Here we have some of the water tanks that we have been working on. These will act as a ballast in each of the outriggers or side-spars on the TriPod model. The tanks are constructed from fiberglass and have 600 millimeter thick walls. The inside of the tank is divided into four separate compartments and has a layer of gel coat for durability.

The use of these ballast tanks will come into play on the TriPod model to help control the height and balance of the SeaPod in the water. The tanks have pumps that will add or remove water as needed to make the house sit higher or lower in the water.

A use for this is if you have guests over and your SeaPod has more weight in it than usual, then the pumps can pump out some of the water, replace it with air, and effectively increase the buoyancy of the SeaPod and raise the level at which it is sitting it in the water. When the weight is removed, the pumps can introduce more water to the tanks which will allow the house to move lower in the water.

Another use for these is for balancing the SeaPod. Each side-spar will have sensors that detect the tilt angle of the house. So if the house is a little bit off-balance for more than a minute or so, then the sensors will be able to automatically control the pumps to individually raise or lower each outrigger to dynamically re-level the SeaPod on a constant basis.

This will allow us to give some functionality to the outriggers. The plan is to have the option to increase the usable space on your SeaPod with a jacuzzi or a gazebo, or as we call it, a Wazebo since it will be just above the water. These ballast tanks will allow your house to remain level when the extra weight of you and your guests is added to one of the side-spars.

There will be more to come as we continue to develop the different technologies that will be used in these systems which will allow us to provide more functionality and safety to the SeaPod. Be sure to check back for more updates soon.