As some of you may know, we had the pleasure of spending 2 full days playing with a true diesel electric submarine during the 2009 Subsim meet.
That submarine now need your help.
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ABOUT UC3 NAUTILUS
In 1869, Jules Verne wrote a fantastic story about the mysterious Captain Nemo and his submarine "Nautilus." Nemo was an individual seeking freedom and independence in the depths of the oceans. He had constructed Nautilus with his faithful friends on a secret shipyard on the island of "Vulcania."
Despit the technology having been available for over a hundred years, no individual or non-government group ever turned Verne’s idea into reality until a group of Danish individuals, led by Peter Madsen and Claus Nørregård, decided to follow their lifelong dream and build a submarine of their own. Named after Jules Verne’s fictional vessel, the UC3 Nautilus made her maiden voyage in May 2008.
The UC3 Nautilus is a diesel-electric submarine. The diesel engine is used to propel her when sailing on or just below the surface, and the electrical engines are used when submerged. She is equipped just like a “real” post-WWII submarine with galley, crew bunks, officer’s mess, bridge, and engine room.
UC3 NAUTILUS - Technical data:
Type: Submarine
Tonnage: 40 GT
Length: 17.76 m (58 ft 3 in)
Beam: 2 m (6 ft 7 in)
Propulsion: 1 × diesel engine
1 x electric motor
Speed: 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph)
Crew: 4 - 8
The UC3 Nautilus is owned and operated by the non-profit organization “Copenhagen Suborbitals.” Copenhagen Suborbitals is currently working to become the first non-government, all-volunteer organization to launch a human being into (and back from) space. She is maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers.
Since her deployment, UC3 Nautilus hs logged more the 1000 dives and she is currently ashore for a major overhaul. The purpose of this campaign is to raise USD 50,000 to pay for the materials and spare parts needed to get her back in the water, thereby ensuring many more years of underwater adventures.
If we reach our funding goal, UC3 Nautilus will be fully operational again by the summer of 2014. All her moving parts and valves will be refurbished or replaced, her electrical system upgraded, and she will be sand blasted and coated with professional grade ship paint – a coating that will last at least 5 years. From the summer 2014 she will once again be able to embark on adventures in the ocean.
What We Need
More than ten people are working on the Nautilus but we need your help to afford the necessary materials for her overhaul. Over the past year we have repaired the hull, replaced the rudders, and installed the electric engines. We still need to upgrade the diesel engine, replace pressure valves and windows, and install a GPS-calibrated gyrocompass and new underwater cameras. Additionally, some of the big batteries for electric propulsion need to be replaced.
Lastly the entire ship will be sandblasted and painted black with the best available ship-grade hull paint.
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You can see a video and more information about what is needed and the funding here :
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/he...k-in-the-water
If you cant afford to support, please spread the word far and wide!
Videos from the 2009 meet: