Us
Print
E-mail
Rate
Hyper sub hysteria
 |
| Reynolds Marion's hyper sub invention, the boat that also is a submarine, will be on public display on Saturday in Lake Butler. JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter |
It's a boat! It's a submarine! It's on public display this weekend
By MICHAEL MITSEFF
mmitseff@lakecityreporter.com
LAKE BUTLER — Lake City resident Reynolds Marion, inventor and designer of the Marion Hyper Sub, a one-of-a-kind hyper-submersible combination power boat (HSPB), returned recently from a visit with Special Operations Command (SOCOM) in Tampa and Special Warfare Command (SPECWAR) located in Coronado, Calif., just across the bay from San Diego.
“What was different about this visit was that the members of the Special Warfare Command are end users,” Marion said. “We were talking directly to Navy Seals and Riverrines.
“What an elite group of guys we met there. We were honored to be speaking to them because they definitely get it. They understand the capabilities of the hyper sub,” Marion said.
Marion said three members of his management team made the trip to Tampa and California with him.
“Vice Admiral Jim Amerault, retired; Dave Smith, our chief financial officer; and our attorney Russell Wade and I met with the military to discuss the recent successful test dives of the hyper sub,” Marion said.
“Amerault used to head up the entire budget for the U.S. Navy.”
Marion said that SPECWAR acknowledged that they have operational and capability gaps.
“They basically told me that there is nothing else like it and that it is a technology that they need in their inventory now.
“In my opinion, we should see the military begin to move to support what we are doing within a few months,” Marion said.
He said that talks with the military have taken an encouraging turn.
“They have it to the point where they are debating amongst themselves whether the hyper sub would be applied to their submersible operations or their surface craft operations,” Marion said.
Marion and his team have accomplished more than 21 test dives since the team’s first history-making dive was successfully completed on Nov. 13.
“We’re going to bring the boat back to the shop Friday and then put it on display at Sprinkler’s Field in Lake Butler, Saturday from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. The field is located at the intersection of State Road 121 and County Road 231.”
Marion said the boat, as it’s configured now, could probably dive to 200 feet, but for testing purposes, they have dived to only 30 feet.
“We have more than 40 man hours submerged now.
“After Saturday, we’ll put the boat in the shop and do a bow modification to see how much more speed we can get on the surface,” Marion said. He said he and his team were pleased with the development’s
success.
“What was different about this visit was that the members of the Special Warfare Command are end users,” Marion said. “We were talking directly to Navy Seals and Riverrines.
“What an elite group of guys we met there. We were honored to be speaking to them because they definitely get it. They understand the capabilities of the hyper sub,” Marion said.
Marion said three members of his management team made the trip to Tampa and California with him.
“Vice Admiral Jim Amerault, retired; Dave Smith, our chief financial officer; and our attorney Russell Wade and I met with the military to discuss the recent successful test dives of the hyper sub,” Marion said.
“Amerault used to head up the entire budget for the U.S. Navy.”
Marion said that SPECWAR acknowledged that they have operational and capability gaps.
“They basically told me that there is nothing else like it and that it is a technology that they need in their inventory now.
“In my opinion, we should see the military begin to move to support what we are doing within a few months,” Marion said.
He said that talks with the military have taken an encouraging turn.
“They have it to the point where they are debating amongst themselves whether the hyper sub would be applied to their submersible operations or their surface craft operations,” Marion said.
Marion and his team have accomplished more than 21 test dives since the team’s first history-making dive was successfully completed on Nov. 13.
“We’re going to bring the boat back to the shop Friday and then put it on display at Sprinkler’s Field in Lake Butler, Saturday from 9 a.m. to about 4 p.m. The field is located at the intersection of State Road 121 and County Road 231.”
Marion said the boat, as it’s configured now, could probably dive to 200 feet, but for testing purposes, they have dived to only 30 feet.
“We have more than 40 man hours submerged now.
“After Saturday, we’ll put the boat in the shop and do a bow modification to see how much more speed we can get on the surface,” Marion said. He said he and his team were pleased with the development’s
success.
 |
||
| Iowa takes center stage |
BillyPal wrote on Jan 2, 2008 10:46 PM: