Submarine

[ew1usnr]

Have any of you ever used one of these? They were marketed maybe ten years ago. The diver rode it like a motorcycle. It had a built-in scooter and air supply. Did the bubble view port distort your vision? How was buoyancy maintained and how maneuverable was it?

 

[ScubaRon]

at Stuart's Cove in the Bahama's.

He said they are lots of fun.


ScubaRon

 

[ScottyK]

Here's some info on how they use them at Stuarts Cove.

http://www.sub-bahamas.com/pages/what-are-subs.html

It appears that the bouyancy is out of your control. They raise/lower you by a rope and tether the sub to a buoy.

It reminds me of another thing they do in the caribbean. Thy have you walk aong the bottom with SSA and a giant, square helmet on your head

 

[ew1usnr]

Thanks, for the link.

"There is also a buoy that is tethered to your sub. This prevents you from descending deeper than the planned 15-20 foot dive."

Well, gee. It sounds pretty simple.

 

[ScottyK]

ew1usnr once bubbled...

That sounds kind of hokey.

I hate it when I don't have full control of where I'm going. Even snorkeling annoys me when I see something too deep to get too, and want a closer look

Most of those things are to get some cash out of the non sporting crowd. Those who aren't going to do anything that takes more than ten minutes to learn.

My first dive was in the Bahamas in 97' through a "Discover Scuba" course.

 

[ew1usnr]

Here is a photo of a submersible that I built a few years ago. The resolution is poor because it is a picture of a picture. It was actually a self-propelled diving bell. I used buckets filled with sand as ballast. I could turn some valves to partially flood the craft and cause it to submerge. Once down, I could pick it up and walk around to move it. It worked pretty good. I ate my lunch in there once while submerged. There were two scuba tanks strapped on the external cradle for an air supply. To raise the sub I closed the valves and hit a regulator purge valve. That thing was a trip to ride to the surface. Coming up from 30-feet the air pressure would drop by 50% (2 atm to 1 atm) relatively suddenly, causing the humidity within the air in the cabin to condense into a thick fog.

 

[ew1usnr]

ScottyK once bubbled...
It reminds me of another thing they do in the caribbean. Thy have you walk aong the bottom with SSA and a giant, square helmet on your head

I built a helmet like that once. The helmet was made of wood, screwed together with caulking at the joints. The front window was made of plexiglass screwed in place and sealed. I plugged an inflator hose into the side and let the air free flow into the helmet and used the tank valve to meter the flow. It worked pretty good.

 

[ScoobieDooo]

..and they think I'm nuts on this message board! LOL!

ew1usnr, I don't know about you sometimes. I can't wait to get to Florida!

Reminds me of that show, 'Lost in Space.' "Will Robinson, that does not compute!"

 

[Stingray81888]

I've been on one in teh Bahams with Stuart Cove. At first it seemed fun..but after i got certified i prefer SCUBA much more than that

 

[ew1usnr]

The design of the X-1 took a lot of calculation. The bouyancy had to closely match the ballast weight. The placement of the ascent and descent valves were critical. Beyond the ascent volume, there was additional volume provided for emergency lift and to float it high on the surface for ease of towing. I "took her down" in a lake once where the bottom was soft mud. When it came time to surface, the ascent volume didn't provide enough lift because I also had to overcome the suction of pulling the buckets up out of the soft mud. I filled it further, utilizing the emergency lift volume, but she still wouldn't budge. I couldn't effectively push it up, because the bottom was not firm enough to stand on. Marooned in a submarine on the bottom of a lake! It looked as though I would have to abandon ship. With a lot of rocking, pulling, and wiggling she eventually broke free of the bottom (just barely). Then I opened all the valves to vent the excess air volume to slow my ascent rate. It was a hoot.