Not everyone sat out the pandemic. One man constructs a submarine and tests to reach the lake's bottom. For many, this is one of the most unusual things to do, but he did do it.
Man constructs submarine to wait out stay-at-home orders
In the COVID-19 pandemic, many have done new things while waiting for lockdowns to end. For many bored-at-home people, they've taken to baking, tie-dyeing, even solving puzzles in their spare time to putter about, reported TheHill.
A resident in British Columbia, Hank Pronk did the unthinkable compared to ordinary pursuits like baking; he made a submarine. Years back, he attempted to complete a submarine project, and eight years ago, he once again started making the foundation of a manned sub using all the parts from the old project to continue making a new one.
The submarine was made from top to bottom in his garage; most would marvel at his creation. Pronk said that he worked hard all summer, fixing and assembling all the parts, upgrading his former sub's design into design 2.0.
He is quoted to say this for the Calgary Herald:
"I spent the summer fixing it all up and upgrading the hell out of it, and now it's a nice, working little sub."
Needless to say, finishing it in one summer is an achievement in shooing away pandemic blues. For many, the situation means staying at home or other things that make anyone lethargic except Hank Pronk, who made his sub.
When it came to testing how well he crafted his sub, that is not easy to fabricate and takes some technical know-how—one of the last things that the British Columbian native wanted was an accident on his maiden voyage.
Sub works fine!
The sub reached 400 feet of underwater depth for his test on its first dive. An oxygen supply is provided for the manned submersible, with enough oxygen for the pilot for about 72-hours.
He used golf cart batteries to power its propellers and diving planes to provide power for all its systems when in use. A fully charged panel of batteries provides about four to five hours of driving time in the sub.
Pronk's sub is well built and has gone to the bottom of Premier Lake in British Columbia. He added that the conning tower, made of see-through acrylic graded for 400- 500 feet depths, is fantastic for the view. He said everything underwater could be seen. He also added an escape system should the sub get tangled or lies dead on the bottom to save the navigator's life.
Submarine fabricator Hank Pronk is a proprietor of a house-moving business, never finished high school, and reportedly has no idea about engineering something so complex. He constructed a submarine with the concept of nothing short of amazing and the internet as his only assistant.
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