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Your Own Luxury Submarine!

cheapo writes "Not exactly computer related, but fun none-the-less. Someone on my boating mailing list turned me onto this website for your own personal luxury submarine. For a mere $78 million, you can make all the other folks at the marina jealous with a 213 foot toy." That 78 million dollar price tag might seem steep until you discover that it comes with its own docking mini sub. Now thats a bargain!

114 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. I think not... by MarvinIsANerd · · Score: 3, Interesting


    Does GPS work on board when it is submerged?

    1. Re:I think not... by Maj.+Kong · · Score: 4, Informative
      Does GPS work on board when it is submerged?


      Nope. Only ELF (extremely low frequency) signals can penetrate the murky depths.

      Subs take a GPS fix when they're surfaced or close enough to the surface to extend an antenna. In between fixes they rely on inertial navigation systems (and the quartermaster's grease pencil) to determine location.

      --

      Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.
    2. Re:I think not... by Dolly_Llama · · Score: 2
      While the brochure states that it can dive to 300 meters, GPS would be available to the boat on the surface and at shallow enough depths such that an antenna could be raised near the surface (deep enough to smooth out the ride during big sea states).

      4 days battery power at that depth is pretty damn cool, but with acrylic windows? Be afraid, be very afraid..

      --

      Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -- Carl Sagan

    3. Re:I think not... by YouAreFatMan · · Score: 2
      Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

      Interesting story about that line. The original line was "Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all that stuff." But, apparently, due to the assassination of JFK, they changed the line. I haven't seen Dr. Strangelove since I found that out, but you are supposed to be able to tell that "Vegas" was dubbed over "Dallas".

      --
      Robotiq.com is heavily tested on animals
  2. Gates needs it... by tinrobot · · Score: 5, Funny

    Bill Gates should buy it so he can torpedo Larry Ellison's yacht.

    1. Re:Gates needs it... by arrow · · Score: 2

      A while back I caught an interesting titbit on personal submarines. Discovery, TLC, or one of thoes. Only reason I paid any notice to it was this: The manufacturer of the devices was boasting Steve Ballmer as one of their prominent clients.

      Makes sense given Microsoft employees houses monopolize most of the puget sound anyways.

      --
      symetrix. We are building a religion, a limited edition.
    2. Re:Gates needs it... by looseBits · · Score: 2, Funny

      Speaking of being torpedoed, the buyer should make the US navy aware of his purchase less the buyer be mistaken for a missile boat from a nation in the Axis of Evil.

      "Captian, we've got an unidentified contact bearing blah, blah, blah. PossibleChinese boomer"

      "Flood tubes one and two..."

      Etc.

      --
      Lord, bless my users that they may stop being such fucking idiots!!
    3. Re:Gates needs it... by LadyLucky · · Score: 2
      No need. He's up against Team New Zealand.

      The australians tried it, their boat sank.

      Dennis Connor tried it, but well, he lost.

      Long live black magic.

      --
      dominionrd.blogspot.com - Restaurants on
    4. Re:Gates needs it... by whanau · · Score: 2

      Preach it brother. Ellison is gonna learn that nz grit is more valuable than money

  3. And the visions of torpedoes abound by Rosonowski · · Score: 3, Funny

    A3, F5

    You sunk my battleship!!

    --
    01101001 01100001 01101101 01101110 01101111 01110100 01100001 01101100 01100001 01110111 01111001 01100101 01110010
  4. Well, thank goodness for /that/ by devphil · · Score: 5, Funny
    Given the significant waterplane area and ample internal volume, which allows for greater battery storage, the Phoenix will out-perform smaller counterparts in surface speed, submerged speed and submerged endurance.

    I can't express how embarassing it is to be lounging around the marina, get challenged to a submarine drag-race, and lose to some other 100-foot submersible because I didn't hook up enough batteries. Finally, with the Phoenix 1000, I'll never have to endure their laughter again!

    (Okay, okay, it's not funny... I'm just bored.)

    --
    You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
    1. Re:Well, thank goodness for /that/ by Reziac · · Score: 2

      Just wait til I bring my Russian military sub, which I got for a paltry $10 mil, and SINK your luxury sub :)

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  5. Wasn't this spammed everywhere? by dougmc · · Score: 2
    I seem to recall seeing this spammed everywhere in Usenet, like a year or so ago.

    Of course, the web site didn't say so in so many words, but at the time, not a single one had been built yet :)

    1. Re:Wasn't this spammed everywhere? by dougmc · · Score: 2
      I was wrong. It wasn't a year -- it was more like 4 years ago ...

      Go search on google for `personal luxury submarine' and you'll find around 423 ads ...

      Damn spammers!

  6. About time by Foxman98 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"....

    --
    S.t.e.v.e.
    1. Re:About time by Alsee · · Score: 4, Informative

      I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"

      Sorry, no can do.

      You need some serious hardware to reach that depth. The pressure is over a ton per square inch at a mile down. The specs on the website state 1000 feet for the main sub and 2000 feet for the mini-sub.

      -

      --
      - - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
    2. Re:About time by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 3, Funny

      Hah, the thing won't dive lower than 1000 feet, anyway. Plus, it doesn't even have a deck gun. What kind of crappy submarine doesn't even have a deck gun?

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    3. Re:About time by tswinzig · · Score: 5, Funny

      I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"

      Sorry, no can do.

      It figures a fellow slashdotter doesn't understand the obvious reference to sexual conquest 20,000 leagues below sea level!

      You need some serious hardware to reach that depth.

      No pun intended?

      --

      "And like that ... he's gone."
    4. Re:About time by Robber+Baron · · Score: 2

      I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"....

      Yes but that would mean you would have to have sex with a human female and...well...this IS Slashdot.

      --

      You're using her as bait, Master!

    5. Re:About time by coding_ape · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude, 20,000 leagues under the sea means that Nemo and crew traveled 60,000 miles while submerged, not that they dived that far, however impressive that would be.

  7. Steve Jobs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I saw this on the discovery channel. Supposedly they are all custom made. Steve Jobs has one that will dock in his 200ft yacht, and a Japanese customer wanted one with a laser cannon mounted on it so he could shoot fish. Sounds like Dr. Evil!!

  8. Signifigant Transport Device? by fliplap · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As proposed, the submarine would constitute the single largest private undersea vehicle ever built, and arguably, the most significant personal transportation device of the 20th century.

    Besides say...oh...THE AIRPLANE?

    The problem with this statement is actually 2 fold, there's no way a personal luxury sub is the most signifigant personal trasport device of the 20th century. On top of that fact, the thing hasn't been built yet, so it should be of the 21st century. And considering the 20th century brought us the modern automobile, the airplane, and the space shuttle, I highly doubt that anyone would call anything the most signifigant anything of the century...only 2 years into it.

    1. Re:Signifigant Transport Device? by ROBOKATZ · · Score: 2
      I'm pretty sure submarines were invented in the 20th century.

      By which you mean 19th.

    2. Re:Signifigant Transport Device? by fliplap · · Score: 2

      Do you every get tired of being wrong? Lets first start with the quote from the site, they were refering to that particular submarine. And second, the submarine was NOT invented in the 20th century, the submarine was invented in 1624 by a man named Cornelius van Drebbel. However, Leonardo da Vinci drew out the basic concept of a submarine over one hundred years before. Drebbel, a Dutch inventor and engineer employed by the British navy constructed a leather- covered rowboat from which oars protruded through watertight seals. Drubbel's ship could stay underwater for a few hours. Please research your claims.

    3. Re:Signifigant Transport Device? by bluGill · · Score: 2

      I don't know, the wright brothers were flying in 1904. Henry Ford started a automobile company about the same time. (not the ford company of today, this one went out of buisness) Both heavier than air flight, and automobiles were known in the 1800s, but they were not useful. (In the case of ariplanes they were only about to get a few yards before crashing, cars were not faster than a horse, and much less reliable)

      I think they had submarines in the 1800s too, but again, nothing useful.

  9. Interesting factoid. by Apuleius · · Score: 3, Informative

    One of the measures of how dangerous a device
    is is the amount of time from the second
    you fsck up to the moment it's too late
    to save you. By that measure, subs are more
    dangerous than the space shuttles.
    Thought I'd share.

    1. Re:Interesting factoid. by susano_otter · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You might want to qualify that. Remeber Challenger? The time from "catastrophic O-ring failure" to "tragic loss of life" was pretty damn short. I'd imagine you'd have more time than that to save your ass if a submarine bulkhead failed.

      I suppose you meant that once in orbit the space shuttle crew has more time from fuckup to fucked than does the crew of a submerged ocean-going vessel.

      --

      Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.

    2. Re:Interesting factoid. by Chairboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of note, during the initial two and a half minutes of SRB boost, there is no method of aborting the flight or taking actions to save yourself (such as bailing out, etc).

      For instance, if 30 seconds after launch or so (when the shuttle passes Max-Q) the Hydrazine tank in the nose ruptures and begins to fill the shuttle with toxic fumes or fire, the crew would not be able to do anything until two minutes later when the SRBs seperated. During this time, they could die, even as they stared at flames burning towards them over a period of a minute or two.

      Additionally, if one of the high pressure SSMEs (the main engines) ruptured explosively during boost, shearing the retaining frame that holds the orbiter to the external tank, the tank would detach improperly, potentially knocking the shuttle into the airstream where, like with the Challenger, the aerodynamic forces would tear it apart. This could happen within less then a second, so once again, your analogy is in error.

    3. Re:Interesting factoid. by Usquebaugh · · Score: 2

      I liked the idea of flying beneath the waves, have a bouyant craft that is driven down. http://www.deepflight.com/

      Of course if the hull goes your still dead, but it removes the need for tanks to trim bouancy.

    4. Re:Interesting factoid. by Usquebaugh · · Score: 2

      Going deep is far more dangerous than going high.

      If a sub loses a bulkhead it means that the hull has failed and that you are either going to get crushed to death, suffocate because the sub will not reach the surface or freeze to death due to the lack of heat.

      Below a very shallow depth, 180ft?, you have virtually no chance of surviving the ascent to the surface without the sub. There is no option to bail out. Before the 1950s I don't beleive there was a way top exit the submarine underwater, the pressure means all the hatches could be unlocked and would never open. Nowadays they flood the exit chamber to equalise presuure.

      A fire in a sub uses all the oxygen you need to breathe, and there's no windows to let the smoke out. Plus heat will weaken the hull, not good at depth.

      The real killer is as the original poster said the lack of time to react, a hull breach at depth will usually finish the sub in seconds. No chance to radio Houston and discuss your options.

      I have always thought we rushed into space before we had explored our planet, I don't want to colonise Mars before we colonise the oceans.

    5. Re:Interesting factoid. by Fesh · · Score: 2
      Hmm. So the reason they rotate into an inverted position (and that the main engines are canted in that funny angle) is so that the external tank can provide an aerodynamic dead area? That thought had never even occured to me before...

      Huh. *ponders*

      --
      --Fesh
      Kill -9 'em all, let root@localhost sort 'em out.
    6. Re:Interesting factoid. by dillon_rinker · · Score: 2

      The O-ring failed on the launch pad. The shuttle didn't blow up until a couple of minutes later.

    7. Re:Interesting factoid. by Rick+the+Red · · Score: 2
      The Shuttle's main engines are canted at "that funny angle" so the thrust vector is through the center of mass of the combined stack, otherwise the Shuttle's thrust would tend to pitch it 'down'.

      What's interesting to me is that the SRB thrust is about equal to the mass of the external tank and fuel, so the Shuttle's engines are lifting it and the payload, while the SRB's are lifting the fuel. The Russian's design is simpler and in some ways better.

      --
      If all this should have a reason, we would be the last to know.
  10. about that mini-sub by vrmlguy · · Score: 2
    price tag might seem steep until you discover that it comes with its own docking mini sub

    Err, actually, it comes with a place where you could dock another mini-sub. The mini-sub itself would be an after-market add-on.

    --
    Nothing for 6-digit uids?
    1. Re:about that mini-sub by nathanm · · Score: 2
      Err, actually, it comes with a place where you could dock another mini-sub. The mini-sub itself would be an after-market add-on.
      Moot point. Someone that can afford one of these subs probably has enough in spare change to buy the mini-sub.
  11. pheonix? by _ph1ux_ · · Score: 3, Funny

    how come its not called the nautulis (sp)?

    phoenix is a fiery bird... this is a _sub_

    1. Re:pheonix? by glwtta · · Score: 2

      I wouldn't by the Nautilus submarine until at least version 1.04 - everything earlier never goes above .5 knots (surface, or submerged).

      --
      sic transit gloria mundi
    2. Re:pheonix? by ibbey · · Score: 2

      Nah, just get a '70s vw bug. Everyone knows that they float!

  12. uhh by nomadic · · Score: 2

    Oh man I am just having waves of covetousness washing over me. How can anyone have the money yet NOT buy this thing?

  13. Deja vu all over again by prisoner-of-enigma · · Score: 2, Informative

    copyright 1997-2002, U.S. Submarines, Inc. All rights reserved. All wrongs revenged!

    Last update: January 9, 2002


    Why does this seem like old news? Because it is!

    --
    In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  14. Portholes by fava · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have trouble beleiving that those large portholes (aprox 6' dia) depicted on the interior view can handle the 1000' rated depth. Total pressure is almost about 1.8 million lbs.

    Thats a lot for any transparent material, I don't have my engineering texts at work, anyone care to calculate what the stresses involved would be.

    1. Re:Portholes by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2

      450 PSI.

      I'd also like to point out that the Trieste had a porthole, and it went to the bottom of the Marianas trench... Of course, it was a lot smaller porthole.

      --
      Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
  15. Oh great. by e1en0r · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have enough trouble avoiding all the rich folk in their massive SUVs and now we have to watch out for them in submarines too? All those fishermen better keep an eye out for a submarine with a "My child is Citizen of the Month" bumper sticker on it.

    1. Re:Oh great. by flink · · Score: 2, Funny

      No, no, the best one is the one that says "I sell meth to your honors student"

  16. Hagbard Celine by SWroclawski · · Score: 3, Funny

    That's right, for only 78 million you too can pretend to be the leader of the Discordians.

    Green apples not included.

    - Serge

    1. Re:Hagbard Celine by GypC · · Score: 2

      heheh. The only reason I clicked on this article was to find the Celine reference. Thanks Serge.

  17. some problems by oo7tushar · · Score: 5, Funny

    there's a lot of problems associated with being underwater...

    First off, there's a limited range where you could use it.

    Second: You'd have to make sure you didn't collide with anything (I'm sure you'd hire a formet sub captain or something).

    Third: it's not all that clear underwater. It's only clear in the shallow areas like tropical and what not. But in the deeper areas it's not all that clear and so you wouldn't see much.

    Fourth: the upkeep on submarines runs millions a year, so the cost is gigantic.

    Now the pros:
    First: you can bring illicit drugs into the country and nobody is gonna stop you (how do you stop a submarine without blowing it up?) and if they do stop you, then you just flush the stuff down the drain.

    Second: It's the mile deep club.

    Finally: If the submarines a rocking don't come a knocking

    1. Re:some problems by armb · · Score: 2

      > First: you can bring illicit drugs into the country and nobody is gonna stop you (how do you stop a submarine without blowing it up?)

      You get the Navy to drop a warning depth charge. It if doesn't surface, you forget about the "without blowing it up" bit for the next charge.

      --
      rant
    2. Re:some problems by bluGill · · Score: 2

      That $200 hammer would cost you $200 at your local hardware store if they carried it. It was ment to be used in an explosive enviorment, so it had to be made of special (non-sparking) meterials. I'm sure non-reactive was also a requirement.

      sure You can buy a hammerfor $5 at home depot, but professionals won't buy that cheap model, they pay $20 for the best. And that is for working outside where there are not dangerious gas mixtures to worry about. If I had to use a hammer when the atmosphere was explosive I'd want a hammer that was safe in that enviorment.

      Can anyone verify any of the 3 claims given? I think it is well accepted that the goverment paid far more than home depot prices for a hammer at one time. However why seems to be in doupt, and the normal urban legends sites and google didn't turn anything up.

  18. vaporware submarines by dpilot · · Score: 2

    But if you read between the lines, you'll find that at least some of these submarines have never been built. I guess they don't want to keep them around the showroom.

    I first came across this site several years ago, from a pointer at www.memepool.com

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    1. Re:vaporware submarines by $carab · · Score: 2

      Domain name registration: 30 dollars

      Adobe PageMill Mac Edition: 40 dollars

      Cost of Product they're trying to sell you: 78 Million dollars

      Getting /.ed: priceless

    2. Re:vaporware submarines by Z4rd0Z · · Score: 2

      Yeah, this totally reminds me of the guys who were trying to build their own floating country in the Caribbean. This is not as farfetched, but still probably vaporware.

      --
      You had me at "dicks fuck assholes".
  19. Re:Hmmm... by Wildcat+J · · Score: 2, Funny
    Hey, $78M is a drop in the bucket for this magnitude of surrogate penis!

    -J

  20. Will spooks buy these? by thogard · · Score: 2

    Since the CIA keeps having problems that the coast gard keeps messing up their "drugs for guns" program, I wonder how many they will buy just to keep ahead of their competition.

  21. But... by Amazing+Quantum+Man · · Score: 2

    Can it take out an LNG tanker that's set on destroying New York City?

    --
    Fascism starts when the efficiency of the government becomes more important than the rights of the people.
    1. Re:But... by sconeu · · Score: 2

      Yeah. I think it's from Valhalla Rising.

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  22. and it's so sturdy... by Roadmaster · · Score: 2

    it gracefully handles the slashdot effect. 15 minutes after the story was posted, the site is still responding snappily. If the sub business doesn't work, they can seek work as webmasters. Or maybe they WERE webmasters before the bust?

  23. sweet! by Lag+Master · · Score: 2, Funny

    hotbox the mini-sub!

  24. 16 knots/hr? by XorNand · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The Phoenix is capable of making trans-Atlantic crossings at 16 knots yet can dive along the route and explore the continental margins of some of the most fascinating waters on earth.

    :: punching calculator buttons :: hmmm... Gee, anyone want to take a nice leisurely, eleven and a half day cruise, scrapping along the bottom of the ocean, in a diesel powered tin can?
    --
    Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
    1. Re:16 knots/hr? by Bob+Uhl · · Score: 2
      Gee, anyone want to take a nice leisurely, eleven and a half day cruise, scrapping along the bottom of the ocean, in a diesel powered tin can?

      Yep. Sign me up--it'd be a great vacation. The sort of person this sort of thing is aimed at has the time and leisure to take life easy and enjoy the little things.

      Heck, it'd be worth it to be able to avoid storms alone. Add in the ability to observe marine life and it should be a lot of fun.

  25. Quick! Somebody give Kentucky a call! by UsonianAutomatic · · Score: 5, Funny
  26. Too small by PhotoGuy · · Score: 2

    If it doesn't have a Casino and a Health Club on board, I don't want it.

    -me

    --
    Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
  27. That's nothing by lkaos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just get 9 of your rich fellow executives together and you can purchase your very own DD(x) Land Attack Destroyer.

    Comes complete with 5-inch/62 extended range guided munitions and 155mm Howitzers, land attack missiles and of course, Tactical Tomahawk missiles.

    No need to worry about the wife catching you fishing with your buddies either as it use stealth technology to give it almost no radar signature.

    By the way, this ship has a fully robotic mini-sub to allow scouting in unfriendly water ways.

    With a price tag of $750 million, they are just as affordable as these silly luxury 'subs.' Besides, you know what they say about submarine people don't ya?

    --
    int func(int a);
    func((b += 3, b));
  28. Inflation!! Used to be much less. by caduguid · · Score: 2

    Am I the only one who remembers back when you could be the "proud commander of your own POLARIS SUB -- the most powerful weapon in the world!" for only $6.98 ??

  29. It's a Scam by TechnoGrl · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It's a scam. There are engineering and metelurgical reasons why subs have he shapes that they have. The large portal windows seals for one thing wouldn't stand the pressure at the depth the sub claims to go.

    One clue to the scam is that there is no actual sub just "artist's conceptions". Another is that for someone seling a 78 million dollar product, their website design is amateurish.

    Gotta love the internet though...the web of a million lies...

    --
    ----- In Your Cubicle No One Can Hear You Scream...
  30. Submarine Operation Rules/Standards by slugfro · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Does anyone know if there are Rules or Standards for the operation of submarines for recreational purposes. Potential hazards I can imagine...
    • Someone getting sunk in their personal sub because they were mistaken for a enemy military sub.
    • Someone surfacing into the bottom of a surface ship.
    • Getting rammed by a surface ship while surfaced becuase they have such a small above water profile that they are not seen by a ship operator.
    • etc...
    I know I won't be buying my personal sub until I know these issues are resolved! ;-)
    --

    -- Find the Truth...
    1. Re:Submarine Operation Rules/Standards by evil_one · · Score: 2

      Well, military subs tend to have rather good sonar, so just play the hampster dance. They'll know then that it's not piloted by any self-respecting military captain.

      --
      Desperation is a stinky cologne
  31. Now I can become a James Bond arch-villian! by SIGFPE · · Score: 2

    I've always wondered where those arch-villains get their gear like luxury underwater bases and industrial installations in the middle of volcanoes. Well now I know. And at $78,000,000 I'm just going to have to turn to a life of crime. Maybe I'll become an accountant.

    --
    -- SIGFPE
    1. Re:Now I can become a James Bond arch-villian! by rlp · · Score: 2

      $78 million PLUS the cost of the cat and the monocle.

      --
      [Insert pithy quote here]
  32. Kentucky's getting one by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 2
    --
    [o]_O
  33. Having visions by rho · · Score: 2

    This thing needs a pipe organ. I can just see James Mason playing Bach's "Tocatta and Fugue in D Minor" in the gallery.

    Just need Kirk Douglas looking young again, and it'd be perfect.

    --
    Potato chips are a by-yourself food.
  34. Somebody tell Kentucky! They WANT one.. by i_want_you_to_throw_ · · Score: 3, Funny

    Some things you can't make up. From the Kentucky Legislature site.. "Encourage the purchase of a submarine to patrol the waters of the Commonwealth and search and destroy all casino riverboats".

    You can see it at the Kentucky Legislature site HR 256 Maybe they can take the casino high rollers for rides in it after destroying the casino riverboats.

  35. Re:Portholes (Not so bad) by Dr.+Zowie · · Score: 2

    It's not so bad. Figure 2e6 lbf acting on the thing, and a 6" thick window to take up the strain. That's about 1.5 kpsi overall stress inside the window, plus a bit for imperfections in the construction. Add some safety margin and you can figure on around 5 kpsi of stress.

    I'm not sure the strength of their window material but Kevlar can be made clear and has a strength of around 250 kpsi.

  36. My favorite item from their FAQ page by ckd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They have some Luxury Submarine FAQs that people may find interesting. My favorite:

    What type of people buy luxury submarines?

    Interested buyers tend to share one trait, they are all wealthy.

    My comment: well, yeah, people living paycheck to paycheck generally don't buy $78 million dollar items.

  37. a new tv show based on this by nilstar · · Score: 2

    How about a TV reality show with 5 people trapped in a little submarine! No way to get away from those hidden cams. Imagine the ratings! :)

    --
    ===> An eye for an eye makes everyone blind - MG
  38. Re:As the saying goes.. by doooras · · Score: 2

    if i had $78 million to blow on this thing, i wouldn't mind being called a fool.

  39. Re:web site? by doooras · · Score: 2

    page mill my ass, with that kind of quality they must have used netscrape composer

  40. Have you heard about the Apple iSub? by Rui+del-Negro · · Score: 5, Funny


    Apple iSub. Sink different.

  41. ROFLMAO! by nathanm · · Score: 2

    That has to be the funniest bill I've ever read. The Kentucky legislature has quite a sense of humor!

    1. Re:ROFLMAO! by tswinzig · · Score: 2

      That has to be the funniest bill I've ever read. The Kentucky legislature has quite a sense of humor!

      What do you mean, "sense of humor?"

      That bill is dead serious.

      --

      "And like that ... he's gone."
    2. Re:ROFLMAO! by dvdeug · · Score: 2

      That bill is dead serious.

      See
      http://www.snopes2.com/legal/kentucky.htm.

      In short, it's not a bill, it's a resolution (so passing it wouldn't mean anything if it were passed), and the legislature didn't take it seriously. Don't you think there would be just a wee bit of a problem if Kentucky actually started sinking riverboats? (Think about stuff like Federal control over interstate commerce and due process of law before killing someone or destroying their property.)

  42. Does it come with an Instruction Manual? by DA_MAN_DA_MYTH · · Score: 2

    Even if it does who is going to read it?

    ** CREAK **
    Wife: (Gathers Manual) Dear it says right here not to exceed 10,000 Feet or the...

    Captain: That's just what they say, I know this baby can take a few more thousand feet, I paid 75+ Mill for this baby, besides it's pretty down here...

    Wife: I can't see a thing...

    Captain: Look harder... Anyway not to worry... remember Crimson Tide they went like 13,000 ... ** CRUNCH SPLASH **

    The only Warning labels people listen to is Dry Cleaning Only labels...

    --
    "It takes many nails to build a crib, but one screw to fill it."
  43. There ain't no one-upmanship in yachting... by aquarian · · Score: 2

    ...and this is just one more example.

  44. Toy? definately not by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

    Anyone here whos a survivalist, knows that having a submarine can help you escape pretty much any situation

    nuclear war, flood, etc etc

    I'd love to have a submarine just so that if there was a situation where we were at war with say, China, I can take me and my family into the submarine.

    Think of it like a bomb shelter which can move around, not to mention submarines also allow you to travel, its like your own private jet just under water.

    Last, submarines allow you to explore the ocean,
    I'd love to have one

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  45. Re:web site? by doooras · · Score: 2

    oh.

    whoops.

  46. Hey if i were a billionare by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

    I'd buy a submarine, connect it to my bomb shelter, and connect that to the basement of my mansion

    IF its a flood or any kinda bad situation, you have a way to escape.

    Thats why a submarine would be cool, a submarine is alot more useful than a yacht and people waste their money on that

    i think 70 million is too expensive for a submarine though.

    --
    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
  47. Doubt it by nuggz · · Score: 2

    he Phoenix is capable of making trans-Atlantic crossings at 16 knots

    That is really slow. Why would anyone buy a bot that goes twice walking speed.

    1. Re:Doubt it by rtaylor · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm impressed. I don't know of anyone capable of walking nine miles in an hour -- they exist, but are pretty rare.

      That said, these boats have about the same speed as a dolphin or penguin.

      http://www.seaworld.org/Physics/key.html

      --
      Rod Taylor
    2. Re:Doubt it by daviddennis · · Score: 5, Insightful
      Most boat buyers, as it happens.

      It costs serious bucks in fuel and maintenance costs to get a 200-odd foot object the size of a modest mansion up to, say, 30mph. There are a few that do it, but, again, costs are fantastic.

      The 143' Octopussy is one of the more famous yachts capable of this kind of speed. According to this page, she has a cruising speed (optimal efficiency) of 22knots, which is about 25mph. At this dizzying speed, she burns up 343 US gallons of diesel per hour. So if you bought your diesel at the bulk rate of around $1/gallon, each hour of operation would cost $343. If you're going to cruise at that speed for a day, we're talking about $8,232 a day. Charter cost is $90,000 per week on season.

      If you look at the picture on the link, you will note that the Octopussy is not level; it's actually moving over the surface of the water. This means a less comfortable ride, and it also means everything you own is pretty much continuously at an angle. Slower yachts glide through the water at lower speeds and are generally more comfortable.

      I know someone who chartered his 120' yacht on an informal basis for $45,000 per week with all expenses included. If my memory serves, his yacht could go about 15 knots, or about the same as the submarine. That should give you an idea of how much speed costs, and why truly fast yachts are relatively rare.

      You have to have - literally! - money to burn to run one of those things.

      D

  48. Drug dealers subs by shird · · Score: 2, Funny

    As proposed, the submarine would constitute the single largest private undersea vehicle ever built

    Does that include all the submarines built by the drug dealers that people don't know about? I remember there was once an article about a bust of a drug ring building their own submarine, I think it may have been in Russia. Several have also been sold to drug dealers around the world. $78mil could be a worthwhile investment if I can manage to shift enough 'goods' without being picked up by the coast guard.

    --
    I.O.U One Sig.
  49. Didn't want to compete with Dean Kamen by nucal · · Score: 2

    I'll bet that they thought there would be one of these in a bubble by the 21st century...

  50. Re:bath time by Com2Kid · · Score: 2

    Woohoo! Then all the poor public school Nerds using 486s (well hey the local H.S. just disposed of their 8086 lab 3 years ago so. . . . ) will be able to hack into the rich's sub-enviros and stop the oxygen supply!

    Oh yes, set the phasers on stun indeed!

    ::evil laugher::

  51. My mistake by Apuleius · · Score: 2

    I indeed meant once in orbit.

  52. A significant personal transportation device? by trenton · · Score: 2
    From the site:
    As proposed, the submarine would constitute the single largest private undersea vehicle ever built, and arguably, the most significant personal transportation device of the 20th century.
    I think you'll find a lot of people willing to argue that. Personally, I think, oh, the aircraft was kinda good.
    --
    Too big to fail? Does that make me to small to succeed?
  53. Your Own Luxury Submarine! by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    I gotta quit hanging out here and/or get more sleep. The first time around, I read that headline as:

    Your Own Linux Submarine!

  54. i think its real by Edmund+Blackadder · · Score: 3, Interesting

    if you download their pdf file you will see some pics of some of their smaller subs.

    As far as the largest one it seem they have not made it yet.

    The reason they kind of hide their picuters of submarines, is because the actual boats look kind of ugly.

    They are made to look like an yacht when surfaced, but the part thats underwater looks like a tube and breaks the continuity.

    When they draw pictures they cheat, so they draw the bottom to look like the bottom of an yacht with large windows.

  55. The Ultimate Yacht Tender by kindbud · · Score: 2

    A turbine-powered helicopter is no longer the ultimate accoutrement to a superyacht.

    Damn! I just had it painted to look like Airwolf!!

    --
    Edith Keeler Must Die
  56. Move along folks, nothing to see... by waimate · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Whether the windows would work or not, they're quite useless.

    Visibility underwater is such that you'd need to be very close to something to see it at all. Coral reefs with fish and stuff, and you'd want to be within 20 feet, more likely 10. There's simply no way you can manoever a 200 ft vessel to within an irregularly shaped reef. Not a surface ship, and certainly not a submarine.

    For deeper stuff, you're going to need some seriously powerful white lights. Water filters out the higher frequency light first, so all your reds start disappearing after about 60 feet. For wrecks and stuff, you'll need a huge bank of lateral spotlights (not shown on artists impression because artist didn't take physics), and still be unable to get close enough to see anything.

    With sufficient lighting, you may be able to go to depth and see some really nice mud.

    Me - I'd buy 7 trips to orbit instead.

  57. I believe the portholes are intgegral to the hull by kindbud · · Score: 2

    The pressure hull is constructed of cylindrical sections of transparent structural acrylic - Lucite is the tradename, I think - about 8" thick. The portholes are made where the outer hull has porthole-shaped cut-outs to expose the lucite and create a window. The outer hull is shaped to give the cylindrical pressure hull better hydrodynamics.

    --
    Edith Keeler Must Die
  58. Oh, JAMES! by El+Camino+SS · · Score: 2


    Honestly, whoever gets this one is a single step away from James Bond villany...

  59. just some Marine FYI by 1337+$14X0r · · Score: 2, Informative

    Having worked at a Florida Marina for 4 years, I can tell you that yachts require a ridiculous amount of maintenance to keep them in working order. I am rather skeptical of this vessel, here's why.

    First, there's the issue of bottom paint. An untreated hull in saltwater will be covered in drag-producing algae in a matter of weeks. Most bottom paints slow this considerably, but they still need to be re-painted at least once a year. More permanent paints are available outside the US, as they contain several environmentally detrimental chemicals. All this leaves me to imagine that those portals are going to be one royal pain in the ass to keep clear and clean.

    Next, there's the issue of prolonged saltwater contact. Surface yachts must be sprayed down after every outing, or every week at the dock. Otherwise, the salt spray alone is enough to destroy any metalwork on the boat. As if salt spray wasn't enough, this boat will be saturated from all angles.

    Now there's maintenance. Those outside the marine industry have no idea of the amount of work needed to keep boats running smoothly. You can't just leave it tied up at a dock - there is near-daily engine maintenance (markedly higher due to saltwater contact), external cleaning, interior maintenance, etc. Now, if this much effort is required to keep a much simpler surface yacht afloat and in shape, I can't imagine what this thing requires. Furthermore, the idea of a crew of only 3 on any yacht over 200' is absurd. It takes that many just to tie the damn thing up, nevermind who's driving it.

    Finally, the price. I'm sure this will make a great novelty for some rich person, but that rich person could have bought over 1000 feet worth of brand new motoryachts or sportfishers with that kind of money.

    --

    --- Sigs are dumb.

  60. uh oh by cybercuzco · · Score: 2
    Operating Depth 305 meters


    But my watch is only good to 100m. Damn you timex!

    --

  61. Re:A S. American country was doing this by istartedi · · Score: 2

    This was widely reported. They didn't finish this one, but who knows what else they have?

    --
    For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
  62. Re:fox or cbs should buy this by Z4rd0Z · · Score: 2

    They're sailboats, so not very fast compared with a motorboat. Probably slower than this thing goes, or would go if it ever got built.

    --
    You had me at "dicks fuck assholes".
  63. Re: Sorry, no can do by UberQwerty · · Score: 2

    "I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"

    Sorry, no can do.

    You need some serious hardware to reach that depth. The pressure is over a ton per square inch at a mile down. The specs on the website state 1000 feet for the main sub and 2000 feet for the mini-sub.


    Okay, so it is difficult, but under this argument it is still possible to do. You just need to invent the right equipment.

    The REAL reason you can't be the founding member of the mile-low club is I already am :)

    --


    PUBLIC SPLIT ON WHETHER BUSH IS A DIVIDER -CNN scrolling banner, 10/15/2004
  64. Re:Hmmm... by Rackemup · · Score: 2
    are you sure?

    we just got some "new" ones y'know, they're tied up at the halifax shipyard.

    dont know how much they cost though, maybe $78mil is a bargain.

  65. Not primitive by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    heh, there was nothing primitive about what they were doing. They were building the same kind of state of the art subs the Russian military uses for nukes. Except instaid of warheads, it was going to carry smack. Lots and lots of smack.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  66. This is where I have to call Bullshit... by Robber+Baron · · Score: 2

    on the whole idea. Not to you but to the makers of this thing.

    You need some serious hardware to reach that depth. The pressure is over a ton per square inch at a mile down. The specs on the website state 1000 feet for the main sub and 2000 feet for the mini-sub.

    From the article: The significant volume, coupled with very large acrylic viewports...

    Stop right there. Any idea what the external pressure on those "large acrylic viewports" is going to be??? At 1000 ft, we are looking at about 30 atmospheres! That's 30 times the normal atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi! At over 400 psi (that's over 30 tons per square foot!) those "large acrylic viewports" are going to pop like giant bubblewrap!

    --

    You're using her as bait, Master!

  67. No you idiot by autopr0n · · Score: 2

    Italics are from ther person who submitted the story, undecorated text is from the editor who put it on the page. Why is it so fucking hard for people to figure this out???

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  68. room for music I hope by potnoodle · · Score: 2, Funny

    how much is the Captain Nemo pipe organ option ?

  69. Every has said this but...... by jsimon12 · · Score: 2

    My god, that is freaking totally AWESOME, and it operates at almost 1000feet too boot.

  70. Re:Those acrylic windows... by Dolly_Llama · · Score: 2

    Look at pictures of naval submarines. Notice how the high strength steel tends to push inward on the substructure over time? The elasticity is used to take up some of the strain. Acrylic lacks this feature and is more likely to develop cracks leading to either regular replacement or catastrophic failure.

    --

    Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -- Carl Sagan

  71. Re:Those acrylic windows... by BLAG-blast · · Score: 2
    Look at pictures of naval submarines. Notice how the high strength steel tends to push inward on the substructure over time?

    I think you'll find that the dents come from hitting fishing boats (and the odd depth charge).

    The elasticity is used to take up some of the strain. Acrylic lacks this feature and is more likely to develop cracks leading to either regular replacement or catastrophic failure.

    The replacement schedule for Acrylic viewports is (normally) ten years. I could imagine that the ten year refit for a submarine like this would be around 7 million usd.

    --
    M0571y H@rml355.
  72. Massive hype. by armb · · Score: 2

    "arguably, the most significant personal transportation device of the 20th century"

    Yeah right. That would be the same 20th century as the Model T Ford and the Wright brothers' first flight?

    --
    rant