ScubaDoo 

This is very cool!
Scubadooing means you don’t need to wear a mask or a mouthpiece as in diving, the external compressor is floating above water, and the diving weights are on the ScubaDoo, not you!

 You are seated on your ScubaDoo, with your head and shoulders within a clear dome, your air constantly replenished from the external compressor, enabling you to breathe normally!

At a rate of 2.5 knots you’re able to ride amongst the spectacular underwater world, or remain stationary while you feed the fish.

You can wear your glasses or contact lenses in the ScubaDoo without a problem.

There’s no need to be a strong swimmer. The ScubaDoo can even be used by people with minor disabilities.

“While there was a healthy market for the Scuba-Doo as a boys toy recreational vehicle, there was so much interest in the Scuba-Doo from dive resorts and hire companies in exotic locations that we felt it was better to wait and put together the most compelling offering for this important market,” said Scuba-Doo CEO Dawson.

“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.” 

“All our international distribution will be done through licenses and we’re now in the process of looking for the right agents all over the world but we’ll still deal directly with resorts and hire operators until a master distributor is appointed in their territory.

“The potential of the Scuba-Doo as a business is incredible. Currently we have operators hiring the Scuba-Doo at $130 per 15 minutes – the queues are long and the Scuba-Doo s run all day every day. As a hire operation or as an adjunct to an existing dive operation, they are a very good business.

“The prices I am quoting are recommended retail prices. We have a three tiered pricing structure, with List, Wholesale and retail pricing, in order for our International licencees to set up their own distributor network.”

 

And given that three products have evolved from concept to manufacture in nine months, what’s next for Scuba-Doo ? “I have the next Scuba-Doo model in my head and it’s some way off at the moment. We also have a version coming that will be ideal for disabled people to use. We’re committed to increasing our product range in the Aqua Leisure area and there will be a lot more exciting products as time goes by.

“Right now, we’re pretty excited about the immediate prospects for building an international distribution and enabling everyone to try a Scuba-Doo , wherever they might live.”