Torpedo DPV

[Kirk]

I personally would not buy a new Mako.  I think it is a nice scooter, but at a retail price of about $2600, I would instead save the additional $1100 for something like the Silent Submersion UV-26 (or of course a comparable scooter), which has a deeper depth rating, a better handle, a better clutch, a rewound motor, and a longer battery life.  Though I have no hard evidence to prove so, I suspect that after a few years, and few hundred dives, the Mako would probably depreciate at least half it’s value, where as something like a lead acid battery Silent Submersion (or similar) would probably only drop in value by a few hundred dollars. 

Granted the mid sized Silent Submersion UV-26 has its drawbacks.  It is heavy.  Makes it a bit unpleasant for places like the Madeira and Feigh Pit, and places in Florida like Manatee Springs Cave (places you have to carry the scooter on your shoulder a bit of a distance to the water); but it drives like a dream.  Very forgiving.  Note that I’ve only driven two scooters, the Silent Submersion UV-26 and the Silent Submersion N-19.  The N-19 was nice, but even with lower land weight (which of course comes with a much higher battery replacement cost, due to NIMH); I did not like it as much because of the excessive torque. 

To put things in non-diver terms, when I was a teenager, my grandmother had two cars, which I would often borrow.  One was ’65 Mustang (which she bought new and probably only drove to church, the grocery, and the pharmacy), and the other was a mid 1970s model Caprice Classic.  The Mustang was great for cruising around town and impressing girls, but the Caprice Classic was what I always picked when I wanted to take a long ride on gravel roads outside of town.  It drove like a dream, and was very forgiving.  -  Kirk