The main goal was to create the feeling of being inside a submarine. This was accomplished by carefully placing sound effects in different speaker locations and using the recording of constant water lapping against an aluminum canoe which was pitched down several octaves. Various sound effects like water drips and underwater bubbles were used to create an authentic claustrophobic interior of the submarine and the feeling of being submerged underwater.

Sound Designers Scott Gershin, Peter Sullivan and ten FX editors were assigned to the project. Keller, Gershin and Sullivan worked on designing the storm sequences and underwater explosions by building underwater microphones and using unique props and unconventional recording techniques. Some of the props used were a scuba bottle filled with oxygen and an aluminum canoe. Over the next days, the best of these new recorded sounds were processed and loaded to the sound designers audio work stations. Gershin processed and pre-panned pool splashing recordings to emulate actual movements of water. Canoe metal bangs were used for interior wave hits and Sullivan created and manipulated the special effects underwater explosions.

Once dialogue was predubbed to a Sony 3348 (Digital 48 track), Keller predubbed the original FX against the dialogue. Using the same techniques as Lentz, Keller worked on a state-of-the-art 72 Fader VRP Flying Fader Console. With the assistance of Signet Soundelux re-recording mixer and supervisor Stanley Johnston, new 6-track predubs were created. After three weeks of predubbing, Keller, Lentz and Johnston started finaling in 6-track. Stage Editor Peter Zinda began cutting new sound effects for the 8-track SDDS version. These effects were used to fill the left center and right center speakers. Keller and Johnston spent several days at Sony’s Cary Grant Theatre where they were responsible for mixing the successful SDDS print master. The completed SDDS version was presented to Columbia and it was decided that an English language version should also be created. Director's Cut producer Ortwin Freyermuth, Nikel and Keller flew to Bavaria Film Studios in Germany to bake, copy and check the English dialogue stems for the laser disc version. In the original version, the three main characters dubbed themselves in English and all the other characters were looped in England by British actors. The looping did not convey the meaning of the picture and therefore it was agreed that the three supporting characters should be looped in the United States. English speaking German actors were used to replace the dialogue lines of two of the actors and Martin Semmelroge, the second lieutenant in the film was flown in to loop his own lines.

Per Hallberg, who recently won an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing on "Braveheart" was the ADR supervisor. A major problem Hallberg faced was that there was one dialogue stem per reel and all the dialogue was tied together. The characters voices overlapped and the new characters could not be cut out or replaced. Therefore, the original dialogue stem ran on the ADR stage and the new voices were layered on top of the pre-existing voices.

After 18 weeks, "Das Boot" was completed. The U.S. Premiere of "Das Boot" will play in German with English subtitles. The English version will be used for Laser Discs AC3 6 track discreet and Home Video in Dolby Surround. Soundelux co-owner and restoration supervisor Wylie Stateman expressed the entire experience best when he said, "Working with Wolfgang Petersen creates great challenges and opportunities. The challenge for "Das Boot" was to technologically enhance this classic work without compromising its original integrity. The opportunity was to emerge into the sound restoration process. We worked diligently to accomplish and fulfill these goals." "Das Boot" was released in theaters February 1997.

DAS BOOT paved the way for Cineclassics, a new division of Soundelux Entertainment Group, Inc. dedicated to sound and picture restoration of classic films.