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The Nautilus Wheelhouse Depth Tube is a mysterious device indeed. How it appears to operate at first glance is not in fact, what is really going on. It certainly is one of the more interesting devices in the Wheelhouse and is comprised of a large clear tube just aft of the raised Helm platform. Many Leaguers are under the impression that the tube is filled with water and as the Nautilus changes depths, the water in the tube floats an indicator ball which corresponds to the current depth of the Nautilus. Above is a movie of the Depth Tube going through its paces. Note the underwater landscape rising out the Wheelhouse window. Be advised that the movie pictures take a while to load so read some more and come back to the picture to watch it in action.
At first it appears that the Depth Tube works on principle known as the Cartesian Diver. The dictionary defines a the Cartesian Diver principle as follows: "A glass vessel partially filled with water and covered with an airtight membrane, containing a hollow object that is open at the bottom and contains just enough air to allow it to float. Pressing on the membrane compresses the air in the vessel and forces water into the object, causing it to sink; releasing the membrane causes it to rise. " However, noted Leagues collector, Harry Hawthorne, has elaborated on what he knew of the Wheelhouse Depth Tube. He pointed out that the Depth Tube was not filled with water but was hollow and that the ball inside did not float but was attached to a wire that ran up and down the tube. Harry also points out that he had learned from Tom Scherman that the Depth Tube wire ran down though the floor and to the Chart Room. On it's way there, the wire makes a 90 degree turn on a pulley directly above Nemo's cabin door! Like most of the movie, there are inconsistencies in the operation of the Depth Tube. The ball is at the same height when the Nautilus is at different depths. The ball appears to be two different colors at different times. The main tube appears to have one or more smaller tubes in the center at different times based on reflections. In the movie below you can clearly see the wires moving inside. The movie at the top of the page appears to be the only time the operation was shown clearly. Wires may have been used to move the ball for the movie prop, but I don't see how that is practical in "real life". The Chart Room screen captures below shows the pulley. Below is a concept drawing of one way that the depth tube could of worked. The drawing utilized several known features and then adds the missing links to piece together a working apparatus. If you have a concept idea on how the depth tube works, please submit it at our forum. Just keep in mind that you must maintain certain absolutes such as dual wires inside the clear depth tube and a pulley above Nemo's cabin. |
| In this screen capture from the DVD, the pulley is indicated with an arrow. Good thing too because it is hard to spot and the screen capture was lightened extensively to even bring the detail out this much!. The Depth Tube in the Wheelhouse is located directly above this pulley. Not even Tom Scherman knew where the cable went from here. |
| This photograph is courtesy of Harry Hawthorne Hamilton. We can clearly see the pulley above Nemo's cabin door. When viewing the movie, this feature is hard to catch. |
