[Southack]

Might I humbly suggest a 30 foot long forward facing "curb feeler" tied to an automatic ballast-blowing computer to potentially avoid these sorts of situations if we ever again have to run at high speed in unknown waters?

[Enterprise1788]

Might I humbly suggest a 30 foot long forward facing "curb feeler"

30 feet? Keep in mind that 7,000 ton submarines doing 30+ knots have a lot of forward momentum. If my quick calculations are correct, that translates to less than 1 second reaction time.

[Robert A Cook PE]

It would make too much noise in the water near the sonar dome and long-range sonars, be impossible to support underwater at high speed as the boat turned, and would not be able to give enough warning to survive anything.

Try attaching a broomstick to the front of your boat (underwater at the bow), and then running at 30+ knots .....

Can't be done.

Even the cleats (which are reversible and retractable) and the hatches and latches and screws and bolts fwd are flush to the hull to reduce noise. There are no handholds anymore forward because they made too much noise. The cleats aft (behind the sail) are streamlined and "too small" to be easily used because they reduce water drag and noise that way.

The sub's navigation lights are streamlined even. It's fog whistle is covered with a retractable cover.

[miele man]

Uh, the USS Catfish?

[IonImplantGuru]

Might I humbly suggest a 30 foot long forward facing "curb feeler" tied to an automatic ballast-blowing computer to potentially avoid these sorts of situations if we ever again have to run at high speed in unknown waters?

At the speed they were going (at least 35 mph) one covers 51 feet per second. That curb feeler would get jammed up your nose before you could get 8 gallons out of your ballast tanks.

Clever thought though!

- Freeper sub vet