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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!
Bill Gates should buy it so he can torpedo Larry Ellison's yacht.
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)
I want to be the founding member of the "Mile-low club"....
S.t.e.v.e.
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
internet like monkeys'
This is just what they're looking for!
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.
Apple iSub. Sink different.
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.
I gotta quit hanging out here and/or get more sleep. The first time around, I read that headline as:
Your Own Linux Submarine!
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