(01-10-10) Javier Sánchez and Francisco Angulo have developed and patented the “Nautilus Kit”. With Rafael Lázaro they work to get the commercialization of this easy and practical invention that may revolutionise the world of diving. Diving without tank and no time limit has become true. We only need the “Nautilus” and some sun...

    Both Javier and I are great diving enthusiasts since we were children. Our beginnings, as many others’, were with snorkel and in a swimming pool… Later on, when we grew up, began to swim in rivers and swamps. There is no sea where we were born; it is far from home.

    About 14 years ago Javier phoned me to tell me that he had begun to study in a dive school. I accompany him for his first dive with tank in the sea waters. I remember us being so excited about it that, when we get the beach, we dressed the dive suit and staid some hours diving with nothing but lungs.

    We felt euphoric, we had begun in a swamp and now we had the huge blue for us. That weekend, when I came back home, counted my savings and searched a dive center where getting a title. Some time later Javier and I had our licenses but saw many obstacles that didn’t let us practice this activity.

    Buying full equipment was too expensive for us, there were also problems with reloading our tanks, and finally problems about the places we could access to dive. We rented an equipment some times and dive in the Lagunas de Ruidera (Spain). It was the most similar place to the Caribbean Sea we could afford. Although most of the times the budget was so poor that we could not rent anything and had to dive with snorkel.

AN IDEA BORN AS A RESULT OF A NECESITY

    As we were facing these problems we began to develop the first Nautilus Kit prototype. As everybody, we knew that before the invention of tanks compressors were used. We began to investigate about them and to make some tests with different electric compressors, although it was not easy at all. We had to test thousands of times until we developed our prototype.

    The Nautilus Kit is an electric compressor loaded through solar a panel located on a kind of floating buoy that looks like a suitcase so that it can be easily carried. The equipment is hermetic and the compressor takes the air from the surface through a pipe preventing water from entering inside when there is rough sea or it is raining.

    Inside, there is an ultra modern compressor that can allow a flow of 9,600 litters per hour, enough air to allow three people to breathe normally. It is powerful enough for diving at 60 – 70 m deep, but the commercial version is limited to 10 – 12, preventing the decompression problems and that someone not experienced can use it only with basic knowledge.

    The solar panel has been developed by the Spanish company A.T.H.E.S, by Antonio Pasalodos, because we needed a panel with some specific characteristics that did not exit. The panel produces 40% more energy by square meter that any other existing and it is also semi flexible and fluent inside a Lexan panel, which makes it be fully waterproof.

    The innovation in this kina of solar cells, along with the development of new electric compressors, has made a new concept of diving possible, since there is no need to reload bottles, nor plugging the compressor. The Nautilus kit lets the diver stay underwater indefinitely, on the condition that there is sun.

    Besides, the equipment has some accumulators integrated that allow it to work over 1 hour with no solar light. It has a 2nd period regulator “Octopus” conventional and a flexible spiral hose that makes the Nautilus float over the diver.

    Apart from serve as buoy, it let us dive among barriers such as columns, trees, etc. The diver is not tied to any thing rigid to the equipment, so he does not feel its movement caused by waves. It incorporates an active carbon filter that purifies the air on the surface. It has an air tank that keeps a minimum safety pressure always.

TESTING THE NAUTILUS

    We go down, take the Nautilus out of the boot of our car, extend its telescopic handle and carry it over its wheels to the beachside. As it is a sunny summer day the water is very good and we decide not to use neoprene. We connect the hose of the regulator to the connector, put on our fins and the mask and take the equipment among our arms.

    The beach of the Arenillas in Cantabria (Spain) is a place visited by surfers and the waves break quite strongly against the sand. We walk backwards until the water reaches our waists and leave the device on the water. Despite the fact that there are heavy waves, the device stays perfectly well on the surface. We put the regulator in the mouth and dive offshore.

    The feeling when using it is surprising. We breathe perfectly well, as if we had the tank on our backs, but soon we feel the difference of diving without it. We could move perfectly, as well as diving with snorkel. It is awesome but we don’t feel that we are dragging the Nautilus on the surface or that it is fighting against the waves.

    We also realize that, as we are not carrying any load, just a pair of lead pellets, we don’t need jacket, we can stay at the desired depth with no problems. Javier makes some tests to check how it moves underwater and I see him moving in front of me freely. We go down to ten meters depth, which is the length of the hose we are using and keep breathing perfectly well. We forget the Nautilus in the surface and it is which provides us with air.

    After one hour and having pursued many fish at high speed, we begin to feel cold and tired and decide to go out. The test has succeeded and that afternoon, after eating a sandwich, we dive again. Since we made the first prototypes we have dived hundreds of times with no cost, apart from the price of the equipment itself.

    Javier Sánchez and the author of this text have developed and patented the Nautilus. With Rafael Lázaro we work to commercialize it as soon as possible. We hope the Nautilus Kit can be commercialized soon and that its price is the most economic as possible.

    We want to have a version of it with solar panel for the public costing about 500€, and another version, cheaper, reloaded through the car lighter, costing about 300€. This way none can say that is not diving because he cannot afford enough money to buy the equipment.

Nautilus Kit advantages compared to other dive systems

    -It is hermetic and can be used in the rain. Other compressors systems cannot.

    -It can be used among narrow barriers such as trees, columns, etc.

    -It does not need preparation; it is always ready to be used.

    -One single person can transport it easily.

    -It can be used in case of rough sea and adverse conditions.

    -It allows moving freely; the diver is not carrying weight and does not need Jacket to move fast underwater.

    -It does not use fuels when reloading, so it can be used in protected areas, natural parks, etc.

    -With the correspondent solar panel, it can be used indefinitely. Tank systems last only 20 to 60 minutes each time they are reloaded.

    -It can be carried in the boot of any car.

    -Accessories can be connected. As we have a power supply we can connect accessories such as torches, hidro-scuter, tools for underwater works, etc.

    -It is very resistant and does not need maintenance.

    -The most similar thing to Nautilus Kit is a petrol compressor that costs about 2,000 €. The Nautilus will cost about 500 € or maybe less than that.

 

Text: Francisco Angulo