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Argonaut Jr. 2010
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What if Simon Lake was building the Argonaut Jr. in the year 2010? How would he do it? We plan to find that answer. And, have some fun too.
The project is about building a unique piece of
history that brings together people with a variety of skills and
interests. Backyard engineers, teachers, artists, CAD designers,
historians, modelers, builders, submariners, adventures, and students
of all ages are welcomed.
The construction weekend is June 18th -
20th, 2010, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The glue and paint will cure over
the next 4 days, and then she will be put in the water on June 25th and
perform exhibition dives on June 26th.
When the Argonaut Jr. is pulled from the water, the submarine will be available for school visits for FREE! Read more here...
Come Git er Done! We
need your help now.
Read more here...
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What is Argonaut Jr.?
The Argonaut Jr. was Simon Lake's 1894 proof of concept for the Argonaut I submarine. He decided to build Argonaut Jr. after having been tuned down by every New York City investor he approached.
"I do not remember that I worried at all about the monetary obstacles in my way. I was too set on doing what I wanted to do. At Atlantic Highlands, I drew the plans for the boat I had determined to call the Argonaut Junior." --Simon Lake
Argonaut Jr., was a 14 ft long dry ambient submarine. It was constructed from pine wood planks that sandwiched canvas and tar. It had wheels for rolling across the bottom which were powered by hand. There was also a diver's hatch in the bottom of the sub which could be opened while submerged.
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"I began life as a bad boy. Nowadays social
workers would probably call me a problem child.
I was a redheaded little Ishmaelite who hated
every one and was hated in return. I was
continually in trouble which I originated,
conducted personally, and usually paid for by
stripes and solitary confinement on stools and
in closets. I do not remember ever having been
at all sorry for the devilish things I did. Nor
do I recall that I ever surrendered to superior
force. My young head was often metaphorically
bloody, but it was not bowed." What would Simon Do?
So if Simon Lake were alive today, how would he build Argonaut Jr.? He would have spent long days and nights researching what others had done before him online and an in discussion forums. I his own time he may have talked to people who knew about the "Alligator", a top secret submarine built by the North during the Civil War. No doubt he would use Computer Aided Design (CAD) to draw up plans, and add some electronics, video cameras, and an underwater remotely controlled and put up a web site so potential investors could see his work. And that is what the Argonaut Jr. 2010 project is all about. Doing it in the way Simon would do it today. But our goal is to educated and inspire so we're keeping no secrets.
Remember, Argonaut Jr. 2010 is not a replica of Simon's Argonaut Jr. but the answer to a hypothetical question. Building a working replica would require much more time, money, and skill. However, Argonaut Jr. 2010 will lay the ground work for building a working replica using modern materials.
What Drove Simon Lake?
Perhaps he saw himself as Captain Nemo. "Jules Verne was in a
sense the director-general of my life. When I was not more than ten
or eleven years old I read his Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea
and my young imagination was fired. This generation may have
forgotten that Verne was a great scientist as well as the writer of
the most romantic fiction of his day. I began to dream of making
voyages under the waters, and of the vast stores of treasure and the
superb adventures that awaited subaqueous
pioneers."
Dry Ambient and 1 ATM (Atmosphere)
"It is a school-boy experiment to up-end a glass in a bucket of water and demonstrate that the compressed air will only permit the water to enter to a certain height." --Simon Lake
The Argonaut Jr. was unique in that it could change from a 1 ATM submarine to a dry ambient submarine. The Argonaut Jr. dove from the surface as a 1 ATM and then Simon released air from tanks to pressurize the air inside the submarine until it matched the ambient water pressure outside the submarine. And once the air pressure inside the Argonaut Jr. matched the water pressure outside, it was a dry ambient. Then the bottom hatch could be opened without the water flooding in. Instead, the water just lapped at the hatch frame. Today's large submarines with dive chambers perform the same task but only the dive chamber is pressurized, not the entire submarine.
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Argonaut Jr.'s Hull
Most of what we know about the Argonaut Jr. come from chapters 6 and 7 of Submarine - The Autobiography of Simon Lake and three photographs: One taken on Sandy Hook Bay, in Atlantic Highlands, NJ where Simon demonstrated the Argonaut Jr. and two more higher resolution photos taken as the Argonaut Jr. rotted away most likely on the same location. Apparently abandoning a boat on a public beach was not a problem in 1894.
Details of the Argonaut Jr.'s divers hatch, ballast tanks size and location, and other internal parts are subtly exposed by the locations of pipes, holes, and viewport locations. In addition we are able to reverse engineer the Argonaut Jr. with the knowledge of the amount of ballast weighs and water ballast required to make a boat her size operate as a submarine. Our Argonaut Jr. 2010 project group is fortunate to have submersible designers, historians, photographers and researchers that can piece together this information into a boat that Simon Lake would not only recognize but would immediate know how to operate. I am certain that he would also be very impressed with marine plywood and epoxy and electronics we plan to utilize on Argonaut Jr. 2010.
You can see more in depth look at the details on the Hull page.
Other Details Of Record
The Argonaut Jr. was
about 14 ft long, 4 1/2 ft beam, 5 ft keel to deck, and
displaced 7 tons. Canvas was sandwiched between layers of thin
yellow pine and painted over with coal tar. The air tanks were 100
psi drug store soda fountain tanks, pressurized with a
plumbers hand pump. A bucket was made into a dive helmet, with a
ship's portal for face place. A dive suit was of painted canvas and window
sash weights for ballast. It was paddled on the surface. Then,
sank
on a level keel. Powered by wheels on the bottom. No lights.
Transitioned from 1 ATM to ambient prior to opening the bottom
hatch. Claimed a 5 mi range on the bottom. Source: Argonaut: The
Submarine Legacy of Simon Lake. While "A propeller was operated with
a man-powered crank,..." is recovered in Submarine, The
Autobiography of Simon Lake. No prop is shown in any of the photos,
but it will be practical and fun to have.
The Year Was 1894
"Cuba was struggling to free herself from the rule of Spain, the European governments were in their accustomed state of irritation, Russia and Japan were beginning to make faces at each other, the Wall Street market was uncertain, and men who had money were putting in their whole time watching it." --Simon Lake
The Spanish–American War was 4 years away and Coca Cola was first bottled.
Simon Lake had failed to convince the money lenders in New York City that his submarine would work and he was broke. Undaunted, he moved to Atlantic Highlands, borrowed money from his ant and got his cousin Bart Champion to help. After a successful test in the the Shrewsbury River they move out to Sandy Hook Bay and gave public demonstrations.
Argonaut Jr. 2010 - You Are Invited to Join - Git er Done!
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Everyone is welcome to join in the design, construction and take her for a dive. 1894 was an exciting year for Simon Lake, and an exciting period of Oklahoma. It was only 5 years before Oklahoma was Indian Territory and famous for the Chisholm Trail. Now 116 years later we're going to have a little excitement again.
You don't need to know anything about submarines or diving to be
a part. Everybody has ideas and knows something that will help. Maybe
you just know jokes. Come on and join.
Click her to join
us on
Facebook or join the Yahoo group
international_psubs_minisubs
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The build weekend will be June 18th - 20th, 2010 and the exhibition dive weekend is the following weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kay and I (Doug) will be your hosts. There is no cost to you. We'll provide food, drink, and bandages.
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I had, quite literally, no friends at school
in the first few years, nor did I try to make
any. My teachers saw in me only a little
red-headed devil who had a part in every
disturbance. If I was not fighting I was setting
others on to fight or planning some impish
violation of the established order. They were of
the old school, too that was sixty-four years
ago and heavy-handed. I might tell the story of
one day as I remember it, not because it was
exceptional although it was but because it
illustrates the pedagogic method in use in
Pleasantville. I had done something I should not
have done. I do not recall what it was, but I
was distinctly at fault. The goal is to bring a piece of history alive, enjoy the company of other underwater and history enthusiasts, get to skipper a submarine, and go home with great memories, new friends, and all of your fingers.
Once the Argonaut Jr. 2010 is in the water she'll berth at a marina through July. You'll have the opportunity to be her skipper during that time. Your only obligated to learn the ropes from a previous skipper and train the skipper that will follow you as well as maintain the boat. After July, she'll be pulled out of the water and available for school exhibits. Come Git er Done!
Please write us and let us know your interested;
ArgonautJr@gmail.com
Phone: 918-630-4050
Shipping/Mailing Address:
Doug & Kay Jackson
2128 E Ute Street
Tulsa, OK 74110
How You Can Help
Media and Educational Materials
An Argonaut Jr. Logo for T-shirts, caps, etc.
Illustration of Boyle's Law
Illustrated correlation of depth and pressure.
Animation of how Argonaut Jr. was operated.
Illustration or animation contrasting 1ATM and Ambient
Paper model of Argonaut Jr. that can be build from 8.5x11" prints.
Curriculum Unit with 3 strands: making a periscope
(Simon Lake invented the
Omni Scope, precursor to the periscope.), making a hydrophone
and pressure.
Scale model of Argonaut Jr. that can be shipped in a box.
Argonaut Jr. Submarine Parts
Top & Bottom Hatches
Small Aft Wheels and Axel Assembly
Hand Crank, Through Hull, Drive Chain and Drive Wheel Sprocket
Drive Wheels and Axel
Anchor Capstans
Replica of Simon Lake's Dive Suite
Viewports
Depth Gauge
Depth Sounder
CB Radio and Antenna on Surface Buoy.
Interior Lighting
Interior and Exterior Video Cameras and Wireless Antenna on Surface
Buoy
Navigational Lights
