lilmodified Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 ! ok...now why wouldn't it have a top? i mean, who has scuba gear lying around, anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 ............ 'been done .............. just not UNDERwater. Click -----> You could pick one up at your local dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 ............ 'been done .............. just not UNDERwater. Click -----> You could pick one up at your local dealer. a man gave us rides in 1969 at lake mathis ..strange but alot of fun ...first time we saw it go into the water .poeple started running into the lake to help him ......thought he drove off into the lake by mistake ............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 Yep H/T, I used to see a few of them around on the streets in Austin back in the day. Only ever saw on or two in the water. Actually, they were really just a novelty item. They were not very practical either as a boat OR a motor car. This gives me an idea for a new thread. Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 Yep H/T, I used to see a few of them around on the streets in Austin back in the day. Only ever saw on or two in the water. Actually, they were really just a novelty item. They were not very practical either as a boat OR a motor car. This gives me an idea for a new thread. Stay tuned! i tried a vw bug in the river once ..didnt stay afloat to long ..so bad ideal ..wasnt enough foam inside the car ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 ok...now why wouldn't it have a top? The dead ballast weight, or size/volume of controlled ballast tanks, required to submerge that volume of air in the cockpit would make the vehicle either too heavy or too unwieldy (respectively) on land. Look at the size of a modern sub compared to the amount of habitable space. With a sub one does not have to be light enough to be propelled on land so heavier materials can make up a lot of that displacement difference. (a sub displaces less water than it's physical weight - therefore left on it's own it will sink - compressed air in ballast tanks that make up about 20% of its size control boyancy, adding air raises, bleeding air lowers). Then to further complicate would be "waste" air issue - at the higher pressures needed to sustain and equalize outside water pressure (to prevent collapse) the hydrogen, helium and other gasses that make "air" take on a completely different volume in relation to what the human body needs to survive - and then one person can absorb enough oxygen and expell enough Co to pollute that small area to be unfit in a matter of minutes - (and if they have "yo quero Taco Bell" lately .... ).... It could be done but the cost of scrubbers (which rebalance all of the gasses to habitable levels) far outweigh the cost of scuba. The whole point of this project is application affordability. A diving submersable for a one man non tethered dive allowing 50 ft @ 30 minutes runs about 750K. Increase the depth and\or time and the cost goes up non exponentially (that is double depth or double time would MORE than double cost). Self containment is more expensive the larger the volume controlled - a self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) runs about five hundred for a good setup - it's volume limit is the human lungs for 45 minutes (and expells waste air into the water)- how much larger would that be to contain the cockpit (which has no provision to expell waste air so must also scrub and release under pressure)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 In may '05 My wife and I discovered that H2 does NOT mean able to float - fortunately the local PD and FD was able to rescue us from 5 feet of fast current after a flash (in less than 6 seconds the water went from 3-5 inches to 3-4 feet on the road) washed our 6 month old Hummer into the biggest creek (and main storm runoff channel) here in town. WE were lucky - had the truck went just 6 or seven feet more - the depth would have been over 15 feet. Screw the OnStar button - we needed a pontoon inflation button... (but onstar did literally save our lives by dispatching and direct via GPS to get the responders to us). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 5, 2010 Report Share Posted October 5, 2010 ............ 'been done .............. just not UNDERwater. Click -----> You could pick one up at your local dealer. I've ridden in one - not on water though. When I was 9 or so the guy across the street had one (just like in the vid -same color, flag mast and all) and I thought it was the coolest thing. I saw a show on speed channel (or discovery maybe) about that car. It's difficult to value at worse, about 50K at best (if in showroom condition) and there are very few (estimated to be 500 or so in the world) left in even fair condition. They only made like 4000 of em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyhorse Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 holy geez! do you work for the government? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmodified Posted October 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 Yep H/T, I used to see a few of them around on the streets in Austin back in the day. Only ever saw on or two in the water. Actually, they were really just a novelty item. They were not very practical either as a boat OR a motor car. This gives me an idea for a new thread. Stay tuned! ut-oh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilmodified Posted October 6, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 ok...now why wouldn't it have a top? The dead ballast weight, or size/volume of controlled ballast tanks, required to submerge that volume of air in the cockpit would make the vehicle either too heavy or too unwieldy (respectively) on land. Look at the size of a modern sub compared to the amount of habitable space. With a sub one does not have to be light enough to be propelled on land so heavier materials can make up a lot of that displacement difference. (a sub displaces less water than it's physical weight - therefore left on it's own it will sink - compressed air in ballast tanks that make up about 20% of its size control boyancy, adding air raises, bleeding air lowers). Then to further complicate would be "waste" air issue - at the higher pressures needed to sustain and equalize outside water pressure (to prevent collapse) the hydrogen, helium and other gasses that make "air" take on a completely different volume in relation to what the human body needs to survive - and then one person can absorb enough oxygen and expell enough Co to pollute that small area to be unfit in a matter of minutes - (and if they have "yo quero Taco Bell" lately .... ).... It could be done but the cost of scrubbers (which rebalance all of the gasses to habitable levels) far outweigh the cost of scuba. The whole point of this project is application affordability. A diving submersable for a one man non tethered dive allowing 50 ft @ 30 minutes runs about 750K. Increase the depth and\or time and the cost goes up non exponentially (that is double depth or double time would MORE than double cost). Self containment is more expensive the larger the volume controlled - a self contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) runs about five hundred for a good setup - it's volume limit is the human lungs for 45 minutes (and expells waste air into the water)- how much larger would that be to contain the cockpit (which has no provision to expell waste air so must also scrub and release under pressure)? ur replies always clear everything up perfectly muddy for me! jk...i really was wondering why it didn't have a cockpit. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted October 6, 2010 Report Share Posted October 6, 2010 holy geez! do you work for the government? No but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express...... lol. I love thinking things through. I play chess and that taught me how to follow many variable paths of outcome at a time. I ain't smart - I just just love challenges of thought - and the internet has made research a TON easier than it used to be (public library once a week with a list of questions). And the "more I learn the less I know" viscious circle has it rewards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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