It's been a lot of years since I've watched more than a couple episodes of Voyage. Couple of decades? It seems to me that the Seaview had a round bottom hatch like an open well that the divers could just drop through - a kelson hatch? I can't imagine any other movie or show where I could have seen this. If I'm not hallucinating, could anyone give me the title of an episode where this was shown? I'm thinking of incorporating this somehow into the minisub bay. Thanks.

It's been a lot of years since I've watched more than a couple episodes of Voyage. Couple of decades? It seems to me that the Seaview had a round bottom hatch like an open well that the divers could just drop through - a kelson hatch? I can't imagine any other movie or show where I could have seen this. If I'm not hallucinating, could anyone give me the title of an episode where this was shown? I'm thinking of incorporating this somehow into the minisub bay. Thanks.

No Seaview DID NOT have such a Hatch.

She only had the belly hatch for the Mini-Sub, Diving bell.(Except of course,the Flying Sub Hatch forward).

However in the episode"The thing from Inner Space" Nelson opens the Mini Sub Hatch and has a Creature Jump in after he tosses a Device which annoys it.

By definition, you could probably call the bottom hatch of the Flying Sub itself a "Kelson hatch".
Occasionally on the series you'd find a Kelson hatch in some underwater structure, like the classic 1st season episode "City Beneath The Sea".

No,by your own definition it is an opening,not one with a hatch.alexander

That must be where I saw it, episodes like City Beneath the Sea. Not on the Seaview itself. Possibly on the Flying Sub, too? Thanks!
Trying to figure out how the minisub/diving bell airlock must have worked is fun. There's no room for any kind of solidly engineered apparatus to move into position over the top of the diving bell to attach its cable to, so I'm thinking the cable must attach to the inner doors themselves. Unfortunately, there's no room for the doors to open downwards, which would make sense - they would close against water pressure. Don't like the idea of them opening into the missile room but that's the only way I can figure.

By definition, you could probably call the bottom hatch of the Flying Sub itself a "Kelson hatch".Or, in honor of the show's Admiral, you could call it a "Nelson hatch". :p

That was almost as bad as one of my jokes.

Sorry...the joke came to mind, and I wasn't gonna be tortured by it alone.

A deck plan on www.nimr.org shows several details of Seaview including a Kelson Hatch. I must suggest to take this information with a large helping of salt, as I am sure these are done by fans and are most likely NOT cannon.

Thanks! Those plans are either Fred Barr's from Seaview Soundings in the 80s or someone else has copied them. They are wholly apocryphal but fun nonetheless.