An underwater tow - what is it?

Diving with a motorized underwater tow is a real adventure. Devices of this category not only give a significant gain in the speed of movement. In one dive, you can see much more than it happens when you swim with a standard set of equipment.

A short excursion into the history

The underwater towing vehicle was developed in the 60s of the last century. The idea belongs to the Italian military engineers Elios Tosca and Tezeo Tezei. The first samples of underwater scooters were considered as means that allowed individual fighters to quietly get to the enemy ships that were on the roadstead or stood at the pier.

Initially, an underwater submersible was known as the "slow-motion torpedo". However, due to insufficiently unstable buoyancy in the thickness of the water and difficulties with control, the development was called military only "pig".

The prototype was a rather cumbersome design, which had the form of a torpedo with several seats for the crew. The latter was delivered to the place where the military operation began on the ship, and then submerged. The driver and the miner, dressed in wetsuits, boarded such a boat, got to the enemy ship, fixed an explosive on board and committed diversion. Quite often, the military had to leave such a tow in place and get to the shore by swimming.

What are modern diving towers?

The submarine towing vehicle has the form of a miniature torpedo. Such a boat is powered by an electric motor. At the rear of the structure there is a propeller. On both sides of the body there are handles. They have buttons for starting and stopping the motor, as well as controllers for changing the speed of movement. The buttons are in the form of plates, which are convenient to press even if the hands are clad in fairly thick rubber gloves.

How do they move on an underwater tow?

The swimmer lowers the equipment for diving under water. Then it assumes a horizontal position and grasps the handles of the device. Then the engine starts by pressing the corresponding button. The machine begins to tow the diver. Change the direction of movement is carried out by pulling on all the same handles.

Benefits

What are the benefits of an underwater diver during a diving session? First of all, the scooter will allow you to swim for longer distances without the expense of physical forces. Even if there is no desire to move far away from the dive point, with such equipment one will be able to see more interesting on the seabed.

Underwater scooter-towing makes it possible to explore vast areas. Its use will allow to find any interesting object in a certain area. In particular, if the object of interest is a sunken ship, the scooter will save a lot of time and energy, which will be spent on its inspection.

A scuba diver looks like an ideal solution for people with physical disabilities. If the limited possibilities prevent you from swimming freely, an underwater scooter will always come to the rescue, providing movement.

Such equipment for diving contributes to a longer stay under water. In view of the lack of physical loads on the body during such swimmings, the oxygen from the cylinders is consumed much more slowly.

What dangers lie in wait for divers, what do towers use?

There are several potential hazards when operating an underwater scooter. One of the main risks is the occurrence of decompression sickness when developing a significant speed in the water column or as a result of too rapid a rise from depth to surface.

Another problem is the limited battery charge. Having sailed too far, the diver may face a problem with stopping the engine as a result of a lack of energy. It will be quite difficult to get back together with heavy equipment.

Some modern tugs are capable of reaching speeds of up to 6 km / h. When moving at this pace with a diver, it can disrupt the mask under the influence of counterflows of water. Therefore, when using an underwater scooter, you need to be careful and act judiciously.

Applications

An underwater towing vehicle can be used as a useful or entertaining vehicle. Initially, such devices were operated exclusively by professional divers. At present, they are actively used by the military, who imperceptibly overcome significant distances with their help, transport ammunition, heavy equipment and large-sized items under the water.

For peaceful purposes, underwater scooters are used by archaeologists, who work on the seabed. To their exploitation resort speleologists who are engaged in research of underwater caves.

A popular underwater towed sea doo is often used during filming. It enables operators to move heavy equipment, in particular underwater cameras, while maintaining a stable speed.

In the field of entertainment, the towers are operated by divers. Such equipment allows diving lovers to enjoy diving with picturesque reefs without the need to expend their own energy.