Thinking of buying a scooter, need some help

[Spray25]

I saw the new Sea-Doo Sea Scooter and the price has me thinking of buying one.

What can anyone tell me about it? Any personal experience with it?

I realize it is smaller and only good to 65 feet. I would be ok with the depth limits. I notice it has a lower thrust rating. What does that really mean? I am only looking for something for light duty playing.

I also looked at the Caymans Aqua Sub. Any info on it? It is a lot heavier. It is also a little more $$ so It's only a maybe. (the budget is tight right now)

[JamieZ]

Unfortnantly the scooters your looking at are for snorkeling not really made for diving no matter what they advertise. Neither one of those scooters is strong enough to pull a diver around at any reasonable speed. The Seadoo is only rated to 30ft and has a static thrust of 11lbs this is not what you want for diving. If you cant afford a top end scooter I would start looking at a used Mako or a Tekna. There is a scooter called the Torpedo which I really haven't read much about but from what I have read their cheap and have gotten some good reveiws. Think they run $800 new but you can get a used Mako in mint shape for that price. Good luck with your research.

PS. I just looked at the Caymans Aqua Sub you mentioned and from its technical info it doesnt sound all that bad. I think when you do your research you should also be looking at the scooters you can drive and ride with 1 hand. Not something that takes 2 hands like the CAS. Actually not sure if this paticular unit takes 2 hands but looks like it does.

If you go with a Mako/Silent Submersion/Gavin/Tekna or Aeris you cant go wrong. All these units use the same motor but some are just modified.

[runvus4]

I'd start with a Mako as that can be traded in for some credit on a Silent Submersion/Gavin should you decide that scootering is going to be a big part of your diving and upgrade.

Of the Silent Submersion/Gavin, I prefer the Silent Submersion, simply because from my admittedly very limited "hands on" I found the Silent Submersion handle to be very comfortable.

[O-ring]

...on used Apollos/Dacor SeaSprint scooters. Lots of people around here have them. They aren't Gavins or SSs, but they are decent.

[Spray25]

Thanks for the info so far guys.

Scubanarc,
I was a little concerned about the 11lbs of thrust as well. I'm guessing that thrust equates into something similar to the torque of a truck engine. On the Sea-doo just so you know they make two units. One rated at 30ft and one rated at 65ft. I was looking at the 65ft one.

Aqua sub makes one called the Tyger Ray (spelling?) also. From what I have read it is a more value priced one. They claim 48lbs of "static" thrust and it is rated to 125 feet.

Please keep the opinions coming.

[Spray25]

Well after some cheocking around I found a what I think is a good deal on the Tyger Ray. So I ordered it. I'm hoping it will be here before the end of next week. I got inot it for less than $400.

Has anyone used one of these? I realize it may not perform as well as some of the more expensive ones, but I figured for less the $400 it is hard to go wrong.

Please share if you have used one of the Tyger Rays.

[Spray25]

I tried out the Tyger Ray this weekend. It was a blast. I used it off and on for about 2 hours and the batteries seemed as fresh at the end as they did in the begining. It's hard to judge speed under water, but I would say it pulled me along at what I would call a medium to hard swim rate. Add a very light and leisurely kick and you flat out fly through the water! It even towed me and my buddy quite well at the same time, but obviously slower than with just one diver.

I liked it so much I am looking in to becoming a dealer.

So let me know if you want one! ;)

[crosing]

for $350 sounds like a good deal!!! :) :) :)

[bradyr]

I understand the tyger ray uses some kind of glove with a magnetic switch to activate it. Is this correct?

if so, how would this work in colder water diving with cold water gloves?

[Spray25]

It only goes on your thumb and then around your wrist. It fits over my 7mil gloves just fine.

[Jonnyreb]

I have used/tested both units.. (well, the SeaDoo SeaScooter Died the second weekend)..

1st, Claims of depth.. SeaScooter (they bought the right to use the name SeaDoo) was 35 ft.. then 80 then then 65. I actually emailed Sharper Image to get them to commit to a depth before I bought one.. Everywhere I looked was different. (Just as much difficulty deciding on a name it seems.. I have seen the same unit called 4 different names..) I even saw it in Australia called AquaSub which is the name of the 1st generation technology 24 volt predecessor to the Tyger Ray, which was too heavy so it is being redesigned.

We got 1 SeaScooter, 2 Tyger Rays and hit the beach. Everybody tried them while snorkeling. Adults and kids.
The next day we went to play on the river in freshwater (this is where the SeaScooter died and was never resurrected...) I never got to try the SeaScooter in a "gear" dive, just snorkeling. But I saw them at the DEMA show in Vegas with gear on and they were kicking in the pool to move. (not a good sign..)

The SeaScooter was VERY manuverable and light. It turns on a dime. If you are a little kid it would be a BLAST in a pool or for snorkeling. But for an adult or with SCUBA gear, it IS A JOKE! The unit is made of thin plastic and an ultra wimpy motor with plastic gears. It has unsealed circuitry etc.. (I ripped it apart.) So much for taking it back to Sharper Image for a refund... I could not get all the gears back together right! It sounds lke rocks in a blender (but this noise is reduced when in the water greatly.) The switch system is nice and the it looks really cool...

The Tyger Ray litterally ran circles around the SeaScooter.. (We had races...) It is quite a bit heavier but not unreasonable for the added power. Besides, the Tyger Ray is built much better out of a MUCH thicker body material and has all sealed circuitry.

We took 2 Tyger Ray units diving last weekend in Ft. Lauderdale (shore dive in only 20 feet max.) HAD A BLAST!!!! It is not something I would take down every dive becuase I like the excercise of kicking. But for a fun change, it was great. We left the units stock (did not add weight) so at only 20' they still were slightly positive and wanted to ascend a little when we stopped for long periods of time. When we took them to Key Largo in 40 feet they did not do this. This actually worked to our advantage since the batteries only last about 50 minutes when pulling an 190lb guy with full scuba gear. Since our dives in Lauderdale are typically 100 minutes you can either grab the front and ride with it while kicking which was not much effort, or do like we did and send it to the surface. I tied the handle to the dive flag rope and toted them along.

HOWEVER... Next time, I am going to ride it while snorkeling out to the 3rd reef (a long way) tie it to the flag and kick dive, saving the battery for the ride back..This will save us a long boring kick to and from the good spots and make life that much sweeter It is great for boat dives too.

We rode alongside a huge turtle and he was not scared. It does not scare fish at all, infact, it seems to attract them because of the draft made by the unit. Fish will ride on the top of the unit so close you can bite them.


What I do not like about the Tyger Ray..
1. The Magnetic glove.. A safety feature but wish there was a switch instead.. You get used to it though. No biggy..
2. If there were strong currents it would be a little slow. It was perfect for good conditions. It is NOT built for speed. It was just slightly faster than my buddies who were kicking.. In fact, that was annoying for the 2 riders to wait for the 2 kickers all the time.. But with current it would slow it down quite a bit.. BUT, when you kick and ride, you can haul A$$!

It is not a $2500 DPV and therefore does not have the features of a $2500 DPV.. But it is a lot of fun and a great tool for snorkelers and rec. divers. Besides, we can outfit our entire group for the price of one high end unit and have just as much fun.

FYI- (NOT A GREAT SURFACE ONLY UNIT) it is made to dive underwater... The whole unit has to be underwater or it will cavitate (suck air from the surface into the prop.)

I would have to retest them in cold water, high current conditions to be able to recommend them for everyone, but for here, we love them. (I dont dive cold / high current waters anyway..) I have not personally taken any unit passed 60 feet. Will try that in the next few weeks if possible.

You can find them at: Hammacher Schlemmer, Front Gate, Bass Pro, Overtons etc..

Here is a pic of the motor comparison.
http://www.unifiedmarine.com/web2001/cayman/TR-SeaScooter-Motor_SM.jpg

The end recap.. The Marketing, pool toy and cool looks award goes to SeaScooter, but for a few bucks more, the Tyger Ray is for real.

[Spray25]

Great review!!

[D M I]

Try DPV Canada web site, lots of photos of diffrent scooter and information. www.dpvcanada.com

[roastbeef]

DPV Canada has changed there URL to Diving Machines index.html (http://www.divingmachines.com) hosted by Rick Adams Canadian diving helmet collector he also has other cool stuff on the site.

happy Diving