Triton has taken the innovative stretch bubble pressure in a new direction with its latest luxury scuba design. Project Hercules offers a very private and intimate experience for two, with the pilot in the back.
Created in collaboration with Dark Ocean Design and yacht builder Espen Oeino, Project Hercules uses the same flattened acrylic compression bubble designed to accommodate up to nine people in the 660/9 submarine we wrote about last year.
Here, however, the bubble protrudes from the hull of the submarine—the main goal is not so much to offer underwater views to the majority but to offer unparalleled panoramic experiences to fewer people. Really, depending on the interior, only two.
Not only that, the Triton is happy to shove your poor pilot right in the back, controlled by subtitle screens or a VR headset, separated from the action up front by “two internal bulkheads with a day head and a mini-bar between them.” Yes, because the pilot has no idea what is going on in the main bubble.
A nod is as good as a wink to a blind bat, right? Huh? Too many luxury submarines seem to assume that the marine environment is fun. Well, not that. In the right company, you can really show the fish when you power into the deep at speeds of up to 8 knots.
As a result of extreme tracking, Triton has limited the maximum depth to just 200 meters (656 feet), so technically you join the shallow club of just an eighth of a mile. It is certainly popular; it is able to go up to 10 hours of endurance, although that seems a dangerous expectation.
Is dust enough? Surely the interesting-looking expansion platform ahead must serve some exciting scientific purpose. Well, apparently it helps balance the horizontal trim and can be used as fenders, not that any of the other Triton’s side gear seems to need such equipment. Oh, and it also has an integrated high-definition camera that points back into the cabin.
According to a press release, Project Hercules, a collaboration between luxury yacht designers, an underwater design and engineering studio, and civilian submarine manufacturers, is now close to reality and will transform people’s experiences and engagement with the underwater environment. The team unveiled models of their luxury submarine at the recently concluded Monaco Yacht Show.
However, this year’s Monaco Marina showed how electric mobility can also increase luxury at sea. Project Hercules takes underwater luxury to the next level with this submarine.
What does Project Hercules offer?
The submarine developed offers a remarkable “private diving” concept, where the pilot and passengers are separated into two compartments by internal partitions, like an airplane. Inside the passenger compartment, there is a large sofa-bed and a mini-bar with a luxurious interior.
The cockpit can be slid forward when diving or cruising in the water, but can also be moved back to give guests privacy when gliding between sharks or flying past reef walls.
While the idea sounds great, the real challenge is making it happen in the real world. It was relatively easy for Jules Verne to write about a submarine in the late 19th century, but it took more than 150 years of engineering to make it happen.
Earlier this week, $25 million superyacht that can submerge at will and stay there for up to four days. Hercules also uses the engineering expertise of the respective design studio, Dark Ocean Design (DOD), to make the luxury submersible possible.
The DOD has a patent for an elliptical Advanced Versatile Acrylics (AVA) airframe designed to carry nine people. Fulfilling luxuries is a bit easier when the design offers more space.
In addition, the team plans to use four large thrusters that provide a swimming or gliding experience inside the submarine, rather than operating in a vertical plane like conventional submarines. Project Hercules is designed to travel at a speed of eight knots (just over nine miles per hour), twice the speed of most current submarines.
