Fun with DPV's

tgreene

tgreene

Reefer
Okay, so they aren't the good expensive ones, but for fun I bought myself a pair of SeaDoo Scooters (Chinese knockoffs actually) that are good for 90 minutes or so, and to a depth of 100 feet.

I bought the 1st one about 3 weeks ago, and ordered the 2nd one last night. So far we've only had a chance to use them in the pool, but myself as well as the dive shop staff are super impressed with them and how ruggedly they are actually built.

The reason for buying a pair of them is so that I'll always have one available for a buddy, and also my LDS can use them for classes rather than them having to buy a pair of them too. In exchange for them using these, I will not be charged for my next class, so the cost of the 2nd scooter is negated. The rationale for buying these cheap knockoffs is that they didn't cost me $900 each, and since my wife is really adament about me NOT cave diving (she's okay w/ cavern), I probably won't ever need anything like a Torpedo since I'm inland.

http://cgi.ebay.com/300-350-Watt-Wa...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9b978f06

These suckers are a blast! :bounce3:

-Tim
 
I bought a pair of cheap seadoos 2. they are great when you have a long swin to your dive spot from the shore, you save a lot of air.
 
Time for us to meet in FL, bud... I'll bring my scooters, too. We'll have a ball...

As if diving itself wasn't enough fun, they added POWER TOOLS. :D

Dude, I used to race motorcycles, and that's got NOTHING on flying a hopped-up scooter through a narrow cave.

Kinda like 3D slalom skiing. More fun than any one person should be allowed to have. :D

Yeah, it starts with a "disposable" couple-hundred dollar scooter. Next thing you know, you're justifying a set of $700 custom, handmade, polished stainless steel prop blades (increases efficiency) to go on your 6-battery, 24v system that clips to your harness (yet another reason for bp/wings) and pull you at 4 knots for almost 3 hours.

My REPAIR bill for my last scooter (flooded) cost more than my first car. And I bought my first car new from a dealership. :)

I'd actually like to scooter from Key West to Cuba one day just to get into the record books again. :)

Let's see... Hot-wound motors... Custom hand grips... Reinforced hulls for greater depth... Countless reed switches... My annual scooter expenditures probably get well into the 5-figure range. :) Sick, hunh?

I dunno, man... Not much else in the world is as much fun as a hot scooter. I think I may paint an old "flying tigers" eyes and mouth on one of mine. :)
 
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I've been describing it like bobsledding under water... It's probably most like the scene in the movie "Lawnmower Man" where the 2 guys are flying and spinning through space.

I should add that on the 1st weekend of this month we were at Mermet Springs in southern IL, and my instructor and I took them for a serious spin. Mermet is where the sunken 727 is, so obviously we went inside and ran the length of the jet. He showed me that by very slowely finning and even dragging 1 fin or the other that I would gain so much more control.

I had already rigged a harness to both of these to clip to a D-Ring on the BC so they don't pull on your arms. I have actually done about as much modification to these as I can possibly do with a "disposable" scooter. For bouyancy, I added #1 of hard lead wrapped tightly inside several old tube-socks then duct taped tight to each bouyancy chamber giving me precisely #1.66 pounds of weight which was just enough to remain positive, but only barely over nuetral... Tha rationale was that if something were to happen, the scooters will drift up slowly without wanting to runaway. It took a little thought and effort to get it just right, and also so the weight would never be able to shift position and throw off the balance.

Oh yea, I'm already contemplating a Torpedo! :D

-Tim
 
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Hahahhaaaa... It's so funny that you've already begun modifications. :) I think that's great. :)

Yeah, like you, I'd do the weighting and trim first... Some people I know like theirs a little positive, some people I know like theirs a little negative (so they will sit on the bottom in case you want to leave the scooter and come back to it), and others like theirs totally neutral. I prefer neutral, but it's pretty impossible to nail it perfectly - the casing of every scooter flexes a little at depth, which means that even if you've weighted and trimmed it perfectly at the surface, it'll be slightly negative at 100 feet. Personally, I try to get mine neutral as much as possible and then stop worrying about it. :) Of course, freshwater requires different weight than saltwater.

By the way, I will remind you that it was only like a month ago that you were complaining about the cost of gear... Now you're buying a $200 nonessential piece of dive gear. Yeah, okay... ;)

Most of the high-end scooters (Gavins, SS's, X-scooters) are closely related to the Mako scooter, sometimes even sharing parts. In fact, many of these will allow you to swap motors, which are readily available in suped-up form from many Florida modders. Because of this, I would recommend a Mako over a Torpedo to start with... Especially if it's a used one in good condition. You can probably find something used with a new battery, and in very good condition for about $1k.

Trey (George Irvine) offered to sell me his super-slick Li-Ion powered Mini-Gs for about half their sticker price of $4500. They're the smallest of the Gavin line, are built like brick ****houses, and rated to depths far beyond what you ever will be. They're also the longest-lasting of the Gavin line... Which, interestingly, all use interchangable parts.

Let me know if you're interested. I'll probably pick up a couple for next summer.

I highly recommend Curt at DPVRepair.com if you ever have a problem with a scooter, by the way... Although I doubt he'll bother to work on a $200 scooter (his bill would probably be more - which is why I was calling it "disposable.")
 
SeaJayInSC said:
Hahahhaaaa... It's so funny that you've already begun modifications. :) I think that's great. :)

Yeah, like you, I'd do the weighting and trim first... Some people I know like theirs a little positive, some people I know like theirs a little negative (so they will sit on the bottom in case you want to leave the scooter and come back to it), and others like theirs totally neutral. I prefer neutral, but it's pretty impossible to nail it perfectly - the casing of every scooter flexes a little at depth, which means that even if you've weighted and trimmed it perfectly at the surface, it'll be slightly negative at 100 feet. Personally, I try to get mine neutral as much as possible and then stop worrying about it. :) Of course, freshwater requires different weight than saltwater.

By the way, I will remind you that it was only like a month ago that you were complaining about the cost of gear... Now you're buying a $200 nonessential piece of dive gear. Yeah, okay... ;)

Most of the high-end scooters (Gavins, SS's, X-scooters) are closely related to the Mako scooter, sometimes even sharing parts. In fact, many of these will allow you to swap motors, which are readily available in suped-up form from many Florida modders. Because of this, I would recommend a Mako over a Torpedo to start with... Especially if it's a used one in good condition. You can probably find something used with a new battery, and in very good condition for about $1k.

Trey (George Irvine) offered to sell me his super-slick Li-Ion powered Mini-Gs for about half their sticker price of $4500. They're the smallest of the Gavin line, are built like brick ****houses, and rated to depths far beyond what you ever will be. They're also the longest-lasting of the Gavin line... Which, interestingly, all use interchangable parts.

Let me know if you're interested. I'll probably pick up a couple for next summer.

I highly recommend Curt at DPVRepair.com if you ever have a problem with a scooter, by the way... Although I doubt he'll bother to work on a $200 scooter (his bill would probably be more - which is why I was calling it "disposable.")
Click to expand...
Umm, I bought 2 of those and a $300 speargun as well, but yea, your'e spot on...! :hmm5:
 
High speed, low drag fishkiller. :)

Have you hit up the credit cards yet? IMHO, as long as you stay off of those, you should be okay...

Have you nailed your riding position yet? Of course, you've got to be completely flat in the water, and as long as possible. I don't know how you have your harness set up, but it needs to be as long as you can comfortably ride the scooter. Know that in tight quarters, you can shorten the harness by wrapping it around a handle (which is why I'm not a fan of the Torpedo handle design). In open water, though, the longer, the better. You should just barely be able to bend your elbow and still have one hand on the scooter for control.

Also, there's a "wake" cast by the scooter that you can't see - but you can definitely feel. If you hold the scooter too low when you're flying, you'll be out past the wake and cause a lot of drag. Obviously, being right behind the prop, in the wash, is very inefficient. There is a sweet spot right between the two, and can double your scooter time or halve your travel time, depending on how you look at it. When riding, most people have the tendency to drop their knees into the prop wash a bit. You should not feel the wash anywhere along your body, but I personally like to feel it hit my fin tips just slightly. That tells me that I'm in the right position. Totally prone, you'll get the best results for speed and efficiency.

Hey... Whatcha doin' Thursday and Friday? How 'bout coming up to the GA Aquarium? Bring your dive gear and I'll put you to work...
 
Are you actually serious..?

I ask, because I'm "supposed" to be leaving for Florida this weekend on business for a week, which would mean that I need to be leaving here on Saturday headed really really close to Atlanta before turning right and heading down to Vero Beach.

I was seriously considering putting this off for a month, but ??????????????????

Call me later this afternoon or better yet this evening to discuss.

-Tim
870-627-0594

BTW: I have rigged a laynard to the base of the engine housings right before it widens at the prop, and those simply clip to a centered D-ring. I ride with mine clipped to a cumberbund D-ring, with my body just slightly above and about 20" behind the scooter in order to remain out of the wash. As I mentioned a couple of posts back, my instructor showed me to keep the fins in the wash for better maneuverability due to intended drag when needed.
 
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It's been fast & furious, but it looks like I have everything put together on my end to be able to meet up w/ you mid-day on Thursday... I just mapped it all out, and it's only 7.25 hours for me so should be an easy enough drive. :)

I figure I'll plan to leave out at about 4:00am on Thursday, and obviously I'll lose 1 hour due to the time change.

I haven't been this excited since the day I received my first erection, and was old enough to actually know how to "fix it"! :D

-Tim
 
Hahahahahaaa... That's great news, Tim! I can't wait to meet you... And I can't wait to dive with you. :)

You know I'm going to put you to work... :D
 
Jep! Whatheheck have you been up to, my friend! :)

Holy smokes... Based on your number of posts, looks like you've been here a while. I didn't know that! :)

Man, it's good to see ya, bud. :) What's it been - like four years?
 
It's too late to do so tonight, but lets chat again in the morning if at all possible... If you can call me again to go over a few things, that would be ideal.

-Tim
 
hey guys im jumping in this kinda late but im a diver in the pacific northwest and dive an apollo av-2 with the i call it the superman harness on it, its the most fun i've ever had. ive dove several kinda of scooters and nothing beats this you sit on it so the scooter is between your legs and pushes you, so your basically doing the superman underwater, just reach down to adjust speed or stop i purchased it at undewater sports a local store, only down side is finding other people up here that have scooters :(
 
There are places where more divers have scooters than don't... You just have to look in the right places!

Try here: http://www.fifthd.com/

I, too, have an Apollo AV-1... But I don't have the "superman" seat for it. You like it, hunh? More fun than flying without it?
 
That "superman seat" looks like something that would require a really big shoe-horn to dislodge it, should you ever stop abruptly while the scooter kept going forward! :eek2:
 
i dive a apollo dry suit which is fairly thick neoprene so there is a bit of padding, but as uncomfortable as it looks or might sound its wide enough to be very comfortable, ive been to 5th d a few times and was basically shunned for not being a DIR diver. im sorry i think the concept is there but really your gonna measure the length of my octo hose and tell me is 2 inches to short so you wont dive me.
 
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