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 Hull of the Sub Marine Explorer in Panama's Pearl Islands
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sub Marine Explorer |
| Builder | Julius H. Kroehl and Ariel Patterson |
| Laid down | 1863 |
| Launched | 1865 |
| Acquired | 1865 |
| In service | 1866 |
| Out of service | 1869 |
| Fate | Abandoned |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 80 tons |
| Length | 12.0 m (39.4 ft) |
| Beam | 3.3 m (11 ft) |
| Propulsion | single propeller |
| Speed | 4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph) |
| Complement | 3 to 6 |
Sub Marine Explorer is a submersible built between 1863 and 1866 by Julius H. Kroehl and Ariel Patterson in Brooklyn, New York for the Pacific Pearl Company. It was hand powered and had an interconnected system of a high-pressure air chamber or compartment, a pressurized working chamber for the crew, and water ballast tanks. Problems with decompression sickness and overfishing of the pearl beds led to the abandonment of Sub Marine Explorer in Panama in 1869 despite publicized plans to shift the craft to the pearl beds of Baja California.