The four-day masterclass consists of elements such as energy, auxiliary & combat systems and hydrostatics & hydrodynamics. Of course, the masterclass students also get the chance to design a submarine of their own with the help of the ‘Volume Estimation Tool’ (VET), with which Marijn graduated from Nevesbu a few years ago as a naval architect. “When designing a submarine, it all revolves around achieving neutral buoyancy. An accurate estimation of the weight and volume of your design is also essential”, says Marijn. The VET method is structured like a kind of construction set. Each module represents an element of a submarine: sleeping, living, fuel, working, energy generation, etcetera. “A more mixed crew, means that extra consideration must be given to privacy. The destination also determines the design, as different waters have different densities. For instance, the seawater around the equator has a different density to that in a Norwegian fjord. We are, therefore, increasingly adding to the set of requirements in order to gain insight into every piece of the puzzle. Either way, the submarine’s centre of gravity must always be secured to prevent the submarine from pitching vertically. It needs to hover in the water.”