Many of my students are waaaay too young to remember watching Irwin Allen's science fiction TV series entitled "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea". This was the first of four sci fi television series and it ran for almost four years starting in 1964. The plot as well as most of the action takes place underwater and revolved around the state of the art submarine the SSRN Seaview which was light years ahead of its time. The crew of the Seaview was led by Admiral Harriman Nelson (Richard Basehart), and Commander Lee Crane (David Hedison). Commander Crane assumed command of the Seaview after the murder of the original commanding officer and together with Admiral Nelson, they lead the crew through one perilous mission after another.
The submarine is based at the Nelson Institute of Marine Research (NIMB) in Santa Barbara, California, and is often moored some 500 feet beneath the facility in a secret underground submarine pen carved out of solid rock. The Seaview was officially designed for undersea marine research and visits many exotic locations in the Seven Seas, but its real mission is to defend the planet from all global and extraterrestrial threats which included deep sea monsters, aliens and nefarious cold war spys.
Several years ago, I purchased a studio scale replica of the SSRN Seaview from accomplished sub builder Bob Martin. The sub had been in moth balls for quite some time and Bob was very up front about its less than stellar condition. The 57 inch submarine kit was originally made by DeBoer Hulls and was crafted from fiberglass and resin. When it was first introduced it was considered to be accurate to the original 18 foot version used in the movie and TV series. Unfortunately, my sub was in rough shape and in need of repair and modification. However, not wanting to pass up a great learning opportunity and drop some vintage Sci Fi in the laps of my students, I decided to dust off this impressive sub and begin its restoration and return Seaview to its original glory. My students will research submersible design, nuclear propulsion, as well as some buoyancy and fluid dynamics in the process. Mr. Crane, take her down...