS has returned to PRIORITY ONE in the Shipyard 2 of 2

Post continued

PROPULSION: Years ago when I saw Rick first put his PROTEUS in the water, I can’t say I was exactly impressed at her lack of “zip”. I believe he was using ATWOOD 500gph 12V Marine Bilge pumps at the time. We discussed it a bit. I do remember how compact they were and liked how they sat. But still, I couldn’t get that scene from the movie out of my head (there’s a pun around here somewhere) where Dr. Michaels (Donald Pleasence) knocks out Capt. Owens (William Redfield), takes the PROTEUS, guns her, and aims for the nerve bundle being repaired. That scene where the turbulence forms behind the nozzle, and she streaks towards the nerve is one ultimate bit of Sci-Fi thrill, at least for me!


One of these days during lunch at work when I’m bored, I’m going to calculate top her speed in knots using her length and film frame rate as a guide..

I thought maybe just up the output but the largest ATWOOD at the time in the same footprint was the 750. Well, I did start on the project back then, but life being what it is, lead to the great hiatus of ‘05.
Fast forwarding to last year, I proceed to continue with the bilge pump concept, having obtained Rule 800 gph units (the Atwoods had sat in the shed and the plastic deteriorated from the temp cycling!), I completed the C&C box with leanings to brushed motors. Well after I purchased my ALPHA 21 PBR, I learned small jet drives are actually available, and knew instantly that was the route to go, since you need high RPM and are not concerned with low-end control, brushless motors are the way to go. Even though she was built, I could still use the C&C box, just had to swap some Electrical thru hull functions to accommodate the brushless motor 3 wire needs. No extra drill holes, the +12V Feed and Return for lighting will be handled by the dual switch and not the TX, freeing those up for the motors 3rd lead. So here’s my solution……..

TURNIGY 2205/34 1500KV BRUSHLESS MOTOR These passively water-cooled, 130W Brushless motor beauties should move her along nicely! I mean we're talking 260W total output at WOT. The original two 800gph Bilge pumps would only be around 75W total output. Not very efficient. Using a digital laser tach on the ALPHA 21 PBR, the RPM @ WOT measured no load is 17k. Need this High RPM for the jet drive. At 12.6V, the 1500kv motors should get ~21k WOT. As I also have to deal with the resistance of my double o-ring seals so I went higher than the 17k, plus I don’t wish to run at max rating either. I did machine both the motor mount and shaft hosing out of Aluminum to maximize heat transfer. As for the motor, think 130W lightbulb in an 1-½ x 2-½ tube and you get the idea for the need to cool. Plus I want to keep the cup style o-rings cool as well due to the high shaft RPM. I’m trying to ignore the max RPM ratings of these (in linear feet for friction). Hoping that filling the cavity between the two cup seals with “Corrosion-X” and the Al housing keeps them cool enough to not fail outright much less prematurely. Soon I’ll have a video detailing it’s construction.




As you’ve made it this far I would agree that I’m probably overthinking all of this, but heck, I really enjoy it. It’s what I do.

….and can ya tell Fantastic Voyage is my personal all time favorite? (Thank you my old friend Rick for having the Canadian persnicketiness to having originally made this hull available to me)

[coryhenry]

Ed, Did you ever finsh this?

[QuarterMaster]

No...

Getting close though. COVID shipping delays...and life.

[QuarterMaster]

Here' some of the latest work, down to repair of the window. The final assy and paint.

[coryhenry]

Because of the shape of the ballast tank is there any issue with balance as it blows?

[QuarterMaster]

Because of the shape of the ballast tank is there any issue with balance as it blows?

Understand my effort here is to get her as HIGH as possible in the surface trim, as most SciFi boats like to be at, and PROTEUS is NO exception!



I "don't" anticipate any. The PROTEUS is rather flat, not round, so she won't roll like like a Diesel or Nuke Sub.

Plus, I have two 6V 9AH SLA's in series directly underneath, and at some 3.02 lbs in mass each, I'm more worried that I may have a "rock" headed to the bottom.



But what the heck, it's how I learn.

Fore and aft trim will be problematic as each battery would need ~55cu/inch of foam to compensate.

Gonna be a fun time in the old trim tank that night!!