JamesList Exclusive: Through the looking-glass with U-Boat Worx
A rising trend in luxury toys is the production of small-scale submarines. Such vessels have been used in the military for a long time, but are cropping up in many different areas of the world for the civilian market. James loves gadgets like these!
One such place is the Netherlands. There, a company called U-Boat Worx (a name found provocative by some) is working hard the capture a piece of the new-found market segment. Their “superyacht submersible”, the C-Quester 3, even turned up right here on James Spotting back in June. The CQ3 is able to go down to 100 meters for up to six hours, with a survival period of 96 hours. It’s offered in different configurations, seating up to four people if requested. The subs are fitted with a clever safety system, where the tanks are blown if the maximum depth is exceeded.
Mr Erik Hasselman of UWX was nice enough to spare a few minutes of his busy schedule, answering James’ questions.
James: A bit of a clichéd yet necessary question, but how did the project begin?
Erik: It all began with our owner, Bert Houtman, who had an idea way back in the early 1980s, just sketching on what a personal submarine might look like. He wanted to create a submarine for regular people, so to speak, and was given the opportunity some twenty years later. The first model from U-Boat Worx was a single-seater, but the market showed more interest in subs with more space, so our focus shifted to vessels that could hold 2-3 people.
James: Back this summer, we reported on the C-Quester 3 model. How have things been moving along since?
Erik: The summer went on as planned, working on finalizing the classification from Germanischer Lloyd. The submarines went through rigorous testing and operation, a great experience overall. It also served as a great showcase for our prospective buyers and people generally interested in submarines. The summer season concluded with the late-September Monaco Yacht Show. The visitors of the event actually got to go for a dive in the subs, albeit within the harbor.
James: So, who is your customer exactly? Specialty toys like these must have a pretty narrow fan base.
Erik: Well, we don’t exactly advertise in the local paper. By focusing on high-end marketing, such as the Monaco Yacht Show, we’re reaching out to our targeted customers which are primarily adventurous yacht owners. The idea is to own a yacht and have a submarine on the deck, available for use whenever you want, wherever you are in the world. Quite frankly, considering the products that we make, there’s a lot of free publicity, too. Yacht companies are a dime a dozen, but people seem to want to know more about personal submarines.
We’re also focusing on the tourism. The 3-seater was after all conceived as something aimed at the tourist segment of the market with its ability to sustain continuous dives day after day. In fact, we have one submarine currently on its way to an operation like that in the Caribbean.
James: What does the future look like for U-Boat Worx?
Erik: Like always, we’re working on expanding the production of submarines, both in higher numbers and deeper levels of submersion. In early 2010 we’re bringing out the new two-seater C-Quester 2.
Thanks to Erik for his time!
Here is a great video of the subs in action, and you can see more details and photos of the c-quester 2 and c-quester 3 on the U-Boat Works page on JamesList
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