We've mentioned luxury subs in the past. While mahogany floors and granite counter tops are cool and all, sometimes a person with disposable income just wants to have fun. Enter Innespace's Dolphin watercraft, personal subs of a different ilk. These positively buoyant vessels use forward momentum coupled with variable pitch -- as opposed to the traditional "ballast method" of most subs -- to zoom below the water. This method of propulsion also allows the vessels to perform freestyle tricks, like barrel rolls or porpoising like a dolphin. Moreover, by using forward momentum, if something goes wrong during a dive, the Dolphin always pops to the surface and self-rights.
Constructed of fiberglass and Kevlar over a urethane foam core, the Dolphin can achieve speeds up to 30 mph on the surface and 20 mph below the surface. Additionally, using the snorkel that's located in the Dolphin's tail, it can endure sustained "snorkel dives" of 15 seconds at 20 mph. Okay, so 15 seconds isn't very long, but when what you're really itching to do is some midair rolls, who wants to be submerged? Although Innespace doesn't sell its one-seater Dolphins, you can be the first to purchase their new 2-seater model, which should be available next summer!
1. back in 1997, hammacher schlemmer featured the VASH (variable attitude submersible hydrofoil.) i thought it was awesome, but it was for sale for about 125 grand or so. i forgot about it, then it started showing up as this new innespace product. exact same thing (literally, same pics), 9 years later.
Posted at 2:35PM on May 23rd 2006 by david crowe