Norwood Man William Kolb Tests Pioneering Undersea Aqua-Cabin in Boston Harbor—October 12, 1965

BOSTON — “Hello, this is Fish One. We’ve got a little bit of water on the floor.”

The bubbling voice echoing across the radio belonged to William C. Kolb, 33, of 3 Hickory Road, Norwood, reporting yesterday from several feet beneath the murky surface of Boston Harbor.

Kolb, an MIT graduate, married father of five, and president of Foxboro engineering firm Hektor Scientific Co., embarked on a daring three-day underwater endurance test inside a newly launched two-man aqua-cabin.

Foxboro Firm Pioneers Private Undersea Habitats

While the principles behind the aqua-cabin mirror the U.S. Navy’s high-profile Sealab projects and the pioneering underwater villages of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Hektor Scientific Co. is believed to be the first small private company ever to engage in such a venture.

The bright yellow cylinder—measuring eight feet high and 12 feet long—was swung into the water yesterday afternoon from the Hodge Boiler Works pier in East Boston. As it bobbed on the surface, Kolb donned his scuba gear and underwater communications equipment to perform a thorough initial check before descending.

Equipped with two bunks, a stove, a refrigerator, and life-support links supplying power, air, and communications from the surface, the aqua-cabin serves as an underwater base of operations for divers engaged in research and industrial testing.

Testing and Future Applications

For its maiden test, the aqua-cabin was tethered to the floor of Boston Harbor just off the East Boston pier at depths reaching up to 40 feet, depending on the tide. Kolb and an unnamed companion planned to spend approximately three days checking life-support systems, evaluating emergency air and power supplies, and preparing the vessel for rigorous deep-water trials in Gloucester, where it was scheduled to test in waters up to 100 feet deep.

A major advantage of the habitat system is operational efficiency: divers remain below the surface for the duration of the project, avoiding time-consuming, repetitive decompression cycles that risk the dangerous “bends.” Decompression is required only at the very end of a multi-day mission.

Designed to withstand depths of up to 200 feet, future trials planned for the spring aimed to test the vessel at its maximum depth threshold.

Pivoting Toward Submarine Technology

Kolb founded Hektor Scientific Co. about six years prior, initially focusing on electronics. However, when the electronics market proved overly competitive for a startup, Kolb pivoted the firm toward underwater engineering.

The company shifted its specialization to pressure-test systems—a demand heavily spurred by the tragic loss of the nuclear submarine USS Thresher, which underscored the inadequacy of existing deep-sea pressure-testing methodologies.

Ultimately, the aqua-cabin project aims to prove the commercial viability of manufacturing and selling small underwater base stations for marine research organizations, commercial salvage firms, diving clubs, and energy companies prospecting for underwater oil and minerals.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger