Diving  is a  potentially  hazardous  activity.  The materials  contained within  this  magazine  are for informational purposes only and are not intended as a substitute for proper and appropriate training.

Modifying an Apollo Scooter

I have owned an Apollo scooter for yonks; more years than I care to remember. But for many of these years it lay in the corner unused. And the problem... dangly bits. When the scooters' first came out we divers dressed, and equipped ourselves, in a much simpler fashion so riding an Apollo, where the body is placed directly above the scooter due to the grab handle placement at the front, meant there were fewer dangly bits to find their way into the propeller. Even so the occasional contents gauge got in and jammed, which was very annoying at least and damaging at worst.

With the techo revolution and the addition of a lot more bits of equipment dangerously dangling, the scooters became quite impractical. Sure, there has  been a swing back to scooter use, especially in cave exploration and deep wreck work, but these newer units have reverted to the style of the original Farrallon types used in the '70s where the grab handles are positioned at the after end. Not withstanding the funny handle placement, we had a lot of fun with our Apollos. I remember making a wreck diving film up in PNG, for the East New Britain tourist board, in Rabaul harbour in the pre volcano days. There, before the eruptions of 1994 obliterated a set of Japanese wartime wrecks which were the equivalent of Truk Lagoon, we cavorted on the deeper wrecks with our Apollos, flying through the sampson posts on the Hakkai Maru for example and where, on one occasion when I was motoring along the rail of the ship, perhaps five metres off, I became aware of a good sized

See how the cable is routed.

marlin, another five metres off, pacing me the length of the ship and eyeing me with the same curiosity I was showing him. The film, in which I "starred" was, I believe, frequently used as a filler on the PNG TV station and a local told me I got to be quite well known. But, down here in Sydney, the notoriety quite passed by me unnoticed. Ah, how fickle is fame!

Anyway, back to basics. One of my diving mates recently bought an Apollo scooter from a deceased estate, and because he's a deeper-deep wreck diver, played around with a modification that involved a bit of string. Intrigued, I hauled my scooter out of the cobwebs, bought a new battery and set about improving on his idea. The set up was thus:

1. From the local boating shop I bought some fine stainless cable and a couple of crimp fittings.

2. Carefully digging out the cover buttons on the two stainless screws which secured the right hand control handle, I drilled a clearance hole (for the cable) in the on-off switch... the red bit.

3. I then followed up with a series of in-line holes through the partitions in the handle base with the final hole exiting the handle at its bottom end.

On-off-switch crimp

4. Carefully threading the cable through and out the control switch, I crimped the end so it couldn't retract.

5. It was then a simple job to put another hole through the propeller shroud as a cable guide, thread the cable through a section of plastic handle lengthwise to form a finger- pull and crimp the cable back on itself. 6.The job finished off with a couple of stainless-steel drawer handles, from Hardware House, fixed with stainless-steel bolts to the shroud. Now I can drive and steer the scooter from its back end and the only thing I have to avoid is propeller wash directly onto my mask. Easily done and it works great. The return spring on the control button is strong enough to return the cable to the off position when the finger-pull is released.  I have used the newly modified Apollo recently on both the Annie Miller and the Myola wrecks and it's a delight. On the latter, it was a doddle to cruise from the prop at the stern right up to the bow hawse and back for the expenditure of bugger-all gas. Real lazy man diving.

Note how cable feeds through.

Born in New Zealand, Peter Fields began diving in 1961 with the inverted twin-cylinder, 'Porpoise', single hose regulator set.   Certified as a CMAS Instructor in 1969, he co-founded New Zealand's first, 'pay for tuition' dive school and worked as a commercial diver and partner in Diving Services NZ Ltd, during the early 'seventies, before joining two companions in a sailing voyage to the Southern Ocean and South America, searching for, and diving, shipwrecks.  Moving to Australia in 1978, he managed the Moray-Dacor distributorship before establishing his own company, Fields Henry Pty Ltd, in 1981.  The sole Australian distributor for Scubapro through until 1990, he subsequently became a partner in Pacific Commercial Diving Supply; equipment supplier to the Commercial and Military.   Co-discoverer, (with John Riley) of Sydney's last big shipwreck, the 'Myola', missing since 1919.  He still searches for other minor wrecks on a regular weekly basis and is, he says twinkingly, "burdened with a collection of old friends."