BLOG

A boat with wheels, a Sea leg, an  Amphibious  boat…

A boat with wheels, a Sea leg, an  Amphibious  boat…

A boat with wheels, a Sea leg, an Amphibious boat… are they all the same?

A boat with wheels, a Sea leg, an Amphibious boat… is there really such a thing as a boat with wheels? How does it work? Can you drive it on the highway and in the water? You might have heard these terms before or maybe not yet so in today’s blog post, we will explain and clarify what do all these terms mean.

A boat with wheels and an Amphibious boat are synonymous terms, the latter is used by boating connoisseur. It is referred to as an amphibious boat because of its off-water capabilities, so it is like a semi hybrid between a car and a boat with the primary function of being a boat. An amphibious boat is a fully functional boat that also has the capabilities to drive on land so that launching and beaching the boat from Point A to Point B can be done with no time wasted, no hassle, no need of additional help as it can drive itself up and down from land to water and vice-versa.
And No! it is not made to be driven on a highway or being towed behind a car on its own wheels. For Long road transits you will have to put it on a trailer (special drive on trailers are available).

boat with wheels
A brief history

Believe it or not, the first amphibious vehicle can be traced up to the 19th century. However, it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that boats with amphibious capabilities gained in popularity with many designs on the market and used for different applications from rescue to military. Then, at the start of the 21st century, a few companies from different corners of the world, namely, Sealegs, ASIS Boats, Ocean Craft Marine and Iguana Yachts, each with its own design of an Amphibious system, introduced their amphibious boats to the leisure markets. These peculiar boats gained a lot of traction by boating lovers from yacht owners to waterfront property owners.

Now that you know a little bit about what is an Amphibious boat and may be interested in getting more information about it or to buy one perhaps, here is a brief introduction about the four boating companies that build Amphibious boats in the world:

amphibious vehicle
Sealegs

A New Zealand company that manufactures Amphibious boats referred to as Sealegs. Their amphibious boats have 3 wheel drive, one wheel at the front of the boat and two wheels at the back. They have Sealegs RIBs and non-RIB Sealegs. They offer different sizes from 6.1m up to 9m. Sealegs boats are made out of Aluminum hulls and they are mostly known for their amphibious for recreational use however they also offer professional Sealegs boats such as rescue amphibious boats.

Sealegs
ASIS Boats

An international company that manufactures customized RIBs for the military and professional segments which entered the Amphibious market almost a decade ago and with its experience decided to improve the current Amphibious system developed by Sealegs. Asis Amphibious was initially using the Sealegs System on their craft, but after a couple of years have decided to go for a more rugged and technologically advanced system in order to be more aligned with their Professional / military customer expectations and “No failure Zone” mindset.

ASIS Amphibious (clickable), the dedicated ASIS brand for the Amphibious boat, is a 4 wheel-drive amphibious system that provides the RIB with stronger amphibious capabilities. Their Amphibious are fully customizable from the hull type to the accessories, color and design. They are more of the 4 x 4 of the sea type of RIBs and range in sizes from 7.1m to 9.8m. They offer the largest Amphibious size RIB in the market. Also, most of their amphibious are used by recreational boaters looking to have what the military and professional users have.

Link: https://asisamphibious.com

asis amphibious
Ocean Craft Marine

The sister company of ASIS Boats, it is based in the USA and manufactures custom-made Amphibious boats referred to as OCM AMP. It offers the same in terms of sizes and Amphibious system as the ASIS Amphibious.

Link: https://ocmamp.com

ocean craft marine amphibious
Iguana Yachts

A French company that manufactures and designs Amphibious boats referred to as Iguana Yachts. The Iguana Yacht is fundamentally different from the other brands as their amphibious system is not made with wheels but rather tracks like the ones used in construction equipment and their hulls are made out of carbon fiber. Their Iguana Yachts are the most luxurious out of the three brands as they have the aesthetic of a yacht. They introduced the first RIB Iguana model recently, X100; most of their models are non-RIBs.

Stay tuned for a future blog posts where we will compare all these Amphibious boats with one another to provide you with a clear understanding between the different brands and models!