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Here is a video of the so-called "subwing". It's basically a water sport product that you can attach to your boat, and "fly" with under water. It has two wings, and a rope between it, so that you can hold it with one hand and equalize your ears with the other. It was invented by an 18 year old Norwegian kid last year.
Has anyone tried anything like this? Looks pretty fun IMO, at least from watching the video..
It definitely looks a little dangerous. Wouldn't want to crash into a reef with that. And also, the ropes are made of dyneema, so if it got stuck in something I don't think that would be good for the boat...
Tow sleds and wings have been around since at least the 1950s. Designs were staples in dive magazines probably through the 1960s and were used a lot to search for wrecks. I build the one in the attached drawing and it worked great. Think of it as a poor man’s side scan sonar.
They aren’t dangerous at all as long as you use it in decent visibility and are smart enough to let go — like if you lose control and it is driving you up or down too fast. Same goes if you are about to run into something. It may be more of a concern today now that the ascent rate is 30 FPM instead of 60 but depth is easy to control. They were fun at first but got pretty boring unless the vis was really good. They are no good in kelp, for divers or boats. We got pretty cold in wetsuits along the California coast.
I used ½” plywood and coated it with fiberglass resin because marine grade plywood was too expensive. Yellow Polypropylene rope worked fine. I can’t remember for sure but I think we mounted a depth gauge on it. No need for a compass since the boat is steering the search path.
We found it a little easier if you let the diver go to the bottom before starting to pull with the boat. Clearing can be a little tricky one-handed but you can hold the front and steer up or down with you elbow while clearing or adjusting gear. Just don’t let go of one handle while holding onto the other or things get weird.
Also, let the captain get a feel for what a good speed is while you are on the surface — both for drag and for the visibility. Work out hand signals for speed and line signals for OK to take off.
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