Our Submersibles
Making submersible exploration accessible to all..
The Community Submersibles Project is about making submersible exploration accessible to all. Traditionally, these vessels are mostly available to military-trained personnel, scientific researchers and wealthy private owners. Opening access to submersibles means a broader community of people get to experience the rare and wondrous depths, ask questions, and reflect with each other about what ocean exploration means for different cultures in the 21st century.
We currently own two submersibles!
- Both have a clean bill of health and are in diving shape.
- Both are being refit for deeper diving and adding new onboard technology.
- Both are on custom trailers, and can be shipped anywhere in the world, including tropical archipelagos that have never been explored below scuba depths!
FANGTOOTH
Fangtooth is a homemade, 11-foot electric sub that can dive to 30 feet with up to 3 people. We are upgrading the pressure vessel to be capable of dives to 120 feet, and recently added essential safety equipment for dives of up to 8 hours.
NOCTILUCA
Noctiluca is a 2-person diesel-electric sub, with diesel power on the surface and a range of about 500 miles, and electric underwater. She has enough life support (oxygen and CO2 scrubbing capability) to stay underwater for 72 hours, and can dive for up to 24 hours under one battery charge. She has a ‘crush depth’ of 1250’ and is technically rated to dive 300’, but by today’s safety factor she would be rated to much deeper based on her engineering specs. We plan to do extensive upgrades and materials testing to get her diving as deep as she can safely go!
Noctiluca is an incredibly unique submersible-submarine hybrid because of her diesel motor. The diesel gives her an enormous surface range, as well as the ability to charge the onboard batteries and fill the air tanks without a mothership. That makes her capable of remote expeditions and vastly less expensive to operate than comparable subs!
