rescue subs

[Paul No Boat]

As I watch some YouTube videos of coast guard rescue boats battleing huge seas to get to stranded boats I have to wonder, "Why not use outdated navy subs as rescue craft to get there under the rough water. I know it would take some type of design to get the rescued people down to the sub, Maybe a flexible tube like some buildings use as a slide from higher floors.
Or am I missing something obvious?

[hoytedow]

For rescue, subs are probably too slow unless already near the scene. That is what makes helos so valuable in this role.

[Paul No Boat]

-nodding- I am sure location and availability would be major deterants. It would also require much more and different training and excercise than surface boats.

[wardd]

and for the cost you could have much more of presently effective means of rescue

[Paul No Boat]

perhaps in the future when smaller personal subs are more plentiful and economically feasable it could be a workable idea. I guess I have just watched "Hunt for Red October" and "Most Dangerous Catch" too many times. LOL The Coast Guard sure lays a lot on the line so I can have a crab dinner now and then. Thanks guys.

[hoytedow]

Originally Posted by Paul No Boat

perhaps in the future when smaller personal subs are more plentiful and economically feasable it could be a workable idea. I guess I have just watched "Hunt for Red October" and "Most Dangerous Catch" too many times. LOL The Coast Guard sure lays a lot on the line so I can have a crab dinner now and then. Thanks guys.

Please check laws relating to "personal subs" as there is a drug war going on which will ruin the fun for everybody.

http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/co...ade-submarine/

[Paul No Boat]

Oh geez, I never even thought of that. Actually I was thinking more that the Coast Guard would have a small fleet of these to get out to disasters under the waves. but I know what you mean. Even hang gliders have been under scrutiney for potential illegal activities. what's next? RC helicopters?

Reminds me of when I sent old flashbulbs to a vintage camera buff in the Yukon for 3 bucks on ebay and the post office held them at customs for three weeks considering them a possible homemade bomb igniter. Go figure.

[hoytedow]

Yeah, a few rotten eggs ruin life for the rest of us.

[Paul No Boat]

“There’s really no legitimate use for a vessel like this,” ?????

hmmm however hairbrained or economically unfeasable my idea might be, I thought I just suggested a legitimate use.

[hoytedow]

Yes, I think it is a legitimate use, perhaps not the most practical way to achieve the rescue for reasons stated earlier. Oddly, some of the illicite submersibles look like fully enclosed kayaks with snorkels.

[Paul No Boat]

I'm just a simple guy wanting to build a plywood sailing pram for my local park pond and suddenly I am being sequestered by the CIA at ice station zebra.

as a kid we tied notes to helium balloons in hopes of getting replies from exotic lands far away. Now I guess that would label them as potential operatives selling information to the Chinese. watch out kids. What's really inside that rubber ducky? lol

[hoytedow]

Yeah, the world has become a very complicated place.

[Paul No Boat]

To Mr. Allen who made that rediculous statement:

The legitimate use of such a vessel is the peaceful enjoyment of the legitimate use of such a vessel. I rest my case.

[marshmat]

Subs certainly provide probably the most stable rough-seas platform you can get. If you're below the waves, they won't affect you very much.

The problems will start to appear when the sub's on the surface, trying to pick up casualties. When you look at a Coast Guard cutter, it may be bucking and rolling, but it's also able to turn quickly, hold station at awkward angles, and get very close to the people being rescued. When you see a sub on the surface, though, the most prominent feature is usually the gigantic bow wave and the deep trough immediately behind it. Couple that with a curved, wet deck and terrible manoeuvrability, and using a military-style sub as a rescue craft doesn't seem like an easy thing to do.

If we are looking for an improvement over helicopters for SAR, we should start with the helicopter's main weaknesses: its relatively short loiter time, and its tendency to crash more often than the crews would like.

If we are looking for an improvement over conventional Coast Guard surface ships, we must first identify their main weaknesses. And after over a century of development, I think it's fair to say that we can build a pretty darn good surface ship for SAR purposes, with relatively few inherent flaws in the basic concept (although the execution of some particular design might leave a bit to be desired).

[Paul No Boat]

or the larger ships could carry a LifeSub on the stern so if things get so bad they must abandon ship they get into the sub and get away from the sinking mothership and submerge until the storm is over. and a boat too small to carry a LifeSub should not be out in those waters to begin with.

expensive? yes but maybe less in insurance etc. Don't mind me, guys. I am just brainstorming and sometimes need rescue from the squall.
Thanks for playing along.