the spiderfish began it's life as a decomissioned research
submarine and a dream. the future captain had long been a pilot, and had
even flown the subterranean cave-copters used in deep-crust mining. his
dream was to have an airship of his own. it wasn't until he found the
decomissioned hulk of the USS Pilotfish, a research submarine, that his
dream began to come together. since the research sub was obviously too small
for both the captain and his wife, they set about redesigning a portion of
the sub, making it much wider and longer. the transition segment is also
where the topside hatch is located, although nobody would even think of
using it while in-flight. a second hatch is built into the extreme rear of
the Spiderfish, with a built-in ladder to allow roof access. inside the
passenger compartment is a single bedroom with a queen-size bed, and a set
of storage lockers. opposite the bedroom is the head and the armory, which
consists of three large-caliber rifles. forward of the transition is the
cockpit, occupying the space once taken up by the various research
equipment. the port blister is an observation point, while the starboard
blister was partly removed. in place is an advanced radar and communications
array, with backups beneath the main rotor. in the space which the starboard
blister once occupied is the oil-fired boiler, which generates the steam
necessary to drive the internal systems and rotors. at the extreme fore of
the airship is the captains cockpit. laden with readouts and displays of
every kind, the captain has full knowledge of every vital system and the
surroundings from here. since the forward half of the Spiderfish used to be
a submarine, the required steam tubing could not be routed inside. this
development resulted in the curiously haphazard-looking appearance of the
Spiderfish. the captain says he likes it that way.