Alvin
 

Alvin is in house at WHOI and I am pretty sure they are having an open house to the public on this Sunday for anyone that wants to go and see it up close. If you are into that type of thing it is pretty neat. I was told it is going to be stripped down after one more excursion and a new pressure housing, sphere that guys sit in, is or has been manufactured and the old one will be retired, been in service since 60's, and sent to a museum in DC I think and a new Alvin will be put in service after all the parts are retrofitted to the new one. If anyone is interested I will check out the viewing times and post them here for you. P.

HERE IS INFO


Public Event: Meet the Sub Alvin : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

THANK YOU!!!
 

I just saw this - thanks for posting! My oldest boy ("bait boy" who is now 14 - can't believe it) is interested in being a marine biologist and thought this woulld be really cool to see. The other kids also thought it would be fun so I am gonna head down with the family tomorrow. Thanks again!!! JP :uhuh:

good for you. He will enjoy the whole place. I've seen it a few times and have even built parts for it. If it wasn't for my daughters B Day tomorrow I would be there too. Enjoy.

Thanks - Enjoy the Bday! :uhuh:

Thanks Paul, I may take jenna there tomorrow if she's done with her homework.
Happy Birthday to Caitlin

USS Independence in Newport
 

For those of you looking for a new boat, the USS Independence is offering tours this week while at Pier 2 in Newport.

Alvin was awesome. Great presentation, they spoke about the engineering involved and the tests they conduct. My son and I really enjoyed it. He thought it was really good for him to see how scientists work and what they actually have to go through. He is an avid reader and I was really impressed on how much he knew about the world under the sea. Pretty cool - thanks again for posting. :uhuh:

DAMN! Id like to both Independence and Alvin. Alvin , because it is history and a marvel of engineering, Independence, because hopefully they'll kill the overpriced ferry (LCS2) and gas-guzzler (LCS1) and find a far more suitable and less expensive alternative to the LCS program. What a Charlie-Foxtrot that will only get sailors killed.

I will state of the two LCS candidates, I prefer LCS-2 - not that the Navy is asking or nothin'

Oh come on now, what other USS boat can you use as a container ship, and ferry them anywhere in the world at 50 kts?
I also do not want to try and retrieve the chopper in CAT 5 seas.

It's comparatively cheap, 220 million a pop, only if the Navy stops changing it's mind

Oh and the Danforth off the bow for wreck fishing is extra

They can't do 50 KTS, even though that was an overreaching desgn spec. They were supposed to be 220 each and are over 700 mil WITHOUT mission packages. They require the cream of the crop to run but then they cut that cream to a lean crew and don't have enough people to do other missions. They have nowhere near enough protection, their offensive capability is crapped with the the short range missile being kaput (NLOS), they have the thin skin of a ship not likely to fair well in the littorals against guys with RPGs in skiffs.

700 Million each before the ASW module goes in, the Minesweeper module (800mil for a $^@*#& minesweeper??), or the ASuW module. Wonder how cheap those new chinese Fast patrol craft would run. Bet they kick the crap out of LCS.

Though LCS2 is REALLY sexy.

What we need to do is NOT do buck rogers projects like LCS or JSF where we cripple ourselves on stuff so expensive we can't buy what we need. And this was before we got into this budget crisis and foolish spending by every other government sector.


Don't get me started :devil2:

they make good trolling vessels

Again, don't get me started ;) - This is a key example why acquisition is all blanked up. Well, and the JSF.

I parked right near there when I went to MV yesterday and was dying to go in but didn't have the time.

Glad you enjoyed it. Got several friends that work there. My best friend works upstairs in the machine shop with giant windows overlooking Woodshole. I'd never get anything done if I worked there. Maybe he was there yesterday tautog fishing off the pier.
Did you get to see the Remus AUV project too? It is right down the hall in same building but it maybe kind of off limits to public. Not sure. It was developed there and is being built down the street from the shop I work at in Pocasset. We do a lot of the machining for that project nowadays. Amazing how much electrical, wiring they stuff into those 1 foot by 8 plus foot tubes. I took my daughter thru the whole place this summer and got to show her kind of what i do which causes me to smell like a machine when I come home. :uhuh: I always enjoyed seeing this stuff, oceanographic Jacques Crousteau shows when i was a kid. Wanted to be what he is thinking of when I was a kid too but I eventually realized I didn't have the brain cells for the science part but it has turned out to be kind of cool that I have got to work in this field for 20 plus years in some capacity. I get to at least work with some really smart people.

Here is the Remus project he might enjoy looking at on line.

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