Sea scooters are just plain fun. Diving and zipping through the water like a dolphin is the stuff of pure swimming, scuba-diving and snorkeling joy. On the flip side, though, some of the most popular scooters aboard superyachts can be almost 4 feet long and weigh around 70 pounds. Stowing them becomes a space-crunching chore, especially if there are already personal watercraft, tenders, kayaks, fishing gear, inflatable toys and paddleboards vying for room in the lazarette.
For boaters who want their underwater fun to come in a smaller, more manageable package, China-based Geneinno makes the S2 sea scooter ($399). It’s a follow-up model to the Trident—now called the S1—model that Geneinno introduced in 2018. The S2 model is designed to be lighter, smaller and completely portable, weighing 5.9 pounds with a width of 19 inches. It not only should fit in the yacht’s lazarette, but it also can be loaded onto the tender for beach days and other excursions. Kids can even grab it and go if they’re hanging with friends for the day aboard another boat.
According to Geneinno, the scooter can take riders to a maximum depth of 98 feet, and it has a top speed just shy of 2.4 knots. That’s of course slower than bigger competing models, which have more power and can top 8 knots, but it’s still fast enough to have a good time in exchange for gaining portability.
The scooter takes about an hour and a half to fully charge, and then it reportedly runs for a maximum of 45 minutes; an extra power bank is optional for fast switch-outs at the yacht’s swim platform. The scooter is rated to work in water temperatures from 50 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and the company says the lithium-polymer battery is safe to take on airplanes, so the toy can be brought along in a carry-on bag, in accordance with federal rules.
For underwater photographers and videographers, the S2 has a mount that is sized to hold a GoPro camera. That same mount can be used to attach an external light to the scooter, for anyone snorkeling in caves or other spaces where illumination might enhance the experience.
Kid-Safe App
The compatible app for the Geneinno S2 sea scooter monitors depth, speed, distance and battery life, with all the information in a shareable format. The app also has a feature that lets adults control the scooter from a smartphone while kids, say, learn to swim in shallow water.
