Imagine this?.a sleek motorboat that can push to over 30 knots on the water, then literally drive up the beach and beyond. Iguana Yachts is known for its cool, innovative, amphibious boats, and the French company is now planning a bigger version ? that can accommodate a cabin and bathroom.
Luxury sea toys and superyacht accessories are big news at the moment. From helicopters and tailor-made tenders, to Seabobs and submarines, marine designers are dreaming up new products that will make the world's wealthiest water-lovers drool.
Iguana Yachts have made a name specialising in amphibious boats for just this market. Their beautifully engineered speedboats are fully customizable, and incredibly stylish, blowing other clunky-looking amphibious boats out of the water. They are fast and make it possible to transport superyacht owners and their guests from yacht to beach - with not a damp designer sandal in sight.
This week at the Miami International Boat Show Iguana Yachts has been demonstrating both the Classic and Exclusive models of the existing range, no doubt attracting the attention of the boating media, and pulling in orders from around the world.
How do these amphibious boats work?
These speedboats are able to emerge from the water and plough up the beach thanks to special landing gear and a tank style traction system. The Iguana Mobility system (IMS) as it?s known, is powered by a four cylinder German engine and coupled to three hydraulic pumps. The pumps are controlled by the primary computer located at the console and use four 4 jacks to deploy the landing gear and 2 hydraulic engines - one on each side - to drive the tracks.
Strong and reliable, the ?powertrain architecture? is developed specifically by Iguana Yachts to be both efficient and extremely resistant without sacrificing the performance of the boat, nor the comfort.
The materials used help the tracks to run efficiently. So the frame of the landing gear is built of marine grade aluminum and treated with epoxy paint. The wheels that drive the tracks are mounted on carbon fibre blade suspension, with stainless steel sprockets ingeniously welded to let sand and pebbles pass through without obstructing the movement of the custom made rubber tracks.
Demand for a bigger model
These incredible Iguana boats were conceived by Frenchman Antoine Brugidou and are being built in Normandy, northern France ? famed in world history as the site of the D Day Landings, an operation in which amphibious landing craft were so pivotal.
Today Iguana Yachts? engineers and designers are working on a new model, which will be propelled by three outboard engines. ?And she will have a nice cabin with a shower and a toilet and even the air conditioning to cruise comfortably in luxury even in a severe environment,? says Brugidou. ?You can pre-order one now and be part of the first privileged.?
Production has recently moved to a new facility in Caen, in Normandy, and investment comes from a strong pool of investors from France, Bahrain and USA as well as the support of the French Maritime Industry. We look forward to seeing the new larger model take to the water - and emerge from it - very soon.
