A fun and low-cost electric underwater sea scooter: Testing the Outdoor Master Marlin
Wouldn’t it be great if you could experience the joys of life “under the sea” even without being as adept an underwater swimmer as Ariel or her mermaid compatriots? That’s exactly what the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter Marlin does for you.
Every summer recently I’ve been fortunate enough to get the chance to try out some new form of electric watersport gadget. Sometimes I’m flying through the air on an electric hydrofoil board. Sometimes I’m skimming the surface on an electric surfboard. And sometimes I’m being dragged along by a semisubmersible personal electric tugboat.
Somehow I managed to fit all three of those into this summer (aided by the fact that summer doesn’t really end in Florida until mid-November), turning it into the trifecta of water toys. And the final piece of the puzzle to make that happen was the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter, which is an electrically powered personal water vehicle design to tow your uncoordinated butt around the water with the elegance of a robotic dolphin.
Check it out in my video below where I explore the reefs and become one with the fishes, tricking them into thinking I’m one of their own on account of my new electronic enhancement. Then keep reading for all the wet and juicy details on this odd little undersea gadget.
Sea scooter video review
Scootin’ on (and under) the water
When I first walked into the water, electric salad spinner in hand, I expected to be able to get my butt dragged along the surface just like that electric boogie board I tested last summer.
But as it turns out, the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter Marlin is a bit like a freshmen poetry class – it works better the deeper you go.
The surface treatment was a bit underwhelming, as if your friend was holding your hand and just sort of tugging you along at a couple of miles an hour. But as soon as your point your double-barreled food processor downwards and take in a big gulp of air (not in that order), the magic of a sea scooter comes alive.
Under the surface, the devices feels much faster than its true 3.4 mph (5.4 km/h) top speed. As you spin and bend your body, it steers and pulls you along behind it. It’s like the nose of a dolphin and you’re the rest.
The anemic performance on the surface is somehow greatly magnified underwater once the propellors can stop sucking in a bubbly mixture and instead start throwing heavy water backwards.
There are two triggers to control the motors, one on each handle. You have to pull both at the same time to work the device, meaning you also have to keep both hands in place.
Once you pull in both triggers simultaneously like two NORAD officers each turning their launch keys, the motors spring to life and you get that instant “well this is what a fish must feel like” sensation.
You’re zipping through the water as if you were an elegant swimmer, except that it takes almost no exertion. You’re free to just enjoy the sea life and sandy bottom around you instead of huffing and puffing as you quickly burn through your lungful of oxygen.
There are three power levels that can be accessed by double tapping on the right trigger to increase power or the left trigger to decrease power.
While the instructions say that you’re supposed to keep both triggers held down to keep the motors spinning, I found that once you’re going for a few seconds, you can actually release one trigger and the motors will stay on.
If it’s the left trigger though, that action will be interpreted as a “downshift” and you’ll be zipping around in gear two instead of three.
If you release the right trigger and keep holding on with your left hand, you can stay in top gear while operating the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter one handed.
For power, there’s a cute little power drill-style battery that is removable. Theoretically you could have a few batteries to swap in as the power runs down, which I’d actually recommend.
The full power run time of the Sea Scooter isn’t impressive, at close to 12 minutes. I let my nephews play with it and didn’t explain how to change gears, meaning they got around 30 minutes of action in low gear.
It was still fun for them, but that’s because they didn’t know that more speed was an option. Once you know there are higher power levels, the lower power levels aren’t quite as fun.
But then again, if your goal is to check out pretty coral reefs and enjoy the sights down there, going fast might not be a priority. In that case, 30 minutes of run time in low power mode doesn’t seem so bad, especially when your main goal is to actually take in what is around you instead of blowing past it quickly.
In fact, it’d be fun to combine with one of those cheap mini-SCUBA kits with the little tank containing 10 minutes of air. You could scoot around a reef or other snorkeling area without even having to bob to the surface. Plus you wouldn’t get exhausted from holding your breath for as long as possible to avoid having to dive back down.
Another thing to keep in mind is that after 30 minutes, you’re going to be fairly spent. This isn’t a low-effort activity, even if it seems like it. You’re not exactly playing a passive role back there. It’s more than just getting dragged around the sandy bottom like a fish that never learned to swim.
You’re constantly steering with your body movements, and just holding on uses some decent hand and arm strength after a while. Plus if you’re like me, you’re holding your breath for as long as possible because you’re having so much fun that you don’t want to keep coming up for air.
After draining a full battery I was surprisingly tired, both from exertion and breath holding.
So after a 30-minute session, you’re going to be fairly exhausted anyways.
Many of these electric watersport gadgets are surprisingly expensive, often costing several thousand dollars. But for a current sale price of $299 for the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter Marlin, you get an experience that you really wouldn’t have any other way.
As just a toy, it’s slightly pricey but not nearly as much as some other electric sea scooters we’ve tried.
But if your goal is to go places you couldn’t normally go, stay down for longer to explore things that you normally couldn’t see for very long, or just for feeling like a dolphin for a day, then the Outdoor Master Sea Scooter will get you there. It feels well built, well balanced, and works well to boot.
And it was a great cap to my summer of electric watersports testing!
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A Tesla Model S has caught fire while charging at a Supercharger station in France. Tesla is investigating the issue, and the station is temporarily closed.
Sunday night, a fire was reported at the Tesla Supercharger station in Pontarlier, a small community in France near the border with Switzerland.
The firefighters were called, and they were able to extinguish the fire, which appeared to have originated from a Model S that was plugged into the Supercharger.
The car was supervised until this morning to ensure it didn’t reignite.
The local newspaper L’Est Republicain shared a picture of the aftermath, which shows the Tesla Model S is a total loss:
According to the local paper, Tesla sent a technician from Lyon to investigate the issue (translated from French):
A Tesla technician came from Lyon during the night to investigate the causes of the fire. The investigation is still ongoing.
Electric vehicle batteries can sometimes catch on fire, but statistically, they don’t catch on fire at a higher rate than fossil fuel-powered vehicles.
Like with fossil fuel-powered vehicle fires, most EV fires occur after a significant crash. However, it can happen that a vehicle catches on fire by itself. In those cases, it’s important to investigate and make sure to track down the cause of the fire in order to make EVs safer.
For example, this is what happened with the Chevy Bolt EV battery recall.
Last week, we also reported on a Cybertruck that caught fire while parked at a Tesla lot in Atlanta.
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![Ferrari's first EV spotted out in the wild teasing a bold new design [Video]](https://i0.wp.com/electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/Ferraris-first-EV.jpeg?resize=1200,628&quality=82&strip=all&ssl=1)
The first all-electric Ferrari is expected to make its first official appearance later this year. Ahead of its debut, Ferrari’s first EV was spotted testing with an updated design. Take a look at it below.
Ferrari’s first EV caught testing ahead of its official debut
Despite an expected debut later this year, Ferrari has been, for the most part, tight-lipped about its first electric car.
CEO Benedetto Vigna promises it will be “a lot of fun” to drive, as expected from a Ferrari.” Vigna explained, “People buy a Ferrari because when they buy a Ferrari, they have a lot of fun.” The first fully electric model will be no different.
Although it has taken longer than many wanted, Ferrari’s CEO promises its first EV will be built “the right way.” It will still include all the Ferrari-like sound and signature design elements but in an all-electric form.
We caught a glimpse of the upcoming EV a few times already last year as it hit the road for testing. However, the most recent sighting, courtesy of Varryx, gives us an even closer look. The new video reveals an updated prototype and new design features you can expect to see.
Despite still being covered in camouflage, you can see the prototype is wearing new headlights and body panels. It also has several wires and brackets exposed up front.
Like previous sightings, Ferrari’s first EV prototype still has fake tailpipes. As the car passes, you can hear an exhaust-like sound, hinting that a fake one like Dodge’s electric charger could be in the works.
Last summer, Ferrari opened its new e-building, where the first electric car will be built. The facility will also build e-motors, batteries, and inverters. As you can see, the first electric Ferrari will be a crossover SUV similar to the Purosangue.
The electric crossover SUV is expected to make its first official appearance later this year as a 2026 model. By 2026, Ferrari aims for EVs and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) to account for 60% of sales.
What do you think of Ferrari’s electric crossover? Let us know in the comments. Check back soon for more leading up to its debut later this year.
Source: Varryx
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The White House announced today that President Joe Biden is banning new offshore oil and gas drilling along 625 million acres of US coastline, taking the total area of ocean he’s protected to 670 million acres.
Biden, who wraps up his term in just two weeks, has used his authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which allows him to withdraw any unleased areas of the Outer Continental Shelf from future offshore drilling. Biden is protecting stretches of the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and parts of Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea.
“In balancing the many uses and benefits of America’s ocean, it is clear to me that the relatively minimal fossil fuel potential in the areas I am withdrawing do not justify the environmental, public health, and economic risks that would come from new leasing and drilling,” Biden said in a statement on Monday.
Biden continued, “The Deepwater Horizon oil spill [pictured above], a man-made catastrophe that took the lives of 11 people and spilled millions of barrels of oil into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, is a solemn reminder of the costs and risks of offshore drilling to the health and resilience of our coasts and fisheries and underscores the importance of the legal protections I am putting in place today.”
Previous presidents from both parties have used this authority to withdraw large areas from oil and gas leasing. In 2020, the Trump administration protected North Carolina through Florida for 10 years in response to wide opposition to drilling from Republicans and voters, but the protections were set to expire in 2032. Biden’s announcement now permanently protects these areas. Trump, however, says he wants to overturn Biden’s oil drilling ban “on day one.”
Joseph Gordon, campaign director for the ocean conservation group Oceana, said in a statement, “President Biden’s new protections add to this bipartisan history, including President Trump’s previous withdrawals in the southeastern United States in 2020. Our treasured coastal communities are now safeguarded for future generations.”
The oil industry currently holds more than 2,000 leases, according to a 2023 Oceana report, with 75% of that ocean acreage currently unused.
Read more: Renewables powered 24% of US electricity in first 3 quarters of 2024
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