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Ego Personal Semi-Submarine

Posted: August 01, 2012

What up, Jaws? You ready for a little face time with me and my impenetrable acrylic underwater sightseeing window? Korean company Raonhaje's EGO, a compact semi-submarine/motorboat hybrid, has flipped its room with a view upside down, making cruising through the ocean as scenic for those below deck as it is for those chillin' up top. Well, provided no one gets sea sick and hurls up their Brie and Chardonnay.

The EGO's two floating hulls flank a two-person cabin that rests below the waterline, and is accessible via a trapdoor and ladder on the upper deck. The semi-sub's electric motor can achieve a top speed of 5.7 mph, and maintain it for 4 hours, while more subdued, cruising speeds will eke 6 to 10 hours out of its battery on a single charge. Since the EGO has a foot pedal instead of a throttle lever to control speed, and a simple switch to flip to specify forward or backward motion, subsurface excursions require minimal boating expertise--though it would be helpful to know how to steer, and which way to weave in and out of those bobbing orange spheres.

The deck provides seating for a few friends, as well as open space for sunbathing and fishing. Fishing as in, run downstairs to see where all the really big snook are through the submarine window, and then run back up and drop a line right into Granddaddy's mouth. No, it's not cheating. It's being creative.

The submarine portion of the EGO isn't airtight, so aside from making sure the sky isn't on fire before you set sail, oxygen provisions aren't necessary. The acrylic material used in the windows is the same as that used in aquariums--the kind that's 200 times stronger than an equal thickness of standard glass.

Despite its being for sale, we found no word on how much the EGO Semi-Submarine costs. But like the Barbecue Dining Boat, it is probably more practical (albeit still not at all practical) for resort use or hired nautical excursions than it is for personal collections. Unless, of course, your'e P. Diddy. Or Roy Scheider.

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