Badass Amphibious Beach Boat

The Sealegs 7.1 Meter amphibious RIB is way, way more James Bond than your average yacht tender. In fact, the Sealegs 7.1 is really just a commercially available, 165-horsepower-badass-amphibious-military-assault-vehicle that any aspiring SEAL, or more accurately, anyone who wants to take their tender game to the next level, can drive up the beach!

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I mean really. What could be a better yacht tender than a commercially available 165-horsepower-badass-amphibious-military-assault-vehicle? Ummmm. Nothing.
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And in fact, there are some very real advantages to being able to drive up the beach in addition to being utterly badass. Especially if you live on, or close to a beach but not necessarily to a dock. It’s like a Range Rover that doesn’t need a ferry to get to Nantucket or even a launch ramp. The whole range of Sealegs (from 6.1 meters to 7.7 meters—some even have enclosed space) scratch a very specific itch. And think what the neighbors will say when they see you driving this bad boy down the road on the way out for a day of fishing or just hanging out on an outer beach with friends. Who wouldn’t want to drive ashore without ever getting your feet wet?
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And what better way to test such military-grade badassness than during a particularly nasty day when the wind never dipped below 20 knots, and the sun was too scared to shine. I mean, look at the sand being whipped across the beach in these photos. This was a badass test day for a badass boat.
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Underway, it performed beautifully. Its powerful 165-horsepower outboard made it easy for us to punch it up to almost 30 knots, and carving turns through the steep chop was simply—fun.
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The boat’s clever design allows the wheels to be fully retracted when underway so, apart from just a little extra weight (and seeing big, beach-friendly wheels in weird places), they have virtually no impact on the boat’s on-the-water performance.
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 And then, you simply push a button, the wheels rotate into position and bang….you drive out of the water.
And there’s more of this to come. Tune in soon for more disruptive boats.
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