Aqua Scooter

I was looking at some websites recently, when thinking about taking a vacation to an exotic location. On one of the sites there happened to be an advert for a 'sightseeing' company that featured tours around a local reef on an 'underwater motorcycle'. Though it seemed pretty hokey, the underwater motorcycle idea appealed to me enough to further investigate what turned out to be a low grade Diver Propulsion System (DPV). Obviously, a DPV is a machine designed to mechanically assist a person using SCUBA to move about underwater. And, as mentioned, the tourist grade version is pretty much suspect for a few reasons, though the positive is that it does allow just about anyone accessibility to certain underwater areas and opens the door to explore for those who may not be physically able, or psychologically, prepared for the traditional diving routine, even if not using a DPV.
There are a multitude of manufacturers and models of these low grade machines, low grade referring mostly to slow speed, awkwardness, and the low depth to which they can operate. All of these reasons are not necessarily a bad thing in regard to who the target audience would be and their imminent safety. Of course, my immediate thought was about what kind of irreparable damage could occur to delicate and sensitive coral reefs, or underwater structures and sculptures, when a bunch of untrained and inept tourists with poor operating skills got messing around on these devices, banging and crashing into things. Yikes!
However,  the lowdown on these particular rigs are that they're usually a battery powered propulsion system of some sort (typically an impeller) , with a seat for one or two passengers, complete with an attached dome that enables the 'rider' to see without a mask and breath without the use of a regulator mouthpiece. Here's some photos so you can see what I'm talking about, with a promise that there will be a future post on some of the more complex and higher classified DPVs that don't fit into this particular post.

Most aqua scooters follow this type of design

Seems pretty straightforward

A lot of the photos showed divers accompanying the scooters, so perhaps a safety concern or for damage control

A slightly different style of scooter

An underwater motorcycle gang!! haha

Again, a different manufacturer's model, but showing the propulsion system a bit better

Watch out for the underwater sculpture!