Underwater Biking

I came across a program on TV a couple nights ago about a guy who was building his own submarine.  In fact the program was on the Science Channel and was actually titled, "The Man Who Built His Own Submarine."  Not really a creative title, but I've always dreamt of having my own submarine so I was interested.  The narrator mentioned that the engineer was trying to keep costs low - that would also be a requirement when I built my own submarine the next weekend.  Then he mentioned an initial budget of $1.5 million.  I guess I don't need to clean a space in the garage for the weekend after all.

Still, the show reminded me of an article I read a few years ago about a pedal-powered submarine that had been designed by a professor in Russia - kind of a Lance Armstrong meets James Bond concept.  I did a little looking and it sounds like Marine Innovation Technologies is actually working to mass-produce their prototype.  Here is a fancy Photoshop rendition:

The projected price is still around $50,000 so the subs are expensive, but more in line with what many already pay for a high-end ski boat.  It sounds like vacation resorts and other commercial operations make up most of the target audience.  If you own a resort, you should know that I can't imagine passing up the opportunity to pedal around underwater for a few bucks.  Here's a website dedicated to the project: http://www.bluespace.ru/.