Backyard sub builder - Karl Stanley

Karl Stanley built his first submarine at age 15 and eventually turned his passion into a deep diving tourist operation in Roatán, Honduras.   And I mean deep diving: depths of 2000 feet in his latest submersible, Idabel.  This makes his operation one of apparently just two in the world (Grand Cayman has a 1000' deep ride) that regularly takes passengers on deep dives. $500 for a 2-hour, 2-person tour is what he quotes on his website.

Karl has designed and built two deep diving submersibles, CBUG and Idabel, and has used both as passenger vessels in Roatán.  CBUG carries the pilot and one passenger and is an underwater glider which uses negative and positive buoyancy to glide forward while ascending or descending.  Idabel is his newer, more conventional three person submersible which has already been below 2000 feet and made over 210 dives.  Both boats look impressive and well-built (Judging from photos.  Sadly I haven't been down for a ride yet).

Karl's website:  www.stanleysubmarines.com

and on Forbes.com: Run Silent, Run Cheap 

Finally here's a description of a dive with Karl aboard CBUG:
www.deeperblue.net/article.php/136/15/0

Idabel Near Surface

Idabel - Hoisted Out