No need to explain why, I understand: you need a submarine. And you don’t need a bathtub toy (really?), you need something that will truly wow them at the yacht club. There are a few Soviet diesel subs built in the 1940s through 1950s that might be just the thing.
Photo: public domain, from Wikipedia. Source.
The Soviets built over 200 Whiskey-class subs, and quite a few of them are on the market now. Ships-for-Sale, Project Boats, and these guys claim to have them for sale. The going price seems to be around $US 500,000, but Strategy Page is having nothing of it: “While it is possible to refurbish a Whiskey as a pleasure craft, you would still end up with a boat that provided a rough ride on the surface. Running submerged gets old real quick.”
Pish posh you say? You want a sub, but you don’t want one of those old cans. You want something far more marvelous? US Submarines has it: the Phoenix 1000, a four-level, 213 foot luxury craft that can dive to 1000 feet. The interior is over 5,000 square feet, and the company expects you’ll need a mini sub as a tender. The proposal PDF is quite detailed.
I do believe even a customer as discerning you might find this boat to your liking:
Illustrations: © US Submarines, from the proposal PDF.
The price, you ask? Well, as they say, if you have to ask, you probably can’t afford the $US 78 million (2003 quote).