The right toys can be the difference between a sedentary day staring at the water and experiencing every facet of it. Take the Triton 1650/3 above, for instance. This submersible can head 1,650 feet beneath the surface for a day of adventure you will never forget. Our twelve other favorites below will let you ride over the water, on top of it, and under it—guaranteeing a day of extreme fun. The Fourth of July weekend is just days away, so it’s time to get prepared with this stylish dozen.
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Seabob F5 SR With Selfie Camera
Image Credit: Courtesy Seabob Hang on, this ride’s going to get wild. With Seabob‘s newest high-powered F5 SR underwater scooter, you can enjoy zero-emissions fun at speeds of up to 13 mph under water. Plus, now you can film yourself having fun; not only is there a full HD camera pointing forward, but a second, rear-facing camera to capture selfie-style videos. And all recordings can be sent to your smartphone from the Seabob’s onboard hard drive. From about $18,000.
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Quadrofoil Q2S
Image Credit: Courtesy of Quadrofoil Imagine a jet-ski that flies: That’s the Q2S from Slovenia-based foiling electric boatbuilder Quadrofoil. The foiling tandem two-seater is powered by a Torqeedo-style 5.5-kW electric outboard that’s juiced by a pair of 5.2-kWh batteries. Punch the throttle and the Q2S will leap up on its four foils in less than 16 feet, and top out at around 25 mph. And it’s cheap to run, with Quadrofoil claiming average running costs of below $1 an hour. From $36,000.
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Hammacher Schlemmer Transparent Kayak
Image Credit: Courtesy Hammacher Schlemmer If you love glass-bottom boats, you can paddle your very own with this two-person, see-through canoe-kayak being offered by luxe-goods purveyor, Hammacher Schlemmer. Made of quarter-inch-thick Lexan—the same stuff used for fighter jet canopies—the 11-footer is perfect for gazing at the beautiful marine life circling below. Weighing just 48 pounds, it’s easy to throw in a pickup bed or on a car-roof rack. From $2,600.
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Scubacraft SC3
Image Credit: Courtesy Scubacraft If this sunshine-yellow Scubacraft SC3 looks like it should be an extra from a James Bond movie, that’s exactly what it was. For a brief second or two it appeared in the 2015 “007” romp “Spectre,” parked in Q’s underground workshop. Part speedboat, part open-cockpit submersible, it has the ability to zoom across water at 50 mph, courtesy of its 160-hp jet-ski engine, then submerge 100 feet below the waves. Here a quartet of electric thrusters will move you along at 4 mph. To enjoy it, you’ll need full scuba gear. From $200,000.
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Hammacher Schlemmer Flying Hovercraft
Image Credit: Courtesy Hammacher Schlemmer This super-cool vehicle is a unique craft that not only hovers but flies. The three-seater from Hammacher Schlemmer is powered by a 130 hp turbo’d twin-cylinder gas engine that can push it at 70 mph for around 160 miles while soaring up to 20 feet off the ground. In hovercraft-mode, it can scoot over land-based obstacles up to 20 inches high, though it’s happiest hovering across water. It can take plenty of knocks with its composite fiberglass hull and Kevlar landing skids. $190,000.
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Yamaha 255 FSH Sport E
Image Credit: Courtesy Yamaha Marine Group Propellers on family center-console fishing boats can be nasty things. Which makes Yamaha‘s 255 FSH Sport E’s 255 FSH Sport E latest 25-foot 255 FSH Sport E sport boat all the more appealing. It’s prop-free. Powered by twin 250-hp Yamaha inboards hooked up to water jets, there are no spinning blades to worry about. The water jet also reduces the boat’s draft to just 22 inches—perfect for cruising skinny water or running up on to a sandy beach. From $87,500.
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Brownie’s BLU3 Portable Tankless Scuba Kit
Image Credit: Courtesy Brownie's Marine Scuba diving is fun; less so is the part where you have to strap a bulky, heavy air tank on your back. Brownie’s Marine Group has come up with a completely portable system that lets divers ditch the tank, replacing it with an air compressor that floats on the surface and pumps air through a 30-foot hose to the diver’s mask. The airline-friendly compressor and battery weigh just 15 lbs. and allow up to an hour of dive time. From $1,999.
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Fliteboard AIR
Image Credit: Courtesy Fliteboard Electric-powered hydrofoils are a blast. How cool is it to “fly” above the waves on a foiling surfboard? But perfecting the e-foiling technique isn’t easy. Which is why the inflatable AIR from Australian eFoil leader Fliteboard, makes sense. Being lower to the water gives you and the board extra stability, and its extra width is said to make it 50 percent more stable. Being inflatable, it packs down for easy transportation. From $12,595.
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Olympus Tough Waterproof Camera
Image Credit: Courtesy Olympus It’s waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, crushproof, and even frostproof. Oh, and it takes great photos and Ultra HD 4K cinema-quality video. This is the new Olympus Tough TG-6, arguably the ultimate point-and-shoot camera for capturing your best Jacques Cousteau snorkeling moments. And when you want to get up close and personal to that pouting Parrot Fish, the TG-6 has four macro modes that let you shoot less than half an inch away from the end of the lens. From $450.
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Triton DeepView 24 Submarine
Image Credit: Courtesy Triton When your two-person submarine just isn’t quite big enough to share your aquatic adventures with friends and family, Florida-based submersible specialists Triton Submarines, will happily build you one of its new DeepView 24s. The 50-foot-long sub is capable of carrying up to 24, plus pilot and co-pilot, to the murky depths of 328 feet in air-conditioned comfort. As guests gaze out through 5.5-inch-thick acrylic windows, a 240-kWh battery pack gives up to 14 hours of subterranean sightseeing. From around $8 million.
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The Hot Tub Boat
Image Credit: Courtesy Hot Tub Boats Think of it as soakin’ while floatin’. Seattle-based Hot Tub Boats builds these electric runabouts that come complete with a built-in hot tub. An integrated diesel-fueled boiler keeps the water at a toasty 104 F while a 24-volt electric motor pushes the boat along at a leisurely whisper-quiet 5 mph. The salty-looking, hand-built craft measures 16 feet bow to stern, with the tub stretching 8 feet—enough to accommodate six adult soakers. Pricing is on request, though you can try before you buy on Seattle’s Lake Union for $400 for two hours.
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Taiga Orca Electric PWC
Image Credit: Courtesy Taiga Electric Personal watercraft have long been associated with obnoxious noise levels, sloshing gasoline fill-ups and so-so reliability. Enter the all-electric Orca from Canadian builder Taiga Motors. With its silky-smooth 135kW/180-hp electric motor spinning a jet drive, it can blast across the water for over 30 miles at 64 mph. A full re-charge takes around 3.5 hours on a Level 3 charger. The base Sport model stickers for $17,490, though the latest Carbon version, with its lightweight carbon-fiber hull, is the one to get. From $26,500.
