Sealegs

History

According to the company, the Sealegs idea began as a sketch on a napkin in 2001 and grew into a prototype and then a manufacturing business founded by Maurice Bryham and David McKee Wright in Auckland ^[1]. The company dates its first production craft to 2004, a 6.1 m (20 ft) rigid inflatable boat (RIB), and says it reached 50 craft in 2005 ^[1].

In June 2005 Bryham drove a 5.6 m (18 ft) Sealegs RIB from Dover toward Calais in 43 minutes 12 seconds, which the company announced as a new amphibious record for the English Channel ^[4]. The time was well under the 1 hour 40 minutes 6 seconds set in 2004 by Richard Branson in a Gibbs Aquada, but Hagerty later reported that Guinness did not accept the Sealegs run as an official record because the craft was essentially a boat with wheels rather than a road vehicle ^[12]. On 29 January 2008, McKee Wright crossed Cook Strait from Arapawa Island to Wellington's Owhiro Bay in a 6.1 m Sealegs in 47 minutes, which the company described as the first crossing of the strait by an amphibious vehicle ^[5].

In February 2013 McKee Wright and design engineer Warren Farr set out to circle New Zealand's South Island in a 7.7 m (25 ft) Sealegs, a trip timed to mark the company's 750th boat ^[6]. The company lists the circumnavigation as a world record that year and says it announced its 1,000th craft in 2015 ^[1].

How the wheel system works

A Sealegs is a normal planing boat with an outboard motor for use on water. Three wheels are added: one near the bow and two at the stern, each on a hydraulic leg that lowers the wheel for land and lifts it out of the water for boating ^[3][6]. Lifting or lowering the wheels takes about five seconds, according to a 2013 report ^[6].

On the hydraulic models, a small gasoline engine separate from the outboard drives a hydraulic pump. A 22 hp Honda engine on the 6.1 m model powers hydraulic motors in all three wheels for all-wheel drive, plus the rams that move the legs ^[3]. The same steering wheel turns the outboard at sea and the front wheel on land ^[3]. Brakes apply automatically if the engine stops or a hose bursts, so the boat cannot roll away on a slope ^[3].

Land travel is slow and meant for short distances, such as crossing a beach or driving up a launch ramp. Reported top speeds range from about 4 mph (7 km/h) to about 6 mph (10 km/h) ^[2][3][6]. A review of the 6.1 m model reports that early versions could drive on land for about 10 minutes before needing to cool, and that an improved cooling system raised this to 30 minutes ^[3].

In October 2018 Sealegs announced an electric wheel system that replaces the hydraulic power pack with brushless electric motors in the wheels, fed by a 48 volt, 7 kWh lithium battery pack ^[9]. The outboard still moves the boat on water, and the company quoted up to about 6 mph (10 km/h) on land ^[9].

Models and amphibious kits

Sealegs has built boats from a 3.8 m (12 ft) tender up to 12 m (39 ft) cabin boats, including RIBs with inflatable tubes and aluminum boats ^[1]. Its timeline lists the 6.1 m RIB (2004), a 7.1 m RIB (2006), 7.7 m console and cabin versions (2011), the 7.5 m and 9 m Hydrasol models, an 8.5 m aluminum cabin boat (2018) and a 12 m cabin RIB (2021) ^[1]. The 7.1 m RIB was priced at about NZ$98,000 in 2007 ^[8].

The company also sells its wheel systems for fitting to boats made by other builders, which it calls amphibious enablement systems ^[1][2]. The larger System 100 uses a 97 hp Kubota diesel engine and is rated for craft up to 12 m (39 ft) long and 7,500 kg (16,500 lb) gross weight ^[2]. A joint project with fellow New Zealand builder Stabicraft produced an amphibious Stabicraft model ^[1].

Rescue and government use

Because a Sealegs can launch from a beach or riverbank without a ramp or trailer, emergency services have adopted it for flood and shoreline rescue ^[7][8]. In 2007 New Atlas reported that the Italian government had bought Sealegs boats for its fire service to use in flood-prone areas ^[8]. The company says it donated a craft to the Queensland State Emergency Service in 2011 and supplied boats to Malaysian police and fire services from 2015 ^[1].

In December 2010 the Anglesea Fire Company No. 1 in North Wildwood, New Jersey, took delivery of what Fire Engineering described as the first Sealegs rescue craft sold in North America. The 23 ft 5 in (7.1 m) boat had a 150 hp outboard and a rescue stretcher, and the department chose it because it could launch almost anywhere ^[7].

Company status

The business was listed on the NZX, the New Zealand stock exchange, as Sealegs Corporation Limited from late 2003 ^[7][11]. The listed company was renamed Future Mobility Solutions Limited in January 2017 and left the NZX on 30 October 2019 ^[11]. When it applied to delist in 2019, the parent reported a loss of NZ$6.3 million for the year to March, and the NZ Herald noted a court ruling that lifted an injunction Sealegs had won against another Auckland amphibious boat builder, Orion Marine ^[10]. Sealegs continues to design and build its boats in Auckland ^[1].

Related entries

• Iguana YachtsAmphibious boats · 2008 to present
• Gibbs AquadaAmphibious cars · 2003 to 2004
• Gibbs Sports AmphibiansAmphibious cars · 1990s to present (as Gibbs Technologies, Gibbs Sports Amphibians and Gibbs Amphibians)
• Amphibious vehicle records and journeysRecords, people and culture · 1950 to present
• How amphibious vehicles workHow it works ·