The Uboatworx folks in Breda, The Netherlands upped the notch for personal subs dramatically. The redesigned subs now come in a 2-person version and 3- person version with optional 4-person configuration with greatly increased endurance thanks to better and more batteries.
It looks a lot better too I think. Getting in and out will be dramatically more easier I can assure you from experience. And yes, it has gotten more expensive too: about Euro 550.000 + options. To make it Euro 500.000 if you include transport and training and all the gadgets. Ohh, and your yacht needs a 4.5-ton crane as minimum. Still , that’s a lot less than you need with other subs.
Downward visibility has also improved as you can see on the picture below.
We are always on the lookout for truly interesting toys that would enhance the expedition yacht cruise experience. You’ve seen the submarines on this blog and I’ve been looking into ‘personal’ hover crafts for some time. But either they were made by companies that didn’t really exist (or could not show a finished product) or they used 2-stroke engines which in this category brings some reliability issues on the table.
But it seems a British manufacturer now got it right. Introducing the Hovpod!
They seem to have well-designed model and for once an informative website. More importantly, they offer reliable 4-stroke German Weber engines that provide serious power.
And to show that they actually perform in practical conditions, not just on a quiet lake, check out this video made on the beach in Dubai. Now if I could see one with 3 adults…
One of those days, I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean and saw this blimp go by and I thought, how cool is that! Imagine doing dropping anchor in a bay at the Darien Gap and then follow the rivers upstream at tree-top level. O do a Panama Canal cruise, slow and silent?
Anyway, this blimb was developed by the folks at Sky Yacht, makers of the Personal Blimp. A cross-breed of a hot air ballon and a traditional blimp. It’s not for sale yet but it has made over 40 flights and if the FAA cooperates, it might be for sale by the end of the year. Compared to the smalles helium filled blimps on the market starting at $ 2 million, the Personal Blimp which uses hot air, will cost between $100-200 K.
Well, it’s not available for sale yet but this should be about the ultimate amphibious toy you can have. See more at the site of Gibbs Technologies in the UK.
As the video shows, they actually have a working model but production hasn’t started yet. Too bad. Get some investors guys!
On the other hand, the Australian manufacturer of SeaLegs has made something less ambitious but at least it’s available now.
Unfortunately, it uses an air-cooled engine on land that can only be used for 10 minutes (New Zealand circumstances I assume) before it gets too hot. That’s probably less than 5 minutes in tropical Panama so, not much of a practical option in our case.
Well, back to reality. I finally got to speak with a Crestron dealer about the system I had in mind and well, no way we’re going to spend that kind of $$$.
So, we’ll stick to individual home entertainment systems for each stateroom and a library of DVD’s our guests can borrow whenever they like.
There are nice compact systems out there like Denon’s S-302 that plays DVDs, CD’s, will deliver great sound, even iPod connectivity and for a fraction of the price. Each guest cabin will have a 27-32″ flat screen as well.
And if we want to be multi-system capable, for $ 50 we can buy a multi system, multi zone DVD player and hook it up in case our European guests bring their own DVD’s. Approximate savings compared to Creston or AMX: $ 70 K .
TV programming, audio systems, Internet access, another area that’s more comprehensive I had originally thought. I guess that’s the fun part: learning about things I didn’t even know existed. Thank you Al Gore for inventing the Internet
We’re looking into systems of AMX, Crestron, and Visiomatic (German). And also just learned about video servers of Kaleidescape and an audio solution from Sonos. That’s all I can say at this point really. Still trying to figure out and how all those systems work together and what I need, but learning fast.
It’s obvious that with enough $$ you can do anything but the idea is to find a reasonable balance between comfort, convenience and cost.
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