Category: News

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…

Designed to handle almost any terrain, but also blast across the Pistachio green waters of the Arabian Gulf with all the elegance and style of a French day boat, while featuring the benefits inherent to a RIB model minus the tube, the Iguana 29 was too tempting a proposition for Boats Arabia to refuse.

By Shaun Ebelthite (Yachts Magazines)

Unlike the genus of lizard from which they take their name, the Iguana range of boats are fantastic looking machines that combine a modern, sleek design with an amphibious nature designed for the boggiest terrain on the planet, such as that found in the tidal areas of the Abu Dhabi coastline. However, during our boat test in front of Emirates Palace Marine, watching the 29’ open Iguana 29 rise ponderously from the water onto the beach, her twin tracks driving her forward relentlessly through the sand, it was easy to see the similarities between the two.

On land, the Iguana 29 is not fast, with a top speed of just 7kph, rather its on-land capability has been designed to allow it to handle just about any terrain, because these boats are inspired by the difficulties of the boat owners in the French town of Antoine Brugidou, between the bay of Mont St Michel and the south of Jersey, where the tide runs out for miles and boats have to navigate between sand banks, rocks and strong currents. Specially designed caoutchouc Kevlar caterpillar tracks give the Iguana 29 immense traction and a ground pressure lower than that of a person, or five times less than your average SUV. “In fact, during my time here in Abu Dhabi I have actually had to pull a four-wheel-drive vehicle from the sand on the beach after the owner tried to launch his Jet Ski,” Iguana Sales Manager Steve Huppert tells us with a grin. It’s an interesting role reversal that shows the power of the hydraulic mobility system on the boat.

The amphibious nature of the Iguana 29 is comprised of two hydraulic motors to port and starboard driving and lifting each track, which is supported by 5035 marine-grade aluminium legs. The system is powered by a German 2l injection engine and controlled from the helm by two joysticks. According to Steve, driving the boat on land is so easy that even a ten-year-old can master it in just a few minutes, a fact that had us worried about making a hash of it when we tried the system ourselves! The helm is comprised of a 10” touchscreen with integrated GPS and depth finder, and also provides an overview of the mobility system when deployed, letting the skipper know exactly what each leg and track is doing. “Each leg also lifts independently,” says Steve. “So if you’re preparing to land on a beach and you’re not lined up quite right, you don’t have to worry about unsettling your guests.” This, according to Steve, is one of the great benefits of the Iguana. “The most stressful time for the person skippering any boat is when docking because you need to throw out your fenders, bring the boat alongside, tie up and try not to cause any damage in the process. For experienced skippers it’s pretty easy, but for the average boat owner, they lack confidence, especially with guests on board. With the Iguana, you simply drive it out of the water.” The mobility system is also comprised only of parts that are not susceptible to salt water corrosion, such as the Kevlar tracks, the stainless steel moving parts and the aluminium legs, which highlights another advantage of the Iguana over conventional boats. “Your average boat will spend 90% of its life not being used,” says Steve. “And unless you have it in dry storage, you’ll keep it in a marina, which will require higher maintenance in the long run.”

The Iguana 29 as a model was launched in 2012 in fibreglass, but was redesigned this year and launched in carbon fibre. During our test, Steve told Boats Arabia that one of the challenges Iguana has faced is being taken seriously by the industry. “With such a novel product, people tend to think you’re not going to be around in the years ahead, but we’ve been continually updating and investing in the range since the first Iguana 26 was launched in 2009 and this year we’ve seen a marked shift in perception.” Based on this shift, Iguana are now also looking at launching a 36-foot model to round off the range, which currently starts at 24-feet. “People want bigger boats, especially in this region,” Steve says with a shrug. But, the company wont shift its focus off its smaller models and in September is planning to launch a smartphone app for the Iguana 29 that will enable one to drive it on land from their phone. “This will be especially useful in a tight boat yard, for instance, when you will need to be able to move all over the boat as you manoeuvre,” says Steve.

All of this technology comes at a price, but Steve is quick to point out that there is a difference between high value and expensive. “The price of a Classic model 29 is USD $414,000, while our very top of the range Exclusive model, which is designed as a superyacht tender, will cost around USD $552,000. It’s a lot of money, but you can’t say its expensive, because the value of the Iguana’s first rate parts and world class design and engineering justifies it.” Heading back to the marina, we reflected on the fact that the only species of marine or amphibious iguana in the world is found in the Galapagos Islands. There is no such species found anywhere else on the planet – much like the boat named after them.

Iguana Yachts will present its latest technology in Dubai during the Dubai International Boat Show, in Mina Seyahi from March 4th to 8th. Seize the opportunity to test the amphibious experience. For more information, please contact us.