K250 Submarine

I made a fully operatinal Submarine in my ‘garage’, toured to serveral states and then went around the world.

Early promotional rendering to help the few sponsors visualize the project

It all started with this sketch

I am a designer, fabricator and a maker. I have been attending ‘Maker Faires’ almost from the first Bay Area Maker Faire of 2006. I look for inspiration, ideas and to network with other builders, inventors and artists. At one of these events I met a non-profit organization that had of all things a certified pressure hull for a very small submarine.

They were looking for someone to build the rest. Since I had years of Sub-sea engineering and design at that point with unmanned ROVs (Remote Operated Vehicle) I took on the project.

Design objectives of this project:

2 people inside the submarine, air support for 2 divers outside
Ability to dive to 500 feet depth
A flat deck to carry a lot of scientific equipment or samples
Have the style of ‘Steam-Punk’ or ‘Eiffel tower’ appearance
Ability to replace spent batteries and air-tanks while floating on the surface
Be transported and latched by trailer, no reliance for cranes for normal opperation

Independent Engineering Firm Qualified the Hull

The pressure hull, which does look like a propane tank, was x-rayed for weld porosity / strength. Finite structural analysis and pressure testing on the front view port and top dome were also preformed.