U-Boat Worx set to release CQ1 personal submarine

With all the great underwater nature documentaries available in high definition these days, we have no real interest in actually getting out of our chairs to go exploring among sharks, fish, and seaweed, but it's nice to know that there will soon be a non-self-powered personal submarine on the market in case we ever do decide to take the plunge. After three years of furious design, development, and testing, a Dutch company called U-Boat Worx is finally ready to release its battery-powered C-Quester 1 to aquatic enthusiasts worldwide, which will allow them to cruise down to depths of 50 meters at a maximum speed of 3 knots for up to two-and-a-half hours. The main advantage of this craft over traditional scuba diving is the fact that its cabin maintains a constant pressure of one atmosphere, meaning that you can surface immediately without having to sit through those boring decompression periods -- and if for some reason you can't surface, the on-board oxygen tanks and CO2 scrubbers will keep you alive for 36 hours or until help arrives, whichever comes first. Scheduled to ship sometime this month, the CQ1 is conspicuously missing a pricetag on the company's website; you have to call or write if you're interested, which probably means that pricing falls somewhere between a Sea-doo and a 7-series BMW.

[Thanks, Sytse S.]

[Craig @ Jul 11th 2006 6:16PM]

"Scheduled to ship sometime this month" LOL! Yes, I know. I'm easily pleased.

[Brendan @ Jul 11th 2006 6:22PM]

The names ____ James ____ (fill in the blanks).

[jason @ Jul 11th 2006 6:37PM]

from their product info -
price: 55,000 euro excluding tax, transport and import duties.

[margaret Waage @ Mar 7th 2007 8:33AM]

Can you verify the price you mentioned here? Is it for which model? I'm looking to get a price on either CQ1 or CQ2 without upgrades, and if they're availabel in the US?
Thanks!
Margaret

[DA @ Jul 11th 2006 6:38PM]

If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

[charlie @ Jul 11th 2006 6:46PM]

Or you could just build your own
http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/06/26/build-your-own-one-man-submarine/

[jason @ Jul 11th 2006 6:56PM]

I'll take my chances with the one that has it's own air supply

[Thomjas @ Jul 11th 2006 7:09PM]

But where are the sharks with frickin laser beams?

[Roger Kovaciny @ Jul 12th 2006 12:09AM]

That piece on Cryo-kennels is obviously a joke, disguised as an advertisement, but I don't see the motive for running it. Is somebody just wondering how silly or gullible the public is? Suspended animation of a mammal isn't possible yet; if you freeze your dog or cat, they'll be dead. If it were possible, it would have been headline news all over the world.

[sean @ Jul 12th 2006 12:37AM]

it should named isubmarine

[Faar @ Jul 12th 2006 7:56AM]

Wow, this thing looks great, because there's nothing I'd rather do than get out onto deep water and then have some sort of technical malfunction, causing me to crash to the bottom 300 meters below and imploding into a small pile of glass fibre laminate chunks and bloody gore... Yuk.

[Jordan @ Jul 12th 2006 8:49AM]

LOL - "whichever comes first"

[CSWP @ Jul 12th 2006 9:59AM]

It looks like they designed the thing in SolidWorks (CosmosMotion and CosmosFloWorks probably too) and tested it with CosmosWorks. Very cool, then again I'm a bit of a SolidWorks fanboy, so maybe its just me.

[Pat @ Jul 12th 2006 11:47AM]

Didn't Johnny Quest have one of these?

[OMAC @ Jul 12th 2006 11:54AM]

"and if for some reason you can't surface, the on-board oxygen tanks and CO2 scrubbers will keep you alive for 36 hours or until help arrives, whichever comes first"

Maybe they could redirect some of that extra O2 into a ballast tank or airbag to get this thing to the surface in an emergency?

[TIMMAH! @ Jul 12th 2006 12:52PM]

I'll pass on the #571 production build...

[Jeff @ Jul 12th 2006 1:28PM]

Meh. Google search the Bionic Dolphin. I'd do it myself, but I'm lazy. Really lazy. In any case, this thing ain't got shiznit on the Bionic Dolphin! Seriously. Check it out. You'll thank me.

[Brad @ Jul 12th 2006 2:15PM]

Am I the only one that is put off by the fact that this DUTCH company is called "U-Boat" Worx?

[Freddy @ Jul 12th 2006 2:57PM]

Uh, pardon very much . . . but the company is called "U Boat Worx"? Hmmmm. U Boats. UUUUU Boats. Wonder where I've heard that name before . . .

[blackfeather @ Jul 12th 2006 3:01PM]

Sweet! Miss Debbie Dupree and I can finally get back to the Sealab in style...

[Phil @ Jul 12th 2006 3:19PM]

I agree with Brad. Probably not a good idea to name your company after World War II underwater Nazi death machines.

[David @ Mar 14th 2007 9:21PM]

U-Boat Worx? How many torpedo tubes does this thing have, and how many reloads? Can you see surfacing alongside a cruise ship, popping the hatch and screaming "Avast, ye scurvy dogs!"

[yehudi @ Mar 18th 2007 10:35PM]

we wish to be your agent in china !