Enhancements and Additions

Even while remaining true to Verne there's plenty of room for interpretation. Some stems from the understanding of the words in the novel. A question from James Laing about the shape of the salon windows sent me back to the text. Verne describes the windows as oblong. Influenced by the original woodcut illustrations and by the 1954 movie, and liking the more natural oval shape, I took this to mean simply wider than high. It might more literally mean rectangular, which is how the artist Ron Miller (Black Cat Studios), who has published numerous illustrations of Verne's works, interpreted it.

These are a few of the additions and enhancements I've added to this model.

The model includes a second deck hatch for several reasons. In at least one edition Aronnax says "hatches", but this may be an artifact of the translation. The Nautilus often drags a fishing net at night. My personnel hatchway has a spiral staircase, so a "cargo" hatch provides a practical way of taking a large catch on board. When on the surface, the Nautilus replenishes its air through the deck hatch. A second, large hatch makes sense to speed this process.
The novel has little to say about the rudder. Originally I placed it astern of the screw, spanning almost the full draft of the boat. Ron Miller passed along a comment from a marine engineer about the most efficient position of the rudder in relation to the screw. I had redesigned the stern for other reasons and integrated a new rudder with this modified structure.