SEA-DOO Seascooter™ - new GTI model!
Recently, some of you may have seen a strange bright yellow torpedo shaped object on the dive boat – no, it’s not anything to worry about - it’s the result of years of research and some input from the man behind the Sinclair C5 (anyone old enough to remember that?!) and some clever motor/propellor design.
Recently the club has been in touch with the product developer – a Hong Kong Company called Daka Development Limited and was able to test drive their newest model – the SEA-DOO ® SEASCOOTER™ GTI – surely enough to get the boy (or girl) racer in you interested!
First impressions count – and the SEA-DOO® SEASCOOTER™ GTI doesn’t disappoint – it comes in a heavy duty bag, which as well as looking the part, is big enough to fit in a few other useful bits and pieces as well as the charger and the novel assembly kit. Surprisingly light (only 8.4kg including battery) you can even take it on holiday without having to take out a loan for excess baggage.
The unit is made of ABS plastic and is operated by two triggers (one for safety) and is slightly buoyant – the factory configuration is designed for surface use (which seems to be less speedy than underwater use!) and you either have to add some ballast (a 1kg dive weight) or upgrade to the longer life battery to go diving. On the subject of battery life – you get well over an hour on the standard battery and enough for a whole day trip on the larger version (it’s a standard sealed lead acid battery). Getting to the battery involves quite a novel technique (pumping in air to the battery chamber) – but everything you need is supplied and the double O ring seal keeps the innards bone dry down to 30m (tested to 35…), which is more than enough for the shallower waters of Hong Kong and most recreational diving in the region.
I took the SEA-DOO® SEASCOOTER™ GTI with me on a recent trip to Malapascua, and, whilst not watching the famous thresher sharks, enjoyed the freedom afforded by the scooter to see more of the reef and learnt to understand what life is like from the sharks point of view in a current: whilst my buddy finned like mad I was able to ignore completely the current flowing over the house reef with the ample power (up to 4km/h) provided by the unit. Back in HK it was able to tow my wife and I at a reasonable rate as we sampled the delights of the reefs off Tsim Chau.
I know we have a few ‘wrecky/tecky’ people in the club who may regard such a unit as a toy after using motorcycle size (and cost!) units on expeditions – I can assure you that it is not and whilst not requiring Velcro gloves and tethers in case you do get a bit of the ‘thunderball’ experience scooting about the reef the SEA-DOO® SEASCOOTER™ GTI is very manoeuverable (check spelling in dictionary, I can’t check here now, but I’m sure it’s wrong) steered by simply pointing it the direction you want to go – for best results you need to drive it with your elbows bent holding it below your chest – this gives the maximum thrust from the well protected propeller.
The best feature about the SEA-DOO® SEASCOOTER™ GTI is its affordability – making it a great gift for the diver in your life or perhaps a little treat for yourself to help take the strain out of the long swim back to the boat when the proximity of the Bermuda Triangle makes your underwater navigation go awry….
However, if you are coming to the Underwater Ball on 11th September you may find yourself the lucky recipient of one of these beauties! Daka Development Ltd have kindly donated two for our lucky draw to help us celebrate our 50th Anniversary, and as a special promotion anyone buying one on the night will qualify for a 20% discount.