Submerge scooters have emerged as the premium tow behind scooter.
The majority of divers who have a choice in the type of tow behind
they purchase, choose Submerge.

Gilberto Menezes has dived the scooter to over 600 feet deep, and 
as far as 21,200 feet into a cave in Brazil. details here

Deep wreck diver Edoardo Pavia has used the Submerge scooter
as a valuable tool taking video of the Britannic in Greece. details here

Xavier Méniscus is actively exploring French caves with double Joker
rebreathers and Submerge Scooters. details here

In France, Rick Stanton has been using the UV-26 scooter 
in numerous systems, extending exploration in over 5 sites in 1 season. 
He informs us the UV-26 is the ideal size, with good range for most 
sites, perfect as a backup scooter in the Ressel, and compact and
rugged enough to be hauled through dry sections of caves and sumps.

Dr Jerome Meynie has recently replaced his Aquazepp with a Submerge scooter,
as the tow behind style enables him to negotiate smaller passages. In May 2003
Jerome extended the Goule du Pont system to -178 meters with a UV-26. According 
Jerome, this is a cave diving world record of the most distance explored deeper than
120 meters: 310 meters (1023 feet) of line laid to a terminal depth of -178 meters
(587 feet). The UV-26 used was a completely standard production unit with no 
modifications for depth. (note March 2003 Jerome now has a NiMH UV-18 sized scooter
with 26 amp hour capacity making it easier to transport between sumps).


In Mexico, a fleet of 25+ scooters are being used constantly by several groups of 
cave explorers and instructors. Please look these professionals up for cave DPV classes. 
They are Pro Tec divers, Steve Gerrard and Steve Boegarts. 

A recent wreck diving expedition was successfully conducted in South Africa to the
Oceanus, depth 300 feet. Video of the dives will be used for a documentary.






Hello Rodney,

I thought that you would like to know that we have finished for this year the dives 
at Banana Tree Cave, here in Brazil. The scooters worked perfectly again. 

I can't hide how satisfied I am with them. The experimental UV-65s with NiMH 
battery packs have proved their range. We ended this year with a maximum penetration 
at this spring of 6400 meters (over 20,000 feet) and unlike other divers that have needed 
to use a fleet of 4 or 5 scooters for a similar distance dive, with the UVs only 2 scooters 
were needed to go this distance. 

We were plagued this year with very low visibility, which made scootering very difficult. 
Even in these very difficult conditions the range provided by the scooters were phenomenal. 
A dive with a total distance traveled of 9000 meters (29,500 feet) on one UV-65 was made 
and it still pulled strong at the end of this dive. But I knew the UVs would not let me down. 

We have made quite memorable dives on these units. They are great exploration tools. 
The 15 minute run at 500 feet (152 meters) at Blue Lake on a UV-18 is one of those dives 
I will never forget. We made a few other deep dives at this site, eventually doing the 
deepest so far at 616 feet (188 meters). 

I haven't had the opportunity to return there or we certainly would have done even 
deeper scooter dives, as they appear to be indestructible. They have also been very 
helpful at Mysterious Lagoon where it has helped explore some deep side tunnels. 
At Mysterious Lagoon the deepest we took the UV so far was 170 meters (557 feet). 
It has also proved valuable at Ceita Couré Spring where the UV-18 has been 
153 meters (500 feet) deep twice. And I could mention more examples.

So, the UVs have been deep and far inside caves. 

Some could argue that "nothing beats been there done that". 
Well surely for the UV scooters you can say that they "have been there and done that".

There are several good scooters on the market these days. If the Aquazepp is 
the BMW of scooters, surely then, the UV scooters are the Corvette of them all.

Best regards and keep the good work
Gilberto Menezes
Brazil

Underwater caves are closed sites in Brazil and permission to dive them is granted 
by the IBAMA-CECAV, the Brazilian governmental agency that studies, 
protects and controls caves.



Rodney,

I lusted after a UV-18 Silent Sub for years, from the second 
I saw one in person.(after hearing another brand was the best).

After thrashing a pair of cheaper scooters to depth and death, 
I finally bought a UV-18. 

It is the best bit of diving kit I've owned. 
 
Unlike most dive gear, it just seems to get better and better 
with more use. 

I loaned my Sub to two buddys diving with another brand deep 
tow behind scooter and got a sad phone call after their dive: 

"your Sub is much faster than our scooters and burns longer".

The Silent-Sub makes my diving much safer; it pulls me out 
of trouble I've gotten myself into in a hurry, with minimum 
stress and use of gas. I know I can always count on it. 

I wouldn't do a tech dive without it now; I finally understand 
the scooter as the key piece of safety equipment it is.
Finally, and best of all, it's lots of fun, and inspires as 
much misbehavior as it solves.

Cam Banks

California 



Mark Zurl, Floridian wreck diver.

"For the technical wreck diver, the scooter is no longer a toy or luxury.
It has become an essential component of their dive gear.

Rodney's innovation, craftsmanship, quality control, and attention to detail
have set a new standard in scooter design and construction.
Submerge scooters are the best scooter on the market today."

Mark Zurl


Kevin Denlay

Hi Rodney,

Just got back from our Guadalcanal expedition.

Had some awesome dives around Guadalcanal and Tulagi, even managed 
a dive on the USS Atlanta. We only did the shallow stern 
(to 115m/380feet) but the scooter worked perfectly.

Also managed to scooter the full length (a couple of times!) of 
some of the deep (80/90m) Japanese wrecks. In the past we had to swim 
them which left little if any time for photos on the way. This time 
I could just loiter where I wanted and snap away. Fantastic!

All in all we managed 17 straight days of CCR gas diving and the 
scooter, the CCR (15.5) and VR3 didn't miss a beat. Two dives a day 
some days, one dive on others, all on gas. Quite a trip!

The difference the scooter made to the dives was incredible. After 
this expedition I have to say I definitely prefer it over my 
AquaZepp. But now I gotta buy a smaller video housing to mount on 
your scooter as the one from the Zepp is to big!!!

Regards,
Kevin Denlay
altdive@ozemail.com.au
AltDive - Technical Diving Services of Australia


Steve Gerrard, Mexico




 I have been using SILENT SUBMERSION Diver Propulsion Vehicles
for the past 9 years. I presently own five of the UV – 26 DPVs. 

I actively teach NACD Advanced Cave Diving courses involving six DPV 
dives with an additional five dives involving underwater surveying, 
stage bottle and a photo shoot. Our DPV dives include Sistema Chac Mool, 
Sistema PonDeRosa, Sistema Taj Mahal, Sistema Camilo, 
Sistema Narajal (Mayan Blue), Sistema Dos to the LSD area and 
Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich to the Blue Abyss.
 
Without a doubt, Rodney & Suzie’s Submerge DPVs are the 
best on the market today. They are constructed with high quality 
craftsmanship, superior materials and, most important, Rodney and 
Suzie provide consistent, reliable, dependable SERVICE and SUPPORT 
information.

Check the facts, the majority of cave diving and technical diving 
professionals are using these Submerge DPVs throughout 
the world. Compare, shop, and search as you will not find better 
DPV machines to use for your diving needs. 


Steve Gerrard 

www.steve-gerrard.com
www.cenotesoftheRivieraMaya.com



Steve Bogaerts, Mexico



I have the Submerge UV18, UV-26 conversion and a N-19.

Rod Nairne who makes them is very helpful and easy to deal with.
Mostly I use it for cave diving but I have also used it in the ocean both 
deep and shallow stuff.

The deepest I have taken it so far is 360ft (110 meters) on a cave dive. 
It worked fine was totally dry after the dive having spent 12 hours in 
the water and suffered no deformation of the prop shroud which affects 
other makes on deeper dives.

The UV-18 scooter is a nice compact size and is very nicely weighted and trimmed. 
The motorcycle style throttle handle is a nice feature. It is very ergonomic 
and allows easy steering and fingertip control. The cruise control is another 
nice feature for long dives.

I have used the scooter every day for long dives during exploration projects 
for a week or so at a time with no problems.

The scooter is very nicely engineered, of rugged construction and is very 
simple and quick to strip to its component parts with an absolute minimum of 
tools so this can be done easily in the field if necessary.

Also removing and replacing the battery takes less than 5 minutes so you can 
turn the scooter round at the end of a dive very quickly for another diver to 
use so long as you have another charged battery.

Anyway I think it is a great piece of kit and would definitely recommend it.
Hope this helps if you have any other questions let me know.

Regards
Steve Bogaerts

Steve also has an exploration report, View it here.


Craig Challen, Australia.


I had my UV-18 delivered in 2000. The product had been
recommended to me and I have not been disappointed. On delivery I was
immediately impressed by the quality of workmanship and the solid
engineering. 

Although the idea of mating a Tekna/Mako motor to a new body is
simple and has been around for a while, the execution of the idea by Rodney
is superior to any other that I have seen or heard of.

Obviously the first thing to do on getting a new toy was to take it apart
and see how it worked, but this was disappointing because it only took about
10 minutes to do this, then another 10 minutes to put it back together
again. 

This makes servicing any part of the scooter almost too easy,
although I have not had to do anything to it and don't really anticipate
having to. Battery changes only take a few minutes and this can be easily
done in less than ideal conditions such as inside caves, just making sure to
keep the O rings clean.

I have dived the scooter to 98m (330 feet)running it for over an hour 
continuously and it has always performed flawlessly without even a 
hint of a leak. After my experience I would have no hesitation 
in recommending this product to anyone.

Craig Challen