What's the largest homebuilt sub in the world?  That nicely styled and full-featured Kraka, based in Copenhagen?  Well yes, she's the largest operational homebuilt that I know of.  But her builder Peter Madsen has been working on his next project...

Read more for the photo.

I just received a note and photos from Mark Smith of Hamilton, Alabama about his wet sub project.   Mark is an experienced diver and long time undersea enthusiast, and he's tackled an ambitious wet sub project. 

An article about a few homebuilt sub enthusiasts down in South Florida and the sub Antipodes.  It has some interesting photos and a little video.  I like the shot titled "Waiting Around", where the pilot is sitting in the open hatch but two thirds of the photo is an underwater view of the sub at the surface.

And a good quote from Patrick Lahey, a Vero Beach underwater consultant.  "When the paperwork weighs as much as the submarine, you're done."

the Sun Sentinel article...

Just saw this announcement about Kraka from the PSUBS group:

Kraka, the diesel-electric submersible designed and built by Peter Madsen and Claus Norregaard is currently for sale on PSUBS.ORG.

"Kraka" is a sea-going, diesel-electric submersible originally launched April 12th 2005.   She is capable of charging her own batteries and compressed air tank, hence only dependent on supply of diesel oil.   A 2-3 man crew can sleep on-board in turns.   With the sail hatch closed and air intake through the snorkel it is possible to navigate in quite rough weather.   She is equipped with a button hatch for deploying and retrieving divers while submerged.   She is also equipped with a GPS chart plotter, a gyro compass, and echo sounder. She also has a photo optical mast ( periscope) with four cameras, each covering a 90 degree view and providing 360 degrees of visibility outside the sub.

The price for the submarine is negotiable and offers are being accepted. Please visit http://www.psubs.org/forsale for more information and photos.

Here's a impressive, and exciting submarine project.  Well, it's exciting if you're interested in building pressure vessels with concrete.  Now that's an obscure branch of nerd...

Back in 1996, Wilfried Ellmer built, tested and used a 20 ton concrete submarine on an Alpine lake.  Residents of Lake Atter in Austria witnessed the launch of a pristine, streamlined, white vessel.  The photo at right shows the boat at launching before the fitting out of sail, rudders and propellers.

Wilfried states that the 18cm  (7 inches) thick hull gives an operational depth of 300m (~1000ft) and an estimated crush depth of about 900m.  He used portland cement reinforced with 4mm and 6mm steel in a 10 cm mesh.

This is a large personal submarine, weighing in a 14 tons before ballasting.  Check out the interior photo on the website which shows a roomy cabin.  Unfortunately missing are any photos of the sub actually diving or even maneuvering on the surface under its own power. 

Concrete Sub page

Here's a nice collection of photos from the July 2005 International Submarine Races.  I've had some trouble finding good shots of human powered subs in the water but there are dozens of well-lit underwater photos here, all taken by Phillip Colla.   Subs include Quebec's winning Omer 5, and entrants from the University of Washington, UCSD, Texas A & M and others.

  Oceanlight.com - sub photos...

This is a fun vessel, maybe mostly because of its very interesting creator, Brian Walker aka the Rocket Guy.  Brian is an inventor and in fact a successful toy inventor who has dabbled in a number of areas that should be of interest to Sub-Log readers including, most recently, rockets!

The HydroSub is a craft that is one part submersible and two parts boat, something like the AquaSub, which can submerge the crew compartment while keeping its occupants dry.  A large part of the boat stays on the surface which makes it handy for supplying breathing air and depth control. 

Check it out and read about Brian's other great projects:

  RocketGuy.com HydroSub...

Here's a page describing Georgia Tech's entrant to the Eighth Annual AUVSI and ONR Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition,   This model actually took 12th place in the competition, which ran Aug. 3-7, 2005, with the University of Florida's Subjugator taking first place.

The Georgia Tech students describe the design and construction of their pretty functional-looking AUV.  There are photos and schematics and in the end you actually get to see the craft in the water.

  http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT7101484471.html

Peter Madsen has been hard at work on this third submarine, UC3.  This boat will be around twice the length of his previous, Kraka and is a modern streamlined design which is a departure for him and his team.  His earlier boats have a WWII U-boat feel and like their historical ancestors seem to do well on the surface.   But it was his success in running Kraka submerged with a diesel engine and snorkel that led him to pursue a more Albacore-like hull form with better submerged performance.  I guess it's more fun to run submerged than on the surface!

He recently (October 2005) sent this update:

Well - plus 200 meters of welding done - all bulkheads instaled - all frames positioned - portholes cut, tower and deckhatch holes cut, hatch ordered...

 

2.7 tonnes of batteries has arrived with two hp ( 3000 psia ) compressoers - plus a bulck og hp air cylenders...

 

In short - we are underway...going ahead flank.

  Photos of UC3 construction...

Update Jan. 19, 2006:
Jonathan McBeck? is working on a new article on UC3.  You can post suggestions and questions to him at this forum:
www.silenthunter.dk UC3 Forum

For some great reading and creative ideas on homebuilt submarines, go to www.submarineboat.com for Doug Jackson's excellent documentation of his submarine project.  The name of the site hints at the design philosophy: this is a boat that submerges.  It actually looks like a landing craft but is a planing aluminum sub with an ambient pressure diver compartment...

A two person sub is up for sale on eBay.  The Needlefish was built by Bill Gifford of New Jersey.  The sub resembles a WWII fleet boat and is a 32 ft long diesel/electric.  Displacement is 18,000 lbs and maximum design operating depth is 150 ft.

Buyer Beware: Bill states that the boat isn't finished but that all systems are working and that he has operated the boat in shallow water and made one very shallow dive. 

Some links on this boat and project:

Needlefish eBay listing... auction ends Nov. 9, 2005

Gifford Marine - Sub Project

PSUBS Photo Gallery good photos in the Bill Gifford sections here

NoLand Corporation has put up a new website covering their Bionic Dolphin product.  You've never seen a bionic dolphin?  Well, this is really a one or two person watercraft that is able to scoot along the surface and dive underwater for short periods.  The little water rocket is positively buoyant so you won't be hovering in place observing a reef. 

This is a performance ride: the original was built with a 100hp Evinrude inboard and you can now order one with a 400hp small block V-8.  Carbon fibre, Kevlar, an acrylic canopy, 4 point harness, and CO2 scrubber are some of the other features.  Read more and checkout the photos at these websites:

Company website... (click the Research link)

VulcaniaSubmarine.com page... (many photos on single page)

A Belgian inventor has produced an amphibious submarine which is part road vehicle, part boat and part wet submarine.  It's a striking craft with what could be described as a retro-50's style design and reportedly excellent craftsmanship...

Homemade submarine plans, or homebuilt submarines plans, for actual functioning submarines that carry people are a little hard to come by.  Here's what I've found: 

George Kittrege K-250 and K-350 are one-atmosphere dry submarines and are the only such homebuilt submarine plans that I've found.  This design seems pretty popular with homebuilders.

  johnmaynard.tripod.com  Lake Diver, Inc. a sub builder for hire and source for the full K-250 plans at 250.00 USD and K-350 plans at 350.00 USD.

  www.psubs.org/store  PSUBS has a single sheet of the K-250 plans for sale for 30.00 USD. (It's a Conceptual Hull Drawing which apparently can get you started at least evaluating the design).