US $17,000 Scuba-Doo underwater scooter

"As we spoke with companies from around the globe, the vast majority want a turn-key solution and so we decided to take the time to design and build a cohesive suite of products for the marine leisure industry."

"We had enquiries from everywhere you can imagine - places like the Maldives, Malaysia, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Philippines, indeed, island resorts across Asia."

"Basically, I think we had enquiries from almost anywhere there's warm clear water," said Dawson.

"It added nine months to our original production forecast but sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward and we're confident we have a very compelling product offering for a wide range of leisure operators now."

Scuba-Doo partner and R&D and Quality Control head Tony McKenna feels the extra time was well spent. "We used the time wisely in reinventing the wheel and coming up with a better looking, more user friendly version of the Scuba-Doo ," said McKenna. "The Scuba-Doo 's new-look air intake is now fed by its own towed compressor, eliminating the use of an air tank for breathing purposes. This is ideal for the hire industry, as it means operators don't need to fill air tanks as often. The towed compressor option adds US$2500 to the US$14,500 price."

"The additional time also gave us the opportunity to refine the Scuba-Doo in a host of ways, and the new Scuba-Doo handles much better than the old one. It's now much more controllable - you can raise it a foot in the water or lower it and it does exactly what you want it to do," said McKenna. "It also has a flip top so that a rider doesn't need to put their head under the water at any stage. With the original model the first thing a rider had to do was put their head under the water. It isn't a problem for divers, but it is for some people going diving for the first time."

Scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) is an acronym we usually associate with face-masks, breathing tubes and back-mounted tanks, but the Scuba-Doo opens a new dimension of underwater exploration by combining a breathing dome that covers the head and shoulders with a highly-maneuverable, motorised underwater scooter.

The obvious advantage of the ingenious design is the enclosed head area - the need for a mask or mouthpiece is eliminated by the constant replenishment of air into the clear dome that enables normal breathing. There's also no need to wear weight-belts or an air tank.

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