Radio Controlled Submarines: What Else on a Friday the 13th?

I was casting about for something kind of fun to post about this Friday the 13th and serendipity struck.  I went first to a classified for a CNC Router, which happened to be on a forum for submarine builders called “Sub Pirates”.  It didn’t take me long to wonder what sort of place I had landed in and the rest, as they say, is history.  I had no idea this hobby was so popular, but I quickly found several sites dedicated to pursuit of happiness building radio controlled submarines.  Go figure!

Anyway, this does seem like the sort of thing where having access to machine tools and the know-how to use them might come in pretty handy.

For starters, here a classic “Untersee Boot” is stalking an aircraft carrier complete with torpedo shots:

How about a 1/32 scale model of the Nautilus from the movie?  This one shows the innards and a demonstration of the pump driven ballast system:

The Nautilus model uses no dive planes–the fantasy sub’s planes are too small and too close to the center line to be effective.  Instead, the propeller is gimballed for even greater maneuverability.

Fun stuff, check out the Sub Pirates forums for more information and links.