Sub Marine Explorer

Hull of the Sub Marine Explorer in Panama's Pearl Islands
History
NameSub Marine Explorer
BuilderJulius H. Kroehl and Ariel Patterson
Laid down1863
Launched1865
Acquired1865
In service1866
Out of service1869
FateAbandoned
General characteristics
Displacement80 tons
Length12.0 m (39.4 ft)
Beam3.3 m (11 ft)
Propulsionsingle propeller
Speed4 knots (7.4 km/h; 4.6 mph)
Complement3 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.