submarine launching through hull - yes or no?

As long as the top of the walls for the sub compartment are above the height of the static water line there would be no need for pressurization. Though keeping a modest positive pressure would be useful for detecting leaks through the bottom doors when they are closed. I would say this is doable. But would eat up a lot of space in the middle of the yacht. More practical to keep the sub in the stern with the rest of the toys.

Kelly Cook

Hey, this would be the perfect name for the M147 project... THUNDERBALL!!!

Even those oceanographic vessels that do have a bay for a sub have it as a deep slot in the stern. The sub enters and exits on the surface, does not "dive" directly from the bay. When you think about it, there is real risk the sub might collide with the bottom of the hull while trying to approach a bay in the bottom of the yacht. Less risks in making these approaches on the surface.

Kelly

it isn't such a hard question to answer...yes, technically doable, sure...why not! Research ships have transducer compartments that can be pressurized to exchange equipment without drydocking the ship. On the other hand, you wouldn't really want to have the submersible in that location. So far you have only talked about the process when going away from the mothership, that's easy! You wouldn't want to came back from a dive in your submersible and try to find a hole in the bottom of a ship, would you?! that would be the most dangerous part of the whole trip! Ask the guys at Woods Hole...DSV Alvin used to have a catamaran mothership with a moon pool...her new mother, R/V Atlantis lifts Alvin out over the stern...that way the submersible can come up to the surface well clear of the ship. Don't forget, you don't really see what's on top of you in those things!
The question here is not what is technically possible or what can money buy...it's more what is the most sensible thing to do! Hope to have helped you with this!

Sorry to bust some bubbles!

OR....

Why not have a shadow boat (compliments of Shadowboat.com) to keep the sub on???

Cheers,

Mark

I certainly agree that a dedicated sub tender would be the ideal solution. Removing any compromise for the primary yacht design. One (of very few) downside I could see to the "shadow" game plan is the need to hire a second crew.

Kelly

Agreed.....though if a person chooses to include a shadow boat in his or her future, what is the minimum extra crew needed for a shadow boat? I know you would need a second captain as well as engineer...maybe a few deck hands to keep the boat decent looking as well helping launch and retrieve any tenders...but would stews be required??? One thing that is mentioned as a plus on the Shadow Boat site is that the shadow boat does not require the extra effort to keep the boat as "shiny" as the primary yacht.

Would the second captain need to be paid as much as the captain for the big yacht?? Same for the engineer????

I would want to keep a shadow boat crew to a minimum but still keep the shadow boat functional!!!

Cheers,

Mark

Hummm. Interesting management concept. Keep the shadow crew wages down by treating them as a "reserve team". Made up mostly of apprentices. To be individually rotated to the primary yacht from time to time for polishing. Kind of like the crew of the Second Boat on an Americas Cup Team. Gawd, I believe you are corrupting me Mark

Kelly

Commercial diving vessels often feature "moonpools" to lower bells, subs, divers, and equipment to the seabed. It's basically a watertight shaft through the hull, like a water box - sort of.

The Glomar Explorer has two, I believe.