Sealegs Amphibious Boat
The Sealegs Amphibious Boat is a unique New Zealand invention designed to ease the difficulty of transporting small boats to and from the water, removing the need for boat trailers or even docks. Featuring three motorized wheels that can conveniently retract when the boat is submersed, Sealegs is the first amphibious product tailor-made for the recreational small boat user.
When on land, the boat is propelled by a hydraulic air-cooled motor, which can allow the boat to travel at speeds of up to 10KM per hour. The boat will drive for approximately 10 minutes before the motor requires a brief cool-down period, making it useful for short drives such as from a parking lot to the boat launch or beach. The wheels are suitable for navigating any terrain possible for a trailer boat and car, and as the boat can drive right off of a beach and into the water, they eliminate the need for dockage.
Applications for this unique product are widespread, and the company anticipates that the market for Sealegs will continue to grow. One particularly helpful use is with elderly or infirm boating enthusiasts, who may have difficulty with the physical requirements of conventional boat launching and retrieval. As the product considerably speeds up the time it takes to launch a boat, Sealegs may also have significant benefits during emergencies and for those in rescue professions.
Sealegs are currently commercially available in much of Asia, Australia, NZ and the UK. Other international clients should direct their inquiries to the Sealegs headquarters in Auckland, New Zealand.
Though I won’t belabor the intelligence of courts, a recent legal decision actually ruled that seaplanes are “not water craft” under certain provisions of the Jones Act. For anyone who spends much time around water craft, there’s not much doubt about the similarities between boats and the best of seaplanes. For people who regularly use a seaplane to reach an island destination, there’s another potent similarity…the need for a great way to dock your plane.
It’s all about seclusion on your new island. You may want to choose a tucked-away little corner, known only to yourself, to carve out a hidden spot for moorage and seaside serenity.
Your friends have just dropped anchor in a nearby lagoon to pay you a visit. The trouble is you’ve nicely resigned yourself to island time for the day, the gravel road that connects your modular home to the waterfront is a long one, and you’ve still got fifty or a hundred meters of water to cross before it’s time to grill.
For those island owners who are fortunate enough to have helicopters to travel to their island they may be surprised to discover the astronomical costs of installing a helicopter landing pad on their island. Fortunately a new product called Robinsons Helipad is making helicopter pads much more affordable for island owners.