New submarine launched in harbor

The Ocean Pearl was launched last Thursday for tests in the underwater Redondo Canyon. Photo

The two German-born Canadian brothers who are attempting to launch an entire new industry – General Hydrospace – returned to Redondo Beach waters last Thursday to test their newest submarine.

The Ocean Pearl, the ninth sub built by Will and Charlie Kohnen and their company, SEAmagine Hydrospace Corporation, is much like the machine they tested here two years ago. The difference, according to Charlie, can be summed up thusly: “faster, deeper, and more toys.”

SEAmagine intends to open up the ocean’s depths to more of the general populace by making submarines that are more affordable. The newest model isn’t exactly cheap, but at $1.5 million it delivers more bang for the buck than any machine remotely like it. Most submersibles with similar capabilities – though only a handful of such vessels exist in the world – cost roughly four times as much. SEAmagine also builds models that cost $500,000.

A new propulsion system on board the new Ocean Pearl will make it significantly faster than previous models above the surface, but the biggest difference is its 1,100 ft. dive rating; the previous model that was tested in Redondo had only a 300 ft. dive rating.

Among the new toys is a small Remotely Operated Vessel (ROV) that launches and is controlled from the Ocean Pearl itself. The ROV has two functions: it is equipped with a high definition camera that allows the sub to film itself and reach nooks and crannies and angles otherwise unavailable, and it possesses cutters and grabbers that can help detangle the submarine.

Charlie Kohnen said the submarine will be state-of-the-art for filmmakers and adventurers alike. Between the camera and acrylic spherical cabin, the submarine reinvents underwater visibility.

“For actual discovery, it’s unbeatable,” he said.

The owner of the newest Ocean Pearl vessel was on hand to test it out. The sub is Australian Mike Caplehorn’s second SEAmagine submarine, and his intentions for its use are in line with the company’s vision for the future. When somebody from a crowd of onlookers who’d gathered to watch the sub’s launch from the boat hoist asked Caplehorn what he planned on using it for, he replied good-naturedly: “Whatever I feel like having a crack at!”

When somebody else asked a question regarding industry standards for submarines, Caplehorn stopped him in midsentence. “This is the standard,” he said, waving his hand towards the sub. “These are the best subs in the world.”

Charlie Kohnen said that SEAmagine had weathered the recent financial downturn reasonably well. The company, which is based in Claremont and was launched 15 years ago, is resolute in its intentions to open up hydrospace to more people.

“Hydrospace as an industry is part of a future that is coming, and it should be no less technologically broad than aerospace,” Will Kohnen said in an Easy Reader cover story in 2007. “The applications are endless. I mean, where is recreational hydrospace? Where is civil hydrospace? There is no general hydrospace. You’ve got to be kidding me, that in the next 100 years that stays blank. There is just no way. It defies any sense of logical deduction.”

His brother said that they plan to keep testing their vessels in Redondo waters.

“Because people are nicer here,” Charlie said. “It’s true. Other places, people are kind of aloof…Here, everybody offers to help you. It’s like a village.” ER

To learn more about SEAmagine, see the 2007 cover story (https://easyreadernews.com/news/redondo-beach/club-sub) or see www.seaimagine.com

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