New web site: The Submarines of Jose Berrios

A new website The Submarines of Jose Berrios has been created. This website will detail the process of how these semi-Dry Personal submarines were designed, developed and used.



The website will

• Highlight the successes and failures of each submarine.
• Describe the techniques I used to form and manufacture the parts for the submarines.
• Chronicle how my latest submarine Sea Squirt is being modified based on experience gained through sea trials.

Check it out the site is:   The submarines of Jose Berrios

Submarine Sea Squirt

The Sea Squirt is the latest in the series. She is smaller/easier to control, and can take a storm at Sea. Currently Sea Squirt is undergoing sea trials and modifications based upon her performance.
Currently I am working on the ballast/Sled system so that she can be towed, reduce draft and launched from a boat ramp.

Submarine Sea Dragon

She worksAll of the control issues of Oshiri were addressed in Sea Dragon. Sea dragon became the first boat to make it into open water. In 2008 the Sea dragon was lost at sea during a storm off John’s Pass.

Submarine Oshiri

She floats
Oshiri Japanese for bottom was the first submarine to dive. It dove in the protected waters of the bay and canals.While Oshiri did work it was unstable and hard to control. The hull of Oshiri was reused to make the Sea dragon.

The prototype

There comes a time when you either act on a dream or abandon it. This is the prototype. While it never dove it helped me develop the concepts and skills needed to build my latter successful submarines

A wet summer a long time ago.

During high school my dream was realized. I built a series of submarines I called seahorse. They were odd contraptions made from coolers cinderblocks. Air was supplied by an old paint compressor, fed by a water hose.

The series of submarines could only operate in a swimming pool but they worked.
An article was published in the Tampa tribune at the time.

Inspiration

Inspiration All dreams begin in childhood. The first time I thought I could own a submarine was as a child. Looking through a comic book I saw this add. This was it a submarine for less the $7.00 I saved my money and sent away for the boat. A letter arrived crushing my dream and refunding my money. It’s funny how inspiration arrives.