Got some great advice for ya .. give up looking for a sub to run, your going to run it in salt water... which is not good for a model sub as it is.. then you have the whole 9 yards of building working ballast tanks & all the rest of the gubbins.
As a volunteer i think perhaps your time would be better spend doing something a little more 'helpful' rather then spending the best part of half a day getting a model in the water making sure it works then having your 15 Min's of fun to 'entertain visitors' then spend the rest of your day packing it up, i know for a fact if i saw a sub floating around a murky glass outlook into the harbor i would wonder why i spend £50 getting a family ticket to see staff messing about with 'toys' when there meant to be working, granted that i enjoy models in all forms but look at it from other visitors perspective, they don't know your working for free, there instant perception will be 'is this what my moneys paid for? whys this guy still got a job, where's the manger!'
For your needs an ROV is really the only option that's going to work effectively and be worth looking at, my advice is to scrap the idea stick with the springer tug or small boat idea for the kids.
You have to factor time and cost into the equation when building any model and when it comes to subs your looking at more then any other common build, if its a personal build that you want to take there every now and again then you should look at kit conversion, like the current Revell gato class that's on offer at £30, its a Nice sub i have one takes up my entire bedroom window
but i wouldn't want to drive it around murky salt water or any other sub for that matter.
stick with one idea at a time go with the springers for the kids and put your efforts there, i have done charity work in the past and regularly do 180mile 3 day hikes ( at cost to myself ) for the Cornwall air ambulance service, believe me when i tell you doing something for someone else with out my own needs in the way makes it worth while, if you spend your time thinking that some idea's for 15 Min's of entertainment is worth it your mistaken. visitors tend to want to look at the exhibits, the history's or the things there and get up close to items they can't see regularly or won't see again, not some floating stick in brown water.
by all means build a sub, but do it for yourself and keep it to the local club or events don't waste your time trying to entertain other people that wont appreciate the item, they didnt come there to see a model sub or staff playing about, they came to see the real boats and there history's and other items you have there.
you had it right with the boats for kids classes, anything else is a waste of your time as a volunteer.
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Topic: A source for a really good set of f/glass mouldings for a small submarine (Read 3374 times)