U-Boat Worx in Breda (NL)

[gboxwood]

My line of work gave me many opportunities over the years to get in contact with am amazing professionals and companies.

One of them is U-Boat Worx in Breda (The Netherlands), an almost 20 years old company developing manned submarines for science and "recreation". I would like to immediately address the technological level of these products and the incredible effort that goes into certifying them by testing and re-testing every single component, assembly and subsystem at the presence of the relevant authorities.

Anyway, I visited them again last Monday and I had the chance to see their Super Sub 3 in the flesh for the first time. This is a 3 passengers sub (the pilot seats in the middle and behind the two passengers) designed to go faster (10mph when submerged) and perform more aggressively underwater (hence the 5 points belts and racing seats).

It has 4 main thrusters, 2 vertical thrusters and a X-tail with full-moving planes.

By design, all U-Boat Worx submersibles are slightly positive buoyant and they will dive only if downward thrust is applied. In case of an APD failure, the sub will then re-surface on its own (unless trapped).

They have air tanks but they are used to adjust the surface trim while boarding/unboarding.

[Albacore 569]

WOW! Super Sub - U-Boat Worx - U-Boat Worx (uboatworx.com)

U-Boat Worx (uboatworx.com)

Data and Specs.




SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES



OCCUPANTS
DEPTH
3
300m
SPECIFICATIONS

• DEPTH
  300 m · 1,000 ft
• OCCUPANCY
  2 passengers · 1 pilot

• WEIGHT
  9,000 kg
• ENDURANCE
  8 hours

• LENGTH
  650 cm
• WIDTH
  327 cm
• HEIGHT
  214 cm

• BATTERY
  62 kWh
• PROPULSION
  4 X 25 kW
  2 X 6 kW
• SPEED
  10 knots

DESIGN

[RCSubGuy]

That is slick as heck. I love it! Would make for a really fun and maneuverable RC model, too...

[Albacore 569]

That is slick as heck. I love it! Would make for a really fun and maneuverable RC model, too...

[


Read my mind.

A lot would be predetermined by which clear acrylic dome size you picked. If you pick a 4.5-inch diameter (115 mm) the little sub would be 23.56 inches long. A pvc pipe 4.5 inches diameter, (labeled a 4-inch dia.) , but really a body would likely need ot be 3 d printed with all its fins and body shapes.

a 5-inch dome 26.5 inches long roughly.

a 6-inch dome length would be 31.3 inches.


Printing material and a machine to handle those diameters, smaller maybe better and just as sufficient. The larger the diameters (the square cube law) the more weight would be needed to weigh down the boat to trim the sub to slight positive buoyancy.

Besides te fun flying it, add a camera and a small manipular arm from a robot kit and maybe a useful tool in rescue?

[Subculture]

You'd need a sphere rather than a dome. They're available but tend to be more expensive, as they tend to be blown rather than moulded. e.g. https://plastic-domes-spheres.com/plastic-spheres/

The design is a bit cephalopod-like when viewed in profile. 1/10-1/8 scale is generally about right for these subjects.

[Albacore 569]

Thank you, Bob. 1/10th scale would be 650 mm length (25.6 inches long approximately). A custom dome sphere of 7 inches in diameter? Access inside be difficult, wouldn't it? For motor and electronics?

1/8th scale. 30.72 inches long. 9-inch diameter sphere.

[Alucard]

Do they rent them out or are they just for purchase??

[gboxwood]

No, so far all their models have been sold to different parties, i.e., cruise ships, research institutes and privates.

I'm not sure about the pilots, who "owns" them. For sure, they train them but I do not know what happens next.

[Subculture]

Not the same outfit, but similar concept if you fancy a ride.

https://luxexpose.com/submarine-rides-with-deepflight-adventures-at-four-seasons-maldives-at-landaa-giraavaru/