Published in Boat Owners magazine in May 2014. Steve Chalmers from Boat Owner Middle East Edition has shared his impressions about Iguana Yachts. To discover his point of view just click here. With so many waterside developments planned for the region, amphibious day boats, like the Iguana 29 could well become the norm. As I mentionned in this issue’s ed page, we’ve got some incredible developments on the way, with Dubai alone seeing the construction of the Canal, Bluewater Island, Dubai world central and Dubai Maritime City. Basically, access to water will open up for thousands of new boaters and craft like the Iguana here, that can travel on land as easy as it does on water, could be everyone’s answer to getting on the water, safely and ridiculously easily. The Iguana doesn’t need a berth, neither does it need a trailer; it doesn’t even require slipway, as is tanks – like rubber tracks allow it to drive over just about anything (in fact, its ground pressure is barely greater than human’s). The transition from land to water is seamless, as I witnessed first-hand at the Dubai international boat show last month. The Iguana simply drove from the show-stand, to DIMC’s slipway, straight down it and without stopping, carried on inot the water, retracted its motorised arms and sailed away for a sea trial. From being at the top of the slipway to heading out inot the marina took all of 5 seconds. For anyone who’s ever launched a boat from a trailer, watching the Iguana do its thing is simply mind blowing. Returning is just as simple, as you float up to the beach, deploy the tracks, engage the 40hp engine and drive home.

On land, the Iguana can reach a top speed of 7km/h, which doesn’t sound that quick, but you have to remember – you’re quite high up- and you drive a boat, on land. With the emphasis on its amazing ground ability, it’s not to say the Iguana isn’t fully capable day boat. Far from it, as its wave piercing hull gives it maximum performance and comfort at sea as well as high cruising speed of over 35 knots. Its top of the line construction stretches the interiors too, with a number of trim levels ranging from the cool and trendy colorways of the “hype”, the leather and teak “Classic” up to the bespoke “Exclusive”, with its gold plated opulence.Just think, not long from now, you could go from sitting on the sofa in your freshly built Safa Park waterside villa to being out on the water on your boat, in minutes, not hours. The future’s here, the future’s amphibious.

We were lucky enough to witness an Iguana demonstration at this year’s DIBS. For some reason, we were expecting a slow moving vehicle, a gradual transition and a minute or so before the Iguana was ready to set sail. What we did witness was the complete opposite : the 29 was simply driven down the ramp at DIMC, into the water and off. We’re talking a sub 10 second sequence here…