whither OTW?

[roedj]

With the untimely passing of Bob Dimmack we have apparently lost access to his wonderful line of submarine kits,

Has anyone heard any rumors/scuttebutt about someone else taking over production of these kits?

Captain Curious

[Albacore 569]

OTW and Bob Dimmack - some sad news to report - The Sub-drivers Forum

[Subculture]

Aside from anything else, probate can take up to a year, even assuming everything is in order with a will. So I would expect things would be in limbo until that is fully settled.

[Albacore 569]

Ken Griffin in Florida is/was OTW's American support tech support representative. Bob Dimmick and Ken were tight in trust about the OTW product. Ken has figured out almost all the nuances of Bobs engineering. What pumps, seals etc. He may be available for repair work possibly.

In the meantime, Bobs widow will be mourning and processing this, and eventually hopefully will make a decision on the probate of Bobs business, hopefully will continue or sell to someone committed to continuing the line. Two gentlemen were laying up the hulls, and another was assisting in building the Dive modules. We just have to wait & see, and meantime take good care of your dive modules.

[Subculture]

Ultimately the greatest challenge will be finding sufficient market for the kits. Facing two headwinds, a hobby that appeals to an increasingly senior age group and of course 3d printed hulls, which although have some disadvantages compared with a composite hull, tend to be considerably lower cost and of course from a point of view of a supplier considerably easier to manage a bunch of 3d files than a shed full of patterns and tooling.