ROV's

[Voyager3]

Does anyone have experience with underwater ROV's. I was thinking about one and have little information on them. Thought they would be helpful with surveying the bottom of the hull, not to mention anything else.
Just curious.

 

[appdiver]

Bought a 'Deep Trekker' rov 5 years ago for search/recovery and generic exploration here in our deep, cold TVA lakes. Works great...small enough for 1-person operation...internal battery system. NOT a toy rov! $3-4k but very well built. One was used several years ago to survey the USS Arizona. Good people and customer service!

 

[syjos]

I've sold a few Deep Trekkers and they are amazing.

You can add lights, grab arms, longer cable etc to customize them.

The DTG3's are up in the $6,000 range and can reach $12,000 with accessories.

They are made for commercial use but I'm selling them to pleasure boaters so they can examine their boats underwater and entertain grandkids.

Deeptrekker.com

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

So is there such a thing as an ROV/Flying Drone all in one?

 

[JustBob]

So, ironically, I took my new UW drone out for the first time yesterday. Typical rookie outing. I was going to examine the running gear of a friend's boat. I didn't realize he has extensive trim tabs under the swim step and so I got the drone stuck!

Had to get a diver to free it. There's a good irony for you, right? Buy a drone so you don't have to have divers as often.

I have the Chasing Dory:

https://www.chasing.com/

There are several reviews on youtube.

I backed it as a Kickstarter project so it was only $349. Now they are $500. It's a very well built product. A friend of mine has created numerous ROV companies, sells them now to the gov't for $250k. Said he just couldn't believe this product at this price.

I have to say it is quite disorienting, with visibility only being 10 feet or so. You just don't have a sense of where it is a lot of the time. Next time I will start from farther back, stay lower, and just really keep track of where it is.

 

[High Wire]

There were very few spots on the east coast with water clarity more than a foot of vis. I think you could do as well with a cable camera on a pole from a dinghy or just a mask and snorkel.

 

[JustBob]

There were very few spots on the east coast with water clarity more than a foot of vis. I think you could do as well with a cable camera on a pole from a dinghy or just a mask and snorkel.

The water is 47 degrees!

But yeah a camera on a boat hook could do it. I even have a camera with a waterproof case that connects to a phone. I guess it wouldn't work once the camera was underwater tho...

 

[MYTraveler]

I bought a trident, but don't use it much. Does what it is supposed to do and seems to satisfy the needs of the researchers who are its target market. The price was about $2K (with options) as I recall.

 

[Voyager3]

Thanks all! The visibility was my main concern and thanks Archie for the camera pole combo not a bad idea. If I do get one I will keep in mind tangle situations, and yea that’s ironic. I have seen a iTunes video of a flying drone that can go underwater. Based on what I saw it is not worth it. I font have the link anymore.