Crazy or? Submersible Passagemaker Sailboat

Okay, yes, this is definitely different, out there a bit... and no, I'm not talking about trying to SAIL while submerged. What I'm thinking about is storms. When the weather comes up and it's rough as hell, everybody's sick and wishing to *&#! it would stop already. What struck me is that dolphins and whales go through these storms and apparently aren't much worse for the wear. How come? Because they go down, beneath the surface. Just like duck-diving a wave when surfing.

No, I'm not stoned. I'm thinking outside of what (probably) exists, wondering "If we made a boat that was specifically designed to take on water, get swamped or even submerged, could we simply wait out a storm in relative comfort, then blow the ballast after the storm has passed?"

If I've lost the plot, please explain why and then forgive the intrusion. If not, help me figure out how to make it work?

 

You would have to go down about 100 feet to get out of turbulence that includes mast. It is possible but building a sub is not the easy or inexpensive. There are a few threads in here about building submarines they should give you some ideas. It is all about the money, if you want to throw alot of money at it you can do it.

 

Depths

Thanks for the reply.

You sure about that? Obviously, 100 ft, 3 atmospheres of pressure, is out of the question. While cetaceans are far more adaptable than humans or boats, they still have to come to surface to breathe during storms. I think about how a swamped boat acts compared to one which sits high, pivoting on its axis, and wonder if doused sails and a swamped deck would help.

 

Wave effects reach depths of ~1/2 thier wavelength, so at 100 FSW cg depth, you have only escaped the short period waves (< SS 3) and any storm swell would be unabated. For SS 5 you need to go to ~400 FSW. For developed storms anywhere in you ocean you really can't get deep enough because the swell is so long. That said, the deeper waves have slower roll, but you will still roll and heave. See Wiegel, Oceanographical Engineering for the derivation and experiments.

 

Protect the O,

There are several threads, you should check them out. Lots of attempts to explain all the issues with something submersible.

Believe jehardiman about the wave influence, I was on a sub for a short time and we rolled badly at 300' in a big storm. more details in the other threads.

 

Gentlemen, thanks for your input. So there is NO appreciable benefit to being further down in the water, say at swamped level, over being at water line? I do understand that the turbulence continues below the surface level... but haven't the info to work with, as my firsthand experience IN waves is only ducking them while paddling out, at the shore, on waves created by something on the bottom. No clue if that even applies... but given how wingtip disruption from a heavy aircraft can toss a lowly C172 around like a dry leaf, water would be exponentially greater a force... I just don't know if it'd be ... It's a lot easier to ask you guys than to swamp a boat, wait for a storm and observe it.

Mahalo!

 

Even in Baltic Sea, when real storm hits, WW2 submarines (~700-1000t displacement) were unable to quietly lay on the bottom in 60m of depth, because of wave-induced pounding.

 

Rule of thumb in marine biology is that wave action or turbidity only reaches about 100 meters depth. Beyond that its possible but far less likely. So if your thinking you'll escape wave induced motion above that, you probably won't in anything but calm seas.

cheers
B

 

if you type in submersible sailboat you will find 2 threads that were on here before.

 

The posts above are correct that at a small depth you end up with being tossed around like a rag doll.

However, as PTO observed, just below the surface is different than floating on the surface.

A slightly submerged boat would probably have less risk of structural damage. It is just that the fragile contents (crew) would come out scrambled. The other big downside for the crew is the risk of losing air flow.

 

A slightly submerge boat will probably sooner or later end up a bump in the road for a freighter.

 

The best way is to don't be afraid of the weather and to be accustomed of the storms, and ride them as the natural course of the nature.
It is not that uncomfortable. But sailing for some it is uncomfortable by bad weather. It's sad, because it should be enjoyable.
A good boat, a crew in good spirit, well prepare for any circumstances, and you will enjoy what's Mother Nature brings you.