New Toy = Trip to the Trauma Center??

[Thalassamania]

Monkey on a trapeze diving?

 

[gcarter]

Selling these as water toys for people who know nothing about the dangers of rapid depth changes and proper breathing is a sure recipe for AGE incidents.

 

[vladimir]

Selling these as water toys for people who know nothing about the dangers of rapid depth changes and proper breathing is a sure recipe for AGE incidents.

I think—based on the picture and video—that they're marketing them to snorkelers. Or whatever you call a guy with a mask, no snorkel, and no gas supply.

 

[RTee]

On the video, I apparently failed to identify the individuals involved as scientists using it as a tool to conduct some kind of underwater surveys and I will apologize for it. Next time I will make sure I pay more attention to those subtle details when I watch similar videos. In all likelihood, the video must be targeting the scuba diving crowd as cheap alternative to underwater scooter.

 

[Thalassamania]

Cheap alternative? You can build one for less than $30.

 

[RTee]

Cheap alternative? You can build one for less than $30.

Thal, it was said tongue in cheek as you then need a boat and a chauffeur to tow you along. In terms of DIY, you're right, very cheap to build.

 

[Doc]

Thal, it was said tongue in cheek as you then need a boat and a chauffeur to tow you along. In terms of DIY, you're right, very cheap to build.

I scrounged the plywood from the lumber pile. The Penecillin... yes- that cost $30. :gorgeous:

 

[Gilldiver]

I made a tow slead when I was 9 or 10 and used it for a few years. One problem was that if you tied the rope into the forward bottom it liked to flip over and dive into the bottom. But for doing a rapid visual search of a reef or looking for a wreck there is nothing like it.

 

[smellzlikefish]

The secret to line attachment is to use two points in the center on the end of the board. We drill holes at these points and secure the line with a stopper knot.

 

[rmh84]

Looks like fun with some precaution - like I'd not want the boat trying to tow me at top speed or anything (I'm the girl who once fell out of a boat tow donut doing 60mph...).

As for a floatation device, the people who market it could actually market an inflatable PFD (the type with the CO2 canisters) that could be deployed by the person, or one that tethers to the board and deploys as soon as the board and the person have a "parting of the ways". The cannisters for such a PFD would have to be really cheap to make this workable.