If you fancy yourself an explorer, you’ve never been able to explore quite like this. The C-Researcher 2 sub from U-Boat Worx, one of five new models it’s offering, can take you more than a mile underwater.
Specifically, the C-Researcher 2 can go to depths of 6,562 feet (2,000 meters). Put another way, if you dropped the Empire State Building into the ocean, the sub can dive more than five times the skyscraper’s height. Because light can’t penetrate this far down, the “researcher” in C-Researcher 2 is the operative word. U-Boat Worx is targeting megayacht owners who are passionate students of the ocean, as well as oceanographers.
Either way, the C-Researcher 2 is a two-person sub. This means it’s fit for a pilot plus you. When the first deliveries take place in summer 2018, they’ll provide abundant time to seek out interesting sea life. The company says the sub has an 18-hour operating time. In addition, 62-kWh of battery capacity, combined with six thrusters, will make piloting efficient, at 3 knots of speed. An automatic trim weight system is aboard, too.
If diving this deep isn’t quite what you want to do, U-Boat Worx has four other new models. One also carries two people, while the rest carry three. The additional two-person model can dive 1,640 feet (500 meters). The three-person subs dive between 1,575 feet and 5,577 feet (480 meters and 1,700 meters). All employ lithium-ion batteries and automatic trim weight systems.
U-Boat Worx says the battery system is particularly noteworthy. It claims a 350-percent boost compared to lead-acid batteries, which some other sub manufacturers use. That results in the longer exploration time, plus additional, more powerful thrusters and additional lights. U-Boat Worx further says it’s tested the lithium-ion batteries to 13,123 feet (4,000 meters).
Each sub will comply with DNV GL classification requirements.
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