Dive masters

Roger Moore raced one in “The Spy Who Loved Me” and Mike Myers piloted one in “Goldmember.” Everyone loves the idea of tooling around underwater in a stunt minisub, but only a lucky few will ever do it. These two submersibles are different in many respects, but they do have one feature in common: They are Bond-worthy. Don’t expect to find them at your local sports retailer, though. They are not commercially available.

Troy submersible

The Troy submersible, which takes on water for ballast, was first deployed in 1989 by Jean-Michel Cousteau as a research vessel for observing sharks in the wild. That vessel did not pass muster with at least one female great white, which took one look and tore it to shreds. Now, Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau, is back with a stronger, anatomically correct shark sub that’s getting more respect from the sharks it’s being used to observe.

Speed: Up to 6 mph

Materials: Stainless steel covered with a mixture of glass beads and sand to simulate the texture of sharkskin

Power: Pneumatic propulsion system with aircraft pistons

Special features: The sub’s eyes are camera lenses that move. Troy even has two attached cameras concealed in 14-inch rubber remoras -- the symbiotic suckerfish that hang around great whites -- to track sharks swimming alongside and behind it.

Credits: Currently costarring in Fabien Cousteau’s documentary on sharks.

For more information, go to www.fabiencousteau.com.

Innespace Dolphin

The Dolphin, above, is unusual in that rather than taking on water for ballast, it uses forward momentum and variable pitch to move beneath the surface, which gives it a high level of freestyle performance. Originally patented as a submersible hydrofoil, in 1992 it became the first lighter-than-water vehicle to successfully “fly” underwater.

Speed: Up to 30 mph on the surface and 20 mph below the surface

Materials: Fiberglass and Kevlar with a urethane foam core

Power: 110 horsepower Yamaha Waverunner engine

Special features: The pilot can control pitch, roll and yaw, much like an airplane. This allows the Dolphin to perform tricks, such as snorkel dives, dipping below the water and then jumping out of the water, porpoising like a dolphin, pitching straight down and popping up backward, doing barrel rolls and multiple rollovers, and midair rolls with inverted landings.

Credits: A supporting role in “Goldmember”

For more information, go to www.innespace.com.

-- Janet Cromley