Slashdot Mirror
Personal Submarine for 845k
joeldg writes "CNN is carrying a story on the gemini three-person submersible.
'Forget the yacht, mansion and private jet. This is Gemini, the family submarine described by inventor Robert Leeds as the world's first underwater sports car.' However, the submarine only goes about five knots, so speed is not its primary focus. It can handle three people for three days at depths of up to 50 meters. Not quite a James Bond sub-car, but cool nonetheless. The official site has lots of pictures."
20,000 leagues under the sea...and 845,000 in the red...
Since when do submarines have to be Yellow?
845k ought to be enough for anyone.
dive...dive....dive... eeeeeerak psshit LEAK!
We all live in... no, I know, it's redundant. No, I'll see myself out...
It's better to vote for what you want and not get it than to vote for what you don't want and get it.
- E. Debs
You could pick up some crazy ass mermaid chicks in this fly ride.
Stupid, lazy editors.
"The official site had lots of pictures."
Banaaaana!
"We have had a lot of enquiries from high profile people in the Middle East -- although as yet none from any celebrities elsewhere," Leeds said.
if the badbin has some spare change these would be brilliant for attacking the US warships parked off kuwait
The problem with this is, while sports cars, and even yahts are quite easy to operate, and not paticularly 'messy', this submarine is also WAY more expensive. I'll stick with my Lamborghini Diablo, thanks.
I have over 70 freaks, do you?
I for one, welcome our new submersible overlords! :P
michael... you are still quite guilty of spreading FUD earlier today. Stay up as late as you want, it's still me. You stupid fuck.
How much drugs can it hold? And can it be outfitted with Torpedos?
(Score:0, Interesting)
"We have had a lot of enquiries from high profile people in the Middle East"
Iunno about you, but if I lived in the desert I'd want a flirkin' SAIL BARGE!
Banaaaana!
I prefer the sandwiches, they're much cheaper. Discuss.
While I usually try and be positive in my replies, the only thing I can see about this toy for the rich, is that it is a waste of money. Besides the obvious risks in diving to deep and the like it serves no purpose save parting the rich and stupid from their not so hard earned money.
Okay enough negativity. Perhaps this is just the first step in really exploiting the bottom of the ocean to its full potential, since the earth's surface is 70% water (I think) steps that allow development under the water will eventually help to reduce the overcrowding.That unfortunately is a long way off but once the rich and famous have their toys its only a matter of time until the rest of us get a crack at them. A good example of this is when cars first came out. Now I can get one for AU$500 (although it might be a hunk of junk).
My point I guess is that even though I may see it as a waste of money now, hopefully in the future it will have real benefits.
The story's submitter has the whole thing wrong; from their about page:
* Life support systems consist of oxygen flask and metering valve sufficient to keep 2 persons in the craft for 30 hours
* The submersible is a two-man craft
* It has a maximum speed of approximately 4 knots
Time to fly rings round the old school stink boat Deep Flight
"We did have interest from the Spanish police for underwater terrorism detection searching ships' hulls," said Leeds' colleague Frank Barker. He declined to give further details.
Why is it that every news story days has to mention a potential terrorist threat? How long is this going to go on? I'm sick to death of hearing about it. I don't remember seeing repeated references to industrial accidents in news stories two years after the Bhopal atrocity.
Does anyone know of a plugin for Mozilla that will let me filter out any paragraphs containing the "T-word"?
This could be useful for drug runners to transport drugs from latin american to the US.
It has been reported that some large drug cartels have been trying to build their own submarines.
"Go into the hall of mirrors and have a bloody hard look at yourself" - HG Nelson
"The official site has lots of pictures"
Oh slashdot, haven't we learned anything?
See above link for a history of personal underwatercraft...my personal favorite was the VASH from 1996--I remember drooling over that Hammacher Schlemmer catalog and dreaming of diving and flying in a machine like that.....
There are much better personal subs here: http://ussubs.com/lead.1.html They cost a bit more, though...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
-stephen k.
I agree. They should also build airplanes out of that mystery metal that the "black boxes" are made of.
ha! 1. make cheapass submarine that can hold 3 rich americans. 2. sell to rich dumb americans for 845k 3. PROFIT!!!
The "Insert Quote Here" line is almost as predictable as inserting an actual quote.
Tierce
Who sponsors your feelings?
if you have 7/8 of $1,000,000 to throw around, why not donate some of that money to charity instead of wasting it on some rich-boy toy? The economy is a wreck, and buying your own submarine is not the best way to get things back on track.
Or you greedy rich punk-ass only-care-about-yourself bastard fuckasses can all rot in fucking hell for all I care. Your choice.
I hate you fuckers. I hate you all.
They had those in X-Com 2 (Terror from the Deep), right? That was one weird game...
This thing actually costs less than the McLaren F1 sports car.
The onboard computer isn't running some variant of Windows... that would give a whole new meaning to Blue Screen Of Death.
If there's one thing worse than a karma whore its a karma whore who can't whore well.
This isn't even funny.
There's nothing new under the sun. There are plenty of other companies that make subs for private citizens. My dad was a subscriber to the Robb Report and for years some sort of sub vehicle has been offered by various entities in their pages. They are not merely rich folks toys. I'd be surprised if they sold more than a handful to individuals. Don't you geeks go on vacations? The main market for these craft has and will continue to be resorts around the world. They are already in use in many places. Check out http://www.ussubs.com/Luxury_folder/lux.phoenix.ht ml for the mother of all personal submersibles. "The Phoenix 1000 is a 65-meter (213') personal luxury submarine. " Beyond us mere millionaires, this baby can be had for a cool USD 78M! It is the f-ing bomb! Beyond cool!
Give me their webserver instead! That thing's serving up pictures like there's no tomorrow.
;-)
To bad for all the Karma Clowns mirroring the site.
... sub mission?
How pathetic. You would figure it would include a more technologically advanced NiMH or Li-Ion battery pack for that price.
Screw that, where's my flying car?
cheers, potor
Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James and many other pseudonyms), purchased a submarine a while ago..
The article can be found here
What's more is that the submarine was much cheaper.. he only got it for 50 grand!
Quote.. "A Submarine. I don't know any models, but I just heard from the place where I can get ammunition for my machine gun -- they're selling off Russian submarines, and apparently they're really cheap. Someone said they were like 50 grand, but I don't know how accurate that is. I'd love it. I reckon I'll get one. It'll probably be a lot of hassle to do it, and you'll probably have to hire like a crew to work it for you. I don't know if you could properly operate it on your own -- maybe you could, I don't know. I don't know anything about submarines. I just know I'd like to have one. It would be wicked for parties, and stuff like that."
Though the article says he was "considering" purchasing it.. he has purchased it..
The article/interview was written sometime in 1999..
"The ones who dont do anything are always the ones who try to pull you down" -- Henry Rollins
You might as well go the whole hog and spend 78 million and do it properly
. ht ml
http://www.ussubs.com/Luxury_folder/lux.phoenix
Government of the people, by corporate executives, for corporate profits.
Imagine that you buy this thing (asuming that you are rich and stupid) and you go for a ride in the US teritorial waters. I bet the first Los Angeles class you encounter is going to think that you are the latest verion of Akula or maybe a Servodinsk, because you are certainly not in their sonar dtabase, and shove an mk40 up your ass.
http://ebgp.net/ccc/
I hope the Department of Thought Police or whatever we have now is keeping track of who purchases these things.
pfft
Think of a submarine that can actually hold a fair amount of people, something akin to that of a small yacht, with all sorts of amenities available, ie living quarters, entertainment centers, windows everywhere (assuming you're not traveling very deep) As a yacht and plane owner, if I didn't have to shell out an absurd amount of money for something like this, I'd probably get one for kicks! Besides... anyone remember that submarine show Seasomething, with the guy from Blue Thunder as the captain? Something along those lines but scaled down is sort of what I'm talking about. If there was actually a market for these types of items and locations (like oil rigs in design maybe) where globe trotters could potentially stop on their travels and restock, maybe you wouldn't be paying 845 K for a dingy that goes 50 m underwater. I bet I could get a consultant on submarines, and design and build one for cheaper, hell, if I can make an RC submarine without a kit, how hard can the real thing be? :)
1. The sub parks vertically, which is easy.
2. The Porsche comes in nicer colors.
3. Both the Porsche and the sub have convertible options you only want to try in _really_ nice weather.
4. The sub handles better in those deep dark puddles.
5. The Porsche gets you dates. The sub gets you exotic fish for dinner.
6. With the sub you can join the "mile deep" club.
7. The sub looks much more impressive outside your home. But the Porsche is more practical for shopping trips.
8. The Porsche is cheaper.
9. No-one is going to burst into song when they see your Porsche.
10. The Porsche won't let you start a successful smuggling venture.
Ceci n'est pas une signature
in your ass?
you won't need any billyonerrors sardine can. it wouldn't help anyway. if you are won of the felonious execrable whois mistreating the planet/population, lookout bullow/get ready to see the light.
many are taking refuge/comfort in joining the creator's increasingly popular planet/population rescue initiative (formerly unknown as the oil for babies program), which coincides perfectly (we do not use that word lightly) with the onset of the gnu millennium.
secure? why this stuff is unbreakable, & works on several (more than 3) dimensions.
the daze of the phonIE payper liesense corepirate nazi stock markup fraud execrable is WANing into coolapps/the abyss, at the speed of right. not much secure IT to be had with those fauxking foulcurrs.
the pateNTdead eyecon0meter kode has been used extensibly, in helping to eXPose many of the ?pr? ?firm? hypenosys fallicIEs surrounding the efforts of the felonious billyonerrors/softwar gangsters to mask their greed/fear/ego based misdeeds, & ongoing frauduleNT behaviours.
still much to be done. see you there.
consult with/trust in yOUR creator regarding decisions of the heart/mind/wallet. that's the spirit, moving you.
for each of the creator's innocents harmed, there is a badtoll that must/will be repaid by you/US, as the aforementioned perpetraitors of the life0cide against the planet/population, will not be available to make reparations.
get ready to see the light. there's no going back, & no where to hide.
These guys have a $78,000,000 personal submarine with a little more style. http://www.ussubs.com/Luxury_folder/lux.phoenix.ht ml
Maybe it's black metal.
The car was a plaything for the rich to start with. They were custom made, by hand, and practically came with a driver.
For that matter, the cost of a cross USA trip on a stagecoach in the 1800's would have been equivalent to $4000 in today's money.
This is how these things always start. The difference is that nobody lives under water today, so it is not just a matter of creating a vehicle, you have to give people a reason to go there.
If you got a $100 bill, put your hands up...
Personally I don't trust any homebuilt subs that don't have a duct (duck) take dispensor!!
This guy is running sub tours on Roatan, an island off the north coast of Honduras in the Caribbean. He will take you to 3,000 feet maximum in his new, alien looking sub.
Dude, I heard you are dead!
Makes the sub mentioned in the article look like a rusted-out go cart!
- Ben
Here, from germany:
http://www.euronaut.com/
They are marine engineers, as it seems, so they know what they're doing...
Sounds like the only think it has in common with a sports car is the cramped interior. 5 knots? Wonder how many g's it pulls in a corner.
http://www.ussubmarines.com
The price is a little higher, but then sos the spec.
A full blown luxury motoryatch that happens to be submersible to 300 feet.
I want one.
"a very sophisticated control system consisting of a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and many electrically operated solenoid valves, pneumatic actuators, stepper motors, encoders" to move a paper cactus in grad school.
'Black' boxes are orange, so they can find them more easily after a crash. Of course they may be just painted orange.
We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine....
I assume you're joking. Comparing the Deep Flight Aviator to the Gemini is like comparing a Ferrari to a Volkswagen Beetle -- and I know, because I've worked with Graham Hawkes on the Deep Flight project for over 7 years. The DF Aviator could quite literally run rings around the Gemini.
:-)
I got a chance to pilot the Aviator last March in the Bahamas, and ride in it for 2 hours while exploring a wreck for a BBC documentary. The Aviator can hit between 8-12 knots, and is rated to a depth of 1500 feet -- 10 times the depth of the Gemini. It can pace whale sharks or whales easily for hours, and is the perfect platform to search for the giant squid.
In addition, while heading back to the dock after our recon of the wreck, Graham dived the sub down, then yanked back on the joystick and powered the sub up at a 45-degree angle, full speed -- and we came roaring out of the water like the Seaview at the beginning of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." Try doing THAT in the Gemini.
Want to see some pictures of the Aviator in the Bahamas? Go to www.jaywade.com; he was one of the photographers during the Bahamas excursion, and has some great shots of the sub on his website.
-- Just call me "Admiral Nelson."
Shouldn't this be called Pisces?
Buy your own 48 person submarine on eBay!
? Vi ewItem&item=2438017155&category=26434
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll
It's important not to shop for submarines impulsively. Shop around, and be sure to get the features you need.
It's all fun and games until you are stuck two hundred feet down in your disabled craft, waiting for the oxygen to run out. I think I'd take up a safer hobby, like, flying.
Indeed, I would love it if someone would actually get it built (bonus points if it's for me)...
... looking at the design, one can't help but think about the cruising and parties under the sea that this would afford.
Truly a most amazing yacht
Comparing the Deep Flight Aviator to the Gemini is like comparing a Ferrari to a Volkswagen Beetle -- and I know, because I've worked with Graham Hawkes on the Deep Flight project for over 7 years. The DF Aviator could quite literally run rings around the Gemini.
:-)
I got a chance to pilot the Aviator last March in the Bahamas, and ride in it for 2 hours while exploring a wreck for a BBC documentary. The Aviator can hit between 8-12 knots, and is rated to a depth of 1500 feet -- 10 times the depth of the Gemini. It can pace whale sharks or whales easily for hours, and is the perfect platform to search for the giant squid.
In addition, while heading back to the dock after our recon of the wreck, Graham dived the sub down, then yanked back on the joystick and powered the sub up at a 45-degree angle, full speed -- and we came roaring out of the water like the Seaview at the beginning of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea." Try doing THAT in the Gemini.
Want to see some pictures of the Aviator in the Bahamas? Go to www.jaywade.com; he was one of the photographers during the Bahamas excursion, and has some great shots of the sub on his website.
-- Just call me "Admiral Nelson."
I don't remember seeing repeated references to industrial accidents in news stories two years after the Bhopal atrocity.
Do you think September 11 was just a one-time event, now we can forget about terrorism and go on our merry way? The reason you keep hearing about it is because we keep having to fight against it. There are a lot of people out here that still want to kill Jews and Americans.
Feel free to bury your head in the sand, though.
... if the control computer runs Windows.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Awesome idea. If you create it, I'll download it.
... a shark fin attachment?
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
For half that price, you could probably get a 100 person nuclear sub outfitted with complemantary torpedoes at a friendly Russia garage sale.
EvilCON - Made Famous by
no one needs more than 50 meters of depth -- iggymanz, 2003
Funny... THIS place here in BC has been peddling the
sports car
of submersibles for quite some time.
Experiment!
Here is the 2MB brochure
SCO (noun.)- A Slimy Corporate Ogre. Often seeks free money.
Most people have enough trouble controlling a surface vessel (drunk or sober), and now we have this... At least when your motorboat breaks down, you can float around until help arrives. With this thing, you'll be sitting on the bottom of Lake Ontario waiting for you oxygen to run out... Sounds like a blast. Where can I get one?
You want to see some luxury subs or personal car sized subs, go to http://www.ussubs.com/v2/index.shtml
for details on subs from as small as a four seater sedan sized model to luxery yachts that would make Capt. Nemo turn green with envy.
Then do a google for the catagory Tourist subs to find the six or seven other manufacturers in this class worldwide.
Or simply get a subsciption to Pop Mechanics. They do this kind of story all the time.
They must be submerged at the moment.
No sig. Go away.
Hmm... just some words ("design proposal" no less) and bad drawings... are you sure the Phoenix sub isn't as real as some of the more flaky proposals for the X-Prize? Surely any undergrad engineering student or even graphic designer could come up with this and put up a website....? I saw drawing like this for Disney's 20,000 leagues beneath the sea but I'm pretty sure Nemo didn't exist either...
The quintessential submarine adventurer has always been TinTin!