Sail / Conning Tower

In late 2020 we completely redesigned the sail as a conning tower. The older version will be scrapped. Still free-flooding, the new conning tower will have a more rounded configuration to make more room for crew and visitors. When finished, it will be more the style of a WWI German U-boat. Look at the photo gallery below to see photos. When completed, SeaHawk crew and passengers will have a commanding view perched 15 feet above the water in the personal submarine’s conning tower. The conning tower includes a set of controls for maneuvering.

The previous sail used a more modern maneuvering scheme by not placing diving planes on the sail. This improves hydrodynamics making the boat more streamlined in underwater operations. The primary reason for changing configurations was to allow more people to enjoy an “up top” experience.

Photos shown in the gallery show both the first sail and the subsequent conning tower.

Other Assemblies:

Back to Assemblies.

Back to Build.

shows sail flange in shop — Sail flange.

shows forming of submarine sail vertical stiffeners — Forming submarine sail vertical stiffeners.

building seahawk sail skeleton — Building sail skeleton.

sail skeleton build — Building skeleton of future SeaHawk sail.

shows sail forward skin installation — Sail forward skin installed.

sail assembly with skeleton and forward skin — Sail assembly.

starboard side sail access cover — Starboard sail access.

welding jig for sail access plates — Sail access welding.

installation of submarine sail plate skin — Sail plate skin installation.

shows sail plate being attached to frame, port side — Port sail plate placement.

clamping of submarine sail flange for welding — Sail flange.

Submarine SeaHawk sail bar cap — Sail bar cap.

USSVI members from Westport visiting Connecticut submarine build pose in front of the sail. — USSVI Westport visitors standing in front of the first version sail.

redesigned sail next hull — Conning tower forward view.

redesigned sail showing inside — Conning tower aft view.

redesigned sail inside closer view — Redesigned sail as a conning tower inside view.

redesigned hull painted in grey primer coat — Conning tower in finish coat.

conning tower lower section with bolt-on flange — Conning tower, lower section, with bolt-on flange.

conning tower lower section view from front — Conning tower, lower section, view from front.

conning tower flange, checking alignment and fit — Conning tower flange on pressure hull, checking alignment and fit.

conning tower frame complete showing builder John Kammerer — Conning tower frame complete with builder John Kammerer in photo to show scale.

conning tower fit out including ship's horn, diesel air induction piping and navigation sidelight housings — Conning tower fit out. Shows ship's horn, diesel air induction piping and navigation sidelight housings.

conning tower optical mast fit out, storage tubes and cigarette deck — Conning tower with optical mast fit out. Also shows storage tubes and cigarette deck.

conning tower skin for lower section — Conning tower skin for lower section.