Dive Propulsion Vehicle

[Double_D]

The SeaDoo is awesome! One of the obvious benefits of a longer DPV is that it gets the propeller behind you. near your knees and feet versus in your face or chest. When you're in the prop wash, your drag substantially reduces the efficiency of the DPV. Some engineer may jump on here and fill in the technical details on lamellar flow and all that. All I know is the SeaDoo is a ton of fun, and if they made one five feet long it would probably go faster / last longer / speed you away faster.

Maybe Santa will bring me a DPV for Christmas???? I can always hope......

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

Before purchasing a scooter determine what your needs are e.g you wouldn't want to lug a 50 Lb. DPV to the beach, whereas if your primarily a boat diver weight wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[boomx5]

The SeaDoo is awesome! One of the obvious benefits of a longer DPV is that it gets the propeller behind you. near your knees and feet versus in your face or chest. When you're in the prop wash, your drag substantially reduces the efficiency of the DPV. Some engineer may jump on here and fill in the technical details on lamellar flow and all that. All I know is the SeaDoo is a ton of fun, and if they made one five feet long it would probably go faster / last longer / speed you away faster.

Maybe Santa will bring me a DPV for Christmas???? I can always hope......

With a properly configured scooter and tow cord you are not in the propwash and therefore it isn't an issue.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Yep, there is a tank attached unit available.
Be interesting to see what would happen if the motor locked up in the "ON" position! :11:

the K

Yikes!
:11:

 

[BCS]

With a properly configured scooter and tow cord you are not in the propwash and therefore it isn't an issue.

Not to mention the issues that arise w/maneuvering a scooter w/propulsion behind you should the relay fry on or trigger stick.
Having the prop in front w/a tow behind allows viewing of critical areas and the ability to stop the scooter instantly by grabbing the prop....which is doable quite easily on a good scooter.
The weight issue (in my experience) is really much more of an issue when boat diving. I have come to GREATLY appreciate a 32lb scooter on a rocking boat vs. a 55lb scooter on a rocking boat....so have the DM's and Capt's that I charter.
Coming from the a shore entry, weight is less of an issue since the ground is stable and one can always use a cart....but I still appreciate the lighter (much lighter) weight of my X vs. my other scooters.
Getting in touch w/someone who has actual experience in many environments and w/many scooters would be HIGHLY beneficial. Then tell them what kind of diving you are doing and aim to do...then try to find something that suits the budget.
Typically, when getting into more demanding environments, skimping on equipment due to cost will end up costing much more in time, effort, money, saftey, and enjoyment. Just something I've learned the hard way and try to help others avoid learning the same way I did.

Best Regards,
brando

 

[mweitz]

For a fun scooter I would look at a used Mako. They generally run about 1000.00, and hold their value pretty well. They are depth rated at 180', but I hear it is best to keep them shallower then 100 - 110. Battery packs are about 100.00, they give you 60 minutes burn time, and they are pretty light (56# I think).

The difference between the Sea Doo type scooters and more expensive types is the Sea Doo is a handheld scooter, which can cause your hands and forearms to get tired after a while. The others (X, Gavin, SS, Mako, etc) all are tow behind scooters. You have a strap that attach's to your crotch D-Ring and it "tows" you from that point. If you don't have a crotch D ring (backplate and wings) I don't know how you would configure them. I'm sure there is a way though.

If you do get a tow behind scooter, make sure you figure a little chunk of change (400 - 600?) for a scooter workshop where they teach you how to work on them, check the batteries, balance it, tow a scooter, setup the tow cord, tow a diver, gas management with scooter diving, and actual scooter diving techniques.

Another thing to consider is the battery it uses. NiMH batteries (X-Scooter) are pretty pricey (400.00) whereas SLA batteries (Gavin, SS, Mako) are much cheaper (100ish). The NiMH batteries are much smaller and lighter though so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery X would cost you almost a grand. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery Gavin would cost 200.00. NiMH batteries also have a tendency to cut off at the end of their charge, instead of slowly dying. It would be not fun to have your battery cut out in the middle of the dive.

Also, unless you solo dive, your buddy needs an equivalent scooter ... It is best if you and your buddy have the same scooter, so you can have some spare parts between you, and so you can go the same speed. It would suck for you to get a shiny new X-Scooter and have to turn it down so your buddy could keep up on his Mako or whatever.

In the end I decided on a Gavin 26 AH. It is pretty big (almost 80#) but it has 90 minutes burn, uses SLA batteries, has a long proven track record, is very tough, most of the local divers use Gavins and parts for it are easy to get and cheap. Check my profile for a photo of it.

Mark

 

[cool_hardware52]

Another thing to consider is the battery it uses. NiMH batteries (X-Scooter) are pretty pricey (400.00) whereas SLA batteries (Gavin, SS, Mako) are much cheaper (100ish). The NiMH batteries are much smaller and lighter though so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery X would cost you almost a grand. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery Gavin would cost 200.00.

What you say about battery cost is true, however the batteries in an X Scooter are much better protected than in all others I've seen. In an X scooter the battery, or batteries are seperated from the motor by a watertight bulkhead. This is important because motor shaft seal failures are common source of floods. In a Gavin, or similar design the unit floods. In a X Scooter the battery does not share the same internal space with the motor. In addition the X scooter does not have a removable nose cone, just the tail section comes off, one less o-ring, one less place to err in assembly.

It would suck for you to get a shiny new X-Scooter and have to turn it down so your buddy could keep up on his Mako or whatever.

Are you sure?


Tobin

 

[mtsidford]

Does anyone here have experience with Jetboots? The article in Divernet talks very highly of them. I'm curious to here from those who have experience with both jet boots and tow behind scooters to find which one you would choose if starting over?

 

[BCS]

For a fun scooter I would look at a used Mako. They generally run about 1000.00, and hold their value pretty well. They are depth rated at 180', but I hear it is best to keep them shallower then 100 - 110. Battery packs are about 100.00, they give you 60 minutes burn time, and they are pretty light (56# I think).

The difference between the Sea Doo type scooters and more expensive types is the Sea Doo is a handheld scooter, which can cause your hands and forearms to get tired after a while. The others (X, Gavin, SS, Mako, etc) all are tow behind scooters. You have a strap that attach's to your crotch D-Ring and it "tows" you from that point. If you don't have a crotch D ring (backplate and wings) I don't know how you would configure them. I'm sure there is a way though.

If you do get a tow behind scooter, make sure you figure a little chunk of change (400 - 600?) for a scooter workshop where they teach you how to work on them, check the batteries, balance it, tow a scooter, setup the tow cord, tow a diver, gas management with scooter diving, and actual scooter diving techniques.

Another thing to consider is the battery it uses. NiMH batteries (X-Scooter) are pretty pricey (400.00) whereas SLA batteries (Gavin, SS, Mako) are much cheaper (100ish). The NiMH batteries are much smaller and lighter though so you get a lot of bang for your buck. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery X would cost you almost a grand. Destroying a battery pack in a 2 battery Gavin would cost 200.00. NiMH batteries also have a tendency to cut off at the end of their charge, instead of slowly dying. It would be not fun to have your battery cut out in the middle of the dive.

Also, unless you solo dive, your buddy needs an equivalent scooter ... It is best if you and your buddy have the same scooter, so you can have some spare parts between you, and so you can go the same speed. It would suck for you to get a shiny new X-Scooter and have to turn it down so your buddy could keep up on his Mako or whatever.

In the end I decided on a Gavin 26 AH. It is pretty big (almost 80#) but it has 90 minutes burn, uses SLA batteries, has a long proven track record, is very tough, most of the local divers use Gavins and parts for it are easy to get and cheap. Check my profile for a photo of it.

Mark

All good points Mark. One thing to note on the SLA vs. NimH Batts is the power curve. The SLA's power begins to noticeably diminish much quicker than the NimH, which as you pointed out, goes pretty much full bore then dies abruptly. Either way you slice it, when a battery dies, it's dead. I had my Gavins (and was happy w/them too) do the same dive that I do routinely w/my X and my Gavin would finally end up pulling me slower than I could swim at ~100 yards from my end point. My X does the whole route in less time (and doesn't die or diminish in speed at all), thus travels farther on the same "1 hr." rated battery. This happens because I travel the same speed for the entire trip vs. a constantly decreasing speed on my SLA scooter, which ends up costing me distance travelled and that = more time to cover the same distance.....which ends up killing the battery for that particular dive.

best,
brando

 

[FSUDive]

I've tried some of the Sea-Doos before and they worked great. Much cheaper than any of the other ones out there too. They just came out with a new model that really is better for divers, with a lower max depth and higher run time. The explorer model I think. They arent made by Sea-doo so you can find the sam ething with somebody else name on it for cheaper on ebay and the net.

Fun in my opinion.