Roatan: Stanley Submarines

[sam1]

Hello,

I will be traveling to Roatan in March for a week of diving and was thinking of checking out Stanley Submarines Welcome - Stanley Submarines - Roatan, Honduras . Anyone done it?

Thanks.

Steve

 

[CMAN]

I think I would steer clear of this character! I just wouldn't want anything to do with a guy that buys a horse, ties blocks to its feet and shots it and the dumps it in the sea so he can charge people to watch a "unlicensed shark dive"! This guys a loose cannon.

 

[diver 85]

That's ole Karl..........I brought him his tools on one of our December trips(his daddy shipped to us from around NY if I remember correctly)that he forgot to bring down when he originally brought the sub to Roatan--about '99 or so...1st kept it @ ILR(Inn of Last Resort) for about a year+ then moved it to Half Moon Bay-don't know where it is now.....Enjoy the trip down----man it's been a long time since I thought of him....

lol...True story about him when he had it @ ILR...He had only been there a month or so & it was Christmas time when the Ambassador of Chile(I believe) to Roatan, a lady, was staying @ the resort decided to 'go down' for a trip...I remember Andy, the builder & owner of the Inn, looking @ Karl & said if something happens to her, don't come back-----& he meant it ....lol......If you see Karl, tell him Joe, Mattew's father from Louisiana, said hello--he should remember the tools & books I brought down to him his 1st Christmas there....

 

[rstofer]

I would go in a heartbeat.

Richard

 

[John_B]

It sounds interesting, but how seaworthy is the vessel? I saw their poster advertising this when I was at CCV last month but nobody seemed to know much about it (to be fair, I didn't pursue the issue very much either).

 

[diver 85]

I would go in a heartbeat.

Richard

The very 1st one he brought down(don't know if it's the same one as now) was giving him problems with a window or 2 leaking @ about 700+ feet...Our son was an Instructor/DM @ the Inn then(that's how we came to know Karl) & even learned how to take it down---Karl was going to head back to Fl for a few weeks & Matthew was going to 'run it' for him while being gone......Karl wound up not taking the trip to Fl and later on moved it to Half Moon Bay......Think he replaced the windows & decided not to go as deep...

He built that one from scratch & had Minkota trolling motors & props on it to direct it --used 2 SCUBA tanks for ballast.....Neet little machine--he was supposed to take me down '@ no charge' that 1st week(for bringing his 'stuff' down)but I got all busy & didn't have the time to go---The day we were leaving out he asked when we were going & told him Karl I've had 2nd thoughts on going---lol...

It was actually very safe & our son made many trips with him learning how to pilot it etc......As 2 teenagers living down there, they had a ball.......

 

[diver 85]

It sounds interesting, but how seaworthy is the vessel? I saw their poster advertising this when I was at CCV last month but nobody seemed to know much about it (to be fair, I didn't pursue the issue very much either).

lol....He's still alive-----I guess........Pretty smart to build it from scratch @ 15 to 17 Y.O.......

 

[rtbmediver]

I was down with Karl in his first vehicle to its maximum working depth. It was great! The only way to see flora and fauna beyond the range of normal scuba diving.

I highly recommend it. I have not been down in the present vehicle.

However, we had two guests here recently at CoCoView Rsort who did a 5 or 6 hour trip to 1500 ft to observe the 6 gill sharks. They enjoyed it. They did mention the submersible is cramped quarters and it does get cold.

 

[Doc]

I highly recommend it. I have not been down in the present vehicle.

RTBMEDIVER (above) is the SCUBA legend, Doc Radawski. (Now, I've made him blush)

His opinion above is to be judged on his storied cautious and calculated demeanor in matters technical, however everyone should note that he stared down Katrina from his place in the Lower 9th Ward, so not much scares him.

Here's a few write-ups on the submarines of Roatan....

The Roatan Submarine - some surprising stuff - CoCo Chat

 

[mksmith713]

Is this the same guy that charges $800.00 for a trip?