This past summer, my two tech buddies took off on dives without me, leaving me standing on shore, or sitting on the boat, because they both had scooters and I didn’t.
Selfish.
So I finally bought a scooter. I did a side job, which gave me a little cash – not enough for a real scooter like an X or an SS, but enough for a used Mako.
I did the usual internet research here on SB, on TDS and on RW. So when then money came in, I posted a WTB here and on TDS. In just a few minutes, I got a PM from a guy with his phone number. So I called him.
His Mako had the motor rewound to about 1200RPMs
, the face-plate replaced with the metal one, and some other upgrades by Steve Gamble. Zero dives since the upgrades. The seller said, “I don’t know what these go for used. What do you think?” I told him, according to my research, between $600 and $1200, depending on condition, etc. He suggested a selling price of $800, and we made the deal. But he didn’t want the money until I got the scooter and gave it approval. He said he knew me from the boards, and that tech divers have always been good to their word on any deals he’s made with them.
Nice.
Cory, from Salvo, being a friend of the seller, shipped me the scooter. Shipping cost $45.00. We had already discussed the fact that the scooter would arrive sans batteries, but with a charger. It arrived with no batteries, and also no charger. No big deal. I called the seller, and based on his recommendation, I bought a Deltran Waterproof 24v Battery Tender. Cost 89.00.
Then I bought 2 Powersonic PS-12180NB - 12 Volt/18 Amp Hour SLA for 95.00, including shipping.
The scooter also came without the battery wiring, so I spent another $10.00 for wire and connecters.
I wired together the batteries, installed them into the scooter and pulled the trigger. And the prop flew off.
Humm. Well, I figured I could repair it myself with the prop chart referenced in this great thread.
But instead of just going at it myself, I called Steve Gamble and he walked me, step by step, through the disassembly, repair and reassembly of the prop. What a great guy! In 15 minutes I had the prop reassembled and working like new. And now that Steve had talked me through the disassembly and reassembly of the prop, including tips and warnings he had learned through experience over the years, I now feel confident that I can make any prop repairs necessary in the future.
Next I made the tow rope, X style.
Turns out that this Mako has a minor issue with the battery lights. The light is not supposed to activate until you pull the trigger for the first time. But on this unit, the battery light comes on as soon as you plug in the battery. Steve Gamble told me he wouldn’t sweat it, that those lights are junk anyway, fail often, and he would just ignore it.
Okay.
Time for the Mako’s test dive!
I wanted to make sure I would get the weighting and buoyancy right, so I attached an X-pocket to the front handle, and brought with me some one 1# and 2# weights for the test dive.
I got to the lake, and my first challenge was finding a place that wasn’t iced over. After finding an open launch site, I took the scooter into the water. Adding 2#’s seemed to make it neutral. I descended and pulled the trigger and took off!
Oh, oh! The dry suit I had borrowed (mine is at Superior for a new zipper) started to flood in the right arm. And in 38 degree water, this is no joke. The scooter seemed to work great, but my total dive time was only 12 minutes, and my hand was so numb I couldn’t feel the trigger.
Back at the truck, after reviving my hand, I opened up the batter compartment to unplug the battery and saw that there was about ½ cup of water in the compartment. I went home and examined the O-rings up close and discovered that they both looked rough.
I called Steve Gamble again and ordered new O-rings. $21.00. I installed the O-rings and made a Velcro strap inside the battery compartment to hold the 2# weight.
I put the scooter into my hot tub, tossed a weight belt over it to secure it to the bottom and did a burn/leak test. At prop pitch 9, I got 20 minutes on green, 20 minutes on yellow and 5 minutes on solid red before it started flashing and I shut it down. The battery compartment was dry.
I bought the thing used, and I expected to put some money and time into it to get it up to my liking. In fact, I enjoy tinkering with my gear, learning about it, improving it, and making it mine. So the batteries, the charger, the wiring, the O-rings… all part of the deal when you buy used. Totally expected.
Yesterday, I gave it another test dive.
As I dressed at the dive site, I realized that I’d forgotten the rock boots that came with this loaner drysuit (my suit has the built-in boots). Augh!! I shoved my feet into my hiking shoes and pressed on, knowing that those dogs would be hurting before long.
The air temp was 26 degrees, the water temp 36 degrees, we had to trek through 2 feet of snow down the hill to the lake, and we had to push through broken ice and slush in the water.
We got under the broken ice, and off we went.
My buddy’s scooter is an Apollo, and with his at full speed, I had to dial my prop pitch down to 4 to not race off ahead of him. Even at 4, I had to release the trigger now and then to let him keep up. Man, that Mako will move with the 1200rpm motor!
The vis was good, about 25’, and we headed under the docks and over to the tug boat. The usual 15 minute swim took us about 3 minutes. I clipped off my scooter at the wreck and swam inside the tug for a bit, then clipped the scooter back on, and off we went.
My only prior scooter experience is four dives with an X-Scooter, and one with an Apollo. One thing is for sure, my scooter skills suck. I kept waving my HID light every time I’d clear my ears or push my drysuit inflator, and my buddy would automatically reach for his reg, look over at me, realize it was nothing, and shake his head in disgust at me. A couple of times when we stopped, my scooter touched the bottom. I guess the 2 pounds was about one pound too much, and the scooter was a bit negative. Also, it seems that getting neutral while on the move is a guesstimate that I’m not so good at yet.
The trigger on the Mako is not comfortable with one hand, and in the 36 degree water my hand was cramping up pretty good. My squished-up feet were killing me and my right (trigger) hand was frozen from washing through the freezing water. Even with all that, I was sure having a blast! It’s hard while scooter-ing not to shout, “Wheeeeeeee!!”
About 40 minutes into the dive, my buddy’s battery crapped out. I moved my prop pitch to 9 and towed him back to shore. Even with both of us in doubles and his scooter dragging behind him, we really moved!
It was a 45 minute dive and the battery indicator light never left green. Max depth was 62’. The compartment stayed totally dry.
I was extremely happy with the Mako’s performance. It’s no X-Scooter, but for the price, it is closer to a “real” scooter than I had hoped. I expect to get over an hour of burn time at the 4 to 6 setting, and especially as my technique improves. With the front plate reinforcement, Steve tells me I can easily take the thing to 200’ without fear of implosion.
We are going to have some fun this summer!!
My total cost:
$845.00 Scooter & Shipping
$ 89.00 Charger
$ 95.00 Batteries
$ 21.00 O-Rings
$ 10.00 Wiring
TOTAL: $1060.00
Still have stuff to do, like compass mount, and change the handle, but it never really ends, does it?
Selfish.
So I finally bought a scooter. I did a side job, which gave me a little cash – not enough for a real scooter like an X or an SS, but enough for a used Mako.
I did the usual internet research here on SB, on TDS and on RW. So when then money came in, I posted a WTB here and on TDS. In just a few minutes, I got a PM from a guy with his phone number. So I called him.
His Mako had the motor rewound to about 1200RPMs
, the face-plate replaced with the metal one, and some other upgrades by Steve Gamble. Zero dives since the upgrades. The seller said, “I don’t know what these go for used. What do you think?” I told him, according to my research, between $600 and $1200, depending on condition, etc. He suggested a selling price of $800, and we made the deal. But he didn’t want the money until I got the scooter and gave it approval. He said he knew me from the boards, and that tech divers have always been good to their word on any deals he’s made with them.Nice.
Cory, from Salvo, being a friend of the seller, shipped me the scooter. Shipping cost $45.00. We had already discussed the fact that the scooter would arrive sans batteries, but with a charger. It arrived with no batteries, and also no charger. No big deal. I called the seller, and based on his recommendation, I bought a Deltran Waterproof 24v Battery Tender. Cost 89.00.
Then I bought 2 Powersonic PS-12180NB - 12 Volt/18 Amp Hour SLA for 95.00, including shipping.
The scooter also came without the battery wiring, so I spent another $10.00 for wire and connecters.
I wired together the batteries, installed them into the scooter and pulled the trigger. And the prop flew off.
Humm. Well, I figured I could repair it myself with the prop chart referenced in this great thread.
But instead of just going at it myself, I called Steve Gamble and he walked me, step by step, through the disassembly, repair and reassembly of the prop. What a great guy! In 15 minutes I had the prop reassembled and working like new. And now that Steve had talked me through the disassembly and reassembly of the prop, including tips and warnings he had learned through experience over the years, I now feel confident that I can make any prop repairs necessary in the future.
Next I made the tow rope, X style.
Turns out that this Mako has a minor issue with the battery lights. The light is not supposed to activate until you pull the trigger for the first time. But on this unit, the battery light comes on as soon as you plug in the battery. Steve Gamble told me he wouldn’t sweat it, that those lights are junk anyway, fail often, and he would just ignore it.
Okay.
Time for the Mako’s test dive!
I wanted to make sure I would get the weighting and buoyancy right, so I attached an X-pocket to the front handle, and brought with me some one 1# and 2# weights for the test dive.
I got to the lake, and my first challenge was finding a place that wasn’t iced over. After finding an open launch site, I took the scooter into the water. Adding 2#’s seemed to make it neutral. I descended and pulled the trigger and took off!
Oh, oh! The dry suit I had borrowed (mine is at Superior for a new zipper) started to flood in the right arm. And in 38 degree water, this is no joke. The scooter seemed to work great, but my total dive time was only 12 minutes, and my hand was so numb I couldn’t feel the trigger.
Back at the truck, after reviving my hand, I opened up the batter compartment to unplug the battery and saw that there was about ½ cup of water in the compartment. I went home and examined the O-rings up close and discovered that they both looked rough.
I called Steve Gamble again and ordered new O-rings. $21.00. I installed the O-rings and made a Velcro strap inside the battery compartment to hold the 2# weight.
I put the scooter into my hot tub, tossed a weight belt over it to secure it to the bottom and did a burn/leak test. At prop pitch 9, I got 20 minutes on green, 20 minutes on yellow and 5 minutes on solid red before it started flashing and I shut it down. The battery compartment was dry.
I bought the thing used, and I expected to put some money and time into it to get it up to my liking. In fact, I enjoy tinkering with my gear, learning about it, improving it, and making it mine. So the batteries, the charger, the wiring, the O-rings… all part of the deal when you buy used. Totally expected.
Yesterday, I gave it another test dive.
As I dressed at the dive site, I realized that I’d forgotten the rock boots that came with this loaner drysuit (my suit has the built-in boots). Augh!! I shoved my feet into my hiking shoes and pressed on, knowing that those dogs would be hurting before long.
The air temp was 26 degrees, the water temp 36 degrees, we had to trek through 2 feet of snow down the hill to the lake, and we had to push through broken ice and slush in the water.
We got under the broken ice, and off we went.
My buddy’s scooter is an Apollo, and with his at full speed, I had to dial my prop pitch down to 4 to not race off ahead of him. Even at 4, I had to release the trigger now and then to let him keep up. Man, that Mako will move with the 1200rpm motor!
The vis was good, about 25’, and we headed under the docks and over to the tug boat. The usual 15 minute swim took us about 3 minutes. I clipped off my scooter at the wreck and swam inside the tug for a bit, then clipped the scooter back on, and off we went.
My only prior scooter experience is four dives with an X-Scooter, and one with an Apollo. One thing is for sure, my scooter skills suck. I kept waving my HID light every time I’d clear my ears or push my drysuit inflator, and my buddy would automatically reach for his reg, look over at me, realize it was nothing, and shake his head in disgust at me. A couple of times when we stopped, my scooter touched the bottom. I guess the 2 pounds was about one pound too much, and the scooter was a bit negative. Also, it seems that getting neutral while on the move is a guesstimate that I’m not so good at yet.
The trigger on the Mako is not comfortable with one hand, and in the 36 degree water my hand was cramping up pretty good. My squished-up feet were killing me and my right (trigger) hand was frozen from washing through the freezing water. Even with all that, I was sure having a blast! It’s hard while scooter-ing not to shout, “Wheeeeeeee!!”
About 40 minutes into the dive, my buddy’s battery crapped out. I moved my prop pitch to 9 and towed him back to shore. Even with both of us in doubles and his scooter dragging behind him, we really moved!
It was a 45 minute dive and the battery indicator light never left green. Max depth was 62’. The compartment stayed totally dry.
I was extremely happy with the Mako’s performance.
It’s no X-Scooter, but for the price, it is closer to a “real” scooter than I had hoped. I expect to get over an hour of burn time at the 4 to 6 setting, and especially as my technique improves. With the front plate reinforcement, Steve tells me I can easily take the thing to 200’ without fear of implosion.We are going to have some fun this summer!!
My total cost:
$845.00 Scooter & Shipping
$ 89.00 Charger
$ 95.00 Batteries
$ 21.00 O-Rings
$ 10.00 Wiring
TOTAL: $1060.00
Still have stuff to do, like compass mount, and change the handle, but it never really ends, does it?
