[PSUBS-MAILIST] Phil Nuytten has died at 81

[Alec Smyth via Personal_Submersibles]

I had not heard, but boy will he be missed. Talking to Phil was like
meeting Da Vinci. He had a completely outside-the-box way of thinking.
Engineers draw diagrams of things showing how they will work. Phil would
have an idea and draw the finished article, in charcoal, and so beautifully
that you'd want to frame the drawing and hang it on your wall. He'd only
call in the draftsmen later, explain how the thing would work, and have
them come up with the diagrams. If I'm not mistaken his art has been
displayed in galleries. He was also a wonderful carver, and the author of
the standard textbook on native carving. I think he might have recorded
music too. And when it came to subs, they just exploded with creativity. I
went up to see him when I was just thinking about building a sub, I think
around 1998. I was completely clueless, and he spent a whole day with me
explaining everything from how life support works, to which welding
electrodes to use in different situations. It was a fantastic combination,
world leading knowledge and utterly selfless willingness to share.

Best,
Alec


On Tue, May 16, 2023 at 8:56 AM Jon Wallace via Personal_Submersibles <
personal_submersibles at psubs.org> wrote:

> For those whom haven't heard, Phil Nuytten passed away May 13 at 81 years
> old.  I have not seen any information regarding arrangements.
>
> Phil was a contributor and supporter of PSUBS who shared his knowledge
> freely.  In 2009 he was a gracious host for our PSUBS convention and let us
> dive in his Deep Worker submarines, gave us a tour of his shop where he was
> working on his latest projects as well as his historical collection of
> submarines.  He treated us very well.
>
> It has always been my opinion that Phil Nuytten almost single-handedly
> legitimized PSUBS.  In the early days, PSUBS garnered some considerable
> criticism from an untrusting industry who classified us a "weekend
> warriors" that were going to kill ourselves and in the process saddle the
> commercial industry with restrictive regulations.  Phil was one of the
> exceptions that embraced our organization and became part of it.  When that
> happened the rest of the industry took note and started looking at us
> differently, with respect.  We will miss him.
>
> Jon
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