Stock submarine. Yes, this one dives without being pushed under!

[Azimech]

Javascript is disabled. View full album

100% stock submarine. No "Better Buoyancy", no tricks.

Pitching is done by transferring fuel between the bow and the stern, just like a real one.

Download link: http://kerbalx.com/crafts/5439

Highly suggested mods:

Camera Tools,

Hyperedit.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Azimech

[Majorjim!]

Hey man.

So it wont sink without hyperedit?

[Azimech]

Nope, it will sink like a brick, with the tanks totally full, and because were talking about a million kilograms, a few jet engines won't raise it. So I used hyperedit to find the right amount of fuel so it sinks very slowly.

So diving or rising is done with manually pumping fuel, and that is 100% stock.

[Majorjim!]

Nope, it will sink like a brick, with the tanks totally full, and because were talking about a million kilograms, a few jet engines won't raise it. So I used hyperedit to find the right amount of fuel so it sinks very slowly.

So diving or rising is done with manually pumping fuel, and that is 100% stock.

So you start with the right amount of fuel to let it sink slowly, do your sub aquatic business, then how do you surface? And when the fuel starts to be used doesn't that mess with the buoyancy?

[pTrevTrevs]

Hmm, this sub technology race is getting serious.

Well done

[Azimech]

Yes, burning fuel makes it more buoyant. So if you're too heavy, pitch up and let the 24 turbojets do their work, and speed of rising will increase over time.

[Majorjim!]

Right ok, so it will work as advertised without hyperedit?

[Red Iron Crown]

You won't be able to resubmerse after surfacing without Hyperedit (or some other method of adding fuel back in).

[Majorjim!]

You won't be able to resubmerse after surfacing without Hyperedit (or some other method of adding fuel back in).

That's my thinking too. I suppose a one off dive is ok.. I am curious as to how long you can run the engines and stay under for.

And if its a stock craft, every aspect of it should be stock, including the deployment method.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Majorjim

[Azimech]

Correct, and if someone wants it, I could create a very small mod to create ballast water (or liquid fuel) out of thin air and electricity.

Deployment method: that's for who wants to build something for it. I'm not going to give it wheels.

Edited September 21, 2015 by Azimech

[Majorjim!]

Deployment method: that's for who wants to build something for it. I'm not going to give it wheels.

That's fair enough. You can always offset the parent part off into the water. Annoyingly as far as I'm aware there is no centering command for the VAB and SPH so centering it again is a nightmare.

[FlipNascar]

Correct, and if someone wants it, I could create a very small mod to create ballast water (or liquid fuel) out of thin air and electricity.

There's already a mod that will do that - Fengist's Maritime Pack

The Parts:

Blisters - In the Kerbol system buoyancy is determined by mass and volume. The ligher and larger an object is' date=' the better it floats. Blisters are foam filled balloons designed to be attached to the ship BELOW the water line. The more cargo you intend to carry, the more blisters you'll need.

Bitts - Bitts are just a cool nautical shape that stores Compressed Water (I'm a physics genius, yes). Compressed Water weighs in at 1 ton per unit. Each Bitt hold 5 tons of Compressed Water. By strategically placing Bitts around the deck of your ship, you can not only take on ballast, but move it around.

Water Compressor - Smashes H2O molecules to the point that they're almost ready to fuse and stores them in the Bitts.

Water Decompressor - Safely evacuates Compressed Water from the Bitts.

How it works:

Two parts, the Bitts and the Blisters, work in conjunction to give your ship an even keel. Both, or neither, may be needed on a ship, depending upon it's role. Blisters, added below the water line, aid in the flotation of ships. Bitts, added to the deck of the ship, aid in adding ballast. By right clicking and activating the Water Compressor, the Bitts begin filling with Compressed Water. As they begin to fill, the ship will gain mass and therefore sit lower in the water. To raise your keel, activate the Water Decompressor, which will evacuate the contents of the Bitts.

Ships that we're familiar with are able to pump water into various areas of the ship in order to achieve an even keel. You can also do this by right clicking on a Bitt, Alt-right click on the second Bitt and transfer Compressed Water between them.

Now that you know what they are...

Why Bitts and Blisters?

I have successfully tested cargo ships with over 150 tons of cargo. The problem is, once the cargo is delivered, all of that mass evaporates from the cargo hold. When a ship is first built to carry this amount of mass, it may have the perfect waterline. Losing that mass can cause it to sit too high in the water. In Kerbol, this can create a deadly situation. Anything that makes contact with the surface of the water at high speed is destined to break. By turning on the Water Compressor and filling the Bitts after the cargo is delivered, you can replace that lost mass with ballast, thus, bringing the water line back down to a level where it's safe to travel.

Blisters help ships float. Compressed Water causes them to sink. By balancing the two in your ship designs, you can hold a steady keel and achieve efficient speeds.[/Quote']

[Majorjim!]

I'm not going to give it wheels.

Yes, why would you? Some sort of trailer perhaps? I've always really enjoyed the two step challenge of launching a water craft from the KSC.

[Wabbit]

U-Boat time!

[pTrevTrevs]

U-Boat time!

Too slow!

http://i.imgur.com/gABgdn0.jpg

EDIT: Oh dear, this got me up to 666 rep points. How... Devilish

Edited September 23, 2015 by pTrevTrevs

[Azimech]

Download link is up!

http://kerbalx.com/crafts/5439

Instructions will follow.

[Wabbit]

Too slow!

http://i.imgur.com/gABgdn0.jpg

OK, that has to be, hands down, the COOLEST thing I've ever seen in KSP. Now hurry up and raid some shipping.

[selfish_meme]

On standby

[Azimech]

Which is a very beautiful plane.

[pTrevTrevs]

On standby

http://i.imgur.com/WOeDPF5.png

Pfft, they may have sunk the Bismarck, but they cannot sink the U-boat!

[Aegeas]

On standby

http://i.imgur.com/WOeDPF5.png

I saw this swordfish on another post and meant to comment, looks great!

- - - Updated - - -

Download link is up!

http://kerbalx.com/crafts/5439

Instructions will follow.

Downloaded... this is huge!

[Aegeas]

Correct, and if someone wants it, I could create a very small mod to create ballast water (or liquid fuel) out of thin air and electricity.

Deployment method: that's for who wants to build something for it. I'm not going to give it wheels.

I did some testing with air intakes for ballast after realizing from your craft that fuel density effects beyonce (and from reading Fengist's Maritime Pack explanation that FlipNascar posted).

Thought I had a method when I found that filling a closed intake with 2000 air made it sink, problem is you can't fill it back up again without I guess modding the intake part - they seem to have a limit based on intake rate vs leakage.

Only thing you could use it for would be for for emergency ballast surfacing - when you open the intake the 2k air immediately exists and goes back to its normal intake amount, but I guess jettisoning ore would do the same thing without having to edit files.

[Stoney3K]

Making a ballast tank pump (like there is on real subs) should be pretty straightforward. You could edit the stock RTG or fuel cell to generate a resource that you don't use on the craft (eg. Ore or MonoPropellant) and use a nozzle to jettison it later. It still counts as "modding" though....

Still, cool craft and I think there should be a use for subs on Kerbin and on other celestial bodies (Eve!). If we line the ocean floors with ore-rich deposits, that's a good incentive for undersea bases.

(Minor nitpick though: A real sub also has dive planes to change its attitude together with the ballast tanks, which only provide changes in buoancy)

[Azimech]

You're correct about real subs having dive planes, but the max speed under water is so low, control surfaces have zero effect.

The main reason I built this ugly thing is to prove it can be done. Maybe it's nice for multiplayer wargames, besides that it's pretty boring down there, especially because the main theme is waiting.

I think I'll produce a tiny mod soon, would anyone like to help me with the module manager syntax? I've just created a mod in my head using stock models, when I get home I'll adapt a few part.cfg files and show it here.

[pTrevTrevs]

You're correct about real subs having dive planes, but the max speed under water is so low, control surfaces have zero effect.

The main reason I built this ugly thing is to prove it can be done. Maybe it's nice for multiplayer wargames, besides that it's pretty boring down there, especially because the main theme is waiting.

I think I'll produce a tiny mod soon, would anyone like to help me with the module manager syntax? I've just created a mod in my head using stock models, when I get home I'll adapt a few part.cfg files and show it here.

If you need to create any new parts for this mod, I may possibly be able to attempt to try and make a model in Wings3D for a ballast tank and pump.

I also have a free license to use Autodesk Inventor for the next three years, I could even use that, but work would be much slower since I would have to use it at my school and it's a much harder software to use than Wings3D.