Boat International - May 2018

http://www.boatinternational.com | May 2018

gravity has suddenly thickened, there is no
lateral force at all. We carve a deep, semi-
circular furrow in the canal, well inside the
confines of the banks, and are soon accelerating
back towards the sea. It’s so satisfying that I do
it again, this time turning too sharply for the
speed. The stern skids out and bounces once,
twice... then grips. We’re round! Even during my
botched manoeuvre, the hull is surprisingly
stable. On the straight, it’s easy to relinquish the
wheel entirely – it tracks perfectly at 30 knots.
So I’m slightly surprised to learn that the
all-carbon hull was largely developed by
in-house designers and engineers. “The deep
vee and chine take care of the waves,” explains
Huppert. “It just cuts through them. But the flat
hull aft provides stability. It’s really a very
modern hull shape.”
I should point out that the exceptionally low
tides on test day meant that we didn’t reach the
chop of the open sea (something about keeping
the boat clean), so I can only speak for how it
handles as we cross and re-cross our own wake.
Yes, there is some slamming, but there are no
fewer than six fully-specced shock seats, with
lateral as well as vertical damping. More
importantly, though, the hull remains stable,
with no friskiness in the wheel. One owner who
uses the boat regularly in the Channel Islands
says: “I am comfortable crossing from Herm
to Guernsey in Force 6 winds. As with
any motorboat, the hull slams when
motoring into waves at high speed but
a comfortable ride is achieved by
dropping the speed.”
At the end of our blast, we simply
drop the landing gear, motor to the
slipway, tracks turning, and, with the
gentlest of bumps, we pass from
displacement to land mode. There are
underwater lights and a camera to help identify
a safe landing spot and the gear has another
unexpected benefit – stabilising the boat like
a traditional keel during close-quarters
manoeuvring. “You don’t even need a bow
thruster,” says Huppert.
Hit the touchscreen again and Iguana’s
proprietary software lowers the hydraulic stern
ladder so you can disembark. Not a knot has
been tied, nor a fender deployed. And yet here
we are ashore, with dry feet and a small crowd
of disbelieving onlookers.
In a first for me, I have the chance to see how

a boat handles on land. Two small side-by-side

joysticks control each 22kW electric motor

independently, and are best manipulated using

the fingers of one hand. Select between slow,

beach or road mode depending on terrain, then

move as fast as you dare. Like a learner car

driver, it doesn’t take long to iron out the

jerkiness, and the heavy tracks will happily

handle steep inclines and rocks or driftwood.

Theoretically, there’s a risk of losing a track

if you turn too sharply at speed – and, in fact,

I succeed in doing this in the car park within

seconds. But if you stick cautiously to road

mode on the hard surface, and abandon ideas

of using the Iguana as a 4x4, you’ll be fine.

“We want people to stay on the edge of the land

and use the boat as a platform,” says Huppert.

“She’s a perfect platform for changing, eating

or having a shower – all on the beach.”

The small lockable cabin provides a berth

for two, but headroom is tight so this space

serves better for changing and using the small

head. The sliding hatch is opaque for privacy.

Iguana has taken pains to keep the boat’s

all-up weight to an impressive four tonnes,

which, spread across the two tracks, exerts

a similar pressure to a human foot. From the

Channel Islands to the Côte d’Azur, some

70 per cent of owners use Iguana boats with

waterside homes – one has even built a special

platform to get a wheelchair aboard. Others

use the landing gear to steady the boat on the

seabed when they come alongside jetties prone

to swell – Le Club 55 near Saint-Tropez, for

instance. “It changes how you see the boat –

you’re no longer constrained by marina

facilities,” says Huppert. “Owners tell

us they spend three times as much time

on the water with this boat.”

The boats are also finding roles as

superyacht tenders, thanks to options

such as integrated hoist points and a

quickly removable hardtop, a tow bar

and a large lazarette. The finish is fully

customisable and with one package option you

get hand-finished leather upholstery below,

stitched cockpit seating, pop-up cleats,

automatic navigation lights, a custom paint

job for the outboards and more.

There’s no doubt these are very flexible

boats. But as I shiver my way back home to

Hamburg, I can’t shake a nagging thought.

Iguanas are cold-blooded, land-based creatures

that will take to the water if pushed. And while

this boat will happily go ashore, she is most at

home in the water where she makes hot blood

course faster in the veins. I suppose “Turtle”

wouldn’t have sounded quite so good.B

The flat hull aft provides

stability, while the deep vee

and chine allow the boat to

cutthroughwavesandwake

Notaknothasbeentied,nora

fenderdeployed.Andyetherewe

areashore,withdryfeetandasmall

crowd of disbelieving onlookers

WILD WATER

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