Don & Curt Siverts
http://underseagraphics.com/

555 N Harbor Dr Slip 42
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
Phone: (310) 318-1774

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/145898/?brand=smx_yp-nc
http://www.yellowpages.com/info-LMS53945514/Undersea-Graphics-Inc/maps?from=qpibp
Dive N' Surf Marine Photography
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=5069&page=96
http://www.uncw.edu/nurc/systems/worldwide_subs.htm

http://www.yellowbot.com/undersea-graphics-incorporated-redondo-beach-ca.html
A submarine is a watercraft that can operate independently underwater, as distinct from a submersible that has only limited underwater capability. The term submarine most commonly refers to large manned autonomous vessels, however historically or more casually, submarine can also refer to medium sized or smaller vessels, (midget submarines, wet subs), Remotely Operated Vehicles or robots. The word submarine was originally an adjective meaning "under the sea", and so consequently other uses such as 'submarine engineering' or 'submarine cable' may not actually refer to submarines at all. Submarine was shortened from the term 'submarine boat'. Submarines are referred to as "boats" for historical reasons because vessels deployed from a ship are referred to as boats. The first submarines were launched in such a manner. The English term U-Boat for a German submarine comes from the German word for submarine, `U-Boot`, itself an abbreviation for Unterseeboot ('undersea boat'). Although experimental submarines had been built before, submarine design took off during the 19th century. Submarines were first widely used in World War I, and feature in many large navies. Military usage ranges from attacking enemy ships or submarines, aircraft carrier protection, blockade running, ballistic missile submarines as part of a nuclear strike force, reconnaissance and covert insertion of special forces. Civilian uses for submarines include marine science, salvage, exploration and facility inspection/maintenance. Submarines can also be specialised to a function such as search and rescue, or undersea cable repair. Submarines can also be used in tourism and for academic research. Submarines have one of the largest ranges in capabilities of any vessel, ranging from small autonomous or one- or two-man vessels operating for a few hours, to vessels which can remain submerged for 6 months such as the Russian Typhoon class. Submarines can work at greater depths than are survivable or practical for human divers. Modern deep diving submarines are derived from the bathyscaphe, which in turn was an evolution of the diving bell. Most large submarines comprise a cylindrical body with conical ends and a vertical structure, usually located amidships, which houses communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes. In modern submarines this structure is the "sail" in American usage ("fin" in European usage). A "conning tower" was a feature of earlier designs: a separate pressure hull above the main body of the boat that allowed the use of shorter periscopes. There is a propeller (or pump jet) at the rear and various hydrodynamic control fins as well as ballast tanks. Smaller, deep diving and specialty submarines may deviate significantly from this traditional layout.
Byline: JOSH GROSSBERG
Staff Writer
They were two boys from the heartland who fell in love with the ocean. Equal parts Huck Finn and Jules Verne, they went looking for adventure and found it in a submarine they built themselves.
Bob Meistrell remembers how he was just a boy in Missouri when he made a dive helmet consisting of a gas can, a garden hose, a spring and a marble.
And growing up in Montana, Don Siverts always felt drawn to the water. But it wasn't till he was older that he learned men in his Norwegian family had a long history of becoming sea captains.
They met in 1957 when Meistrell was struggling to make his Hermosa Beach dive shop a success. Siverts was a young artist who wandered into Dive N' Surf and asked if he could work on some advertisements.
Doubts erased
The two hit it off, and to their amazement they both had a fascination with airtight submersibles. They decided to go into business together. Siverts was the tinkerer, the one who would build the sub in his Torrance garage. Meistrell was the investor who got to take the sub down himself once it was finished.
If Siverts was unsure he wanted to build a submarine, his doubts were erased as soon as he rode in one.
"I took a ride in a friend's," he said. "I ordered a piece of pipe the next day."
That's where it all begins, with a piece of pipe large enough for a man to fit inside.
It took years for Siverts to build the first one, which was finally launched in 1969. They named it Snooper.
It held two people -- with one lying down -- and sank to depths as far as 1,000 feet where the only sound they could hear was the clack of crab legs touching the side of the sub's steel hull.
"It's so quiet," Meistrell said. "You don't take your problems with you."
Treasure trove
They rented out their services to various cities, often inspecting sewage pipes, searching for fallen airplanes, filming for movie studios or looking for lost treasure. They once found millions in gold coins off the coast of Northern California, but their portion of the profits pretty much only covered operating costs.
They kept the Snooper in service until the early 1990s, when they launched their second sub. This one was also named Snooper. (Fact is, all of their submarines are named Snooper.) The new version was only a one-seater because the pair realized they got more work done when they were alone. Besides, they were constantly being asked by friends for a tour of the murky depths.
That's the sub they still use today. A third attempt ended badly when Snooper III was destroyed during a test dive. Sivert built it to dive to a depth of 2,500 feet, but at 2,450 feet, the pressure became too great and the sub was crushed like a grape. Nobody was inside at the time.
Years of work were wasted, but Sivert didn't let the failure hold him back.
"I bought a new piece of pipe and started again," he said.
Sense of danger
In fact, the only time the pair sensed they were in any danger was when they wandered into a sea cave near Catalina Island, but they were able to turn around and get out safely.
They figure the subs cost about $200,000 in parts and labor. When money comes in from jobs, they put it to the construction of the next sub.
There are only a handful of subs operating on the shores off California, a fact that comes as a surprise to Meistrell.
"I can't believe anybody doesn't want to do it," he said.
But he sees a day when he owns a fleet of subs that ferry tourists on visits to the watery underworld.
"People want to go into space, but who can afford it?" Meistrell said. "How many people ride in submarines? Very few."
On Saturday, as the pair were standing around the Snooper, which was stored on board Sivert's boat in Redondo Beach, two people on kayaks rowed by and asked how deep it goes.
"Five hundred feet," Meistrell said. "You think it's a long way down, but it's not. It's a long way up."
josh.grossberg(at)dailybreeze.com
CAPTION(S):
photo
Photo:
Don Siverts inspects a porthole on a submarine he is building at his Torrance home. Siverts and his business partner, Bob Meistrel, have built four submarines over the last 25 years.
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