Old man boat wheelie good idea

BY EMMA DANGERFIELD

Kiwis are often applauded for their ingenuity, and Kaikoura's Brian Clark is certainly no exception.

Whenever Brian launches his boat he attracts a lot of attention from onlookers keen to ask questions and have a close inspection.

Why? Because Brian's boat is no ordinary boat.

When he launches his small aluminium dinghy he never gets his feet wet, or slips on the wet boat ramp, or struggles with the tide getting his boat back onto dry land.

He just slips off the trailer, into the water and back up the slipway with the greatest of ease because his boat not only glides on water – it also drives on land.

"I've had the idea for years," he says.

"There are commercial versions around now but I had the idea long before that.

"Then I thought `If I don't do it now at this stage in my life, I probably never will'."

So Brian spent a year on the project, which he calls his "old man's boat".

And with the help of a few like-minded individuals, including Murray Green at Kaikoura Marine Services who supplied the outboard motor and assisted with the steering, he realised his dream.

Brian is now able to take the boat out fishing on his own without worrying about getting wet or having difficulties getting it on and off the ramp.

"Lots of old guys give up [fishing and boating] because they don't like standing up to their ankles in water," he says.

Plus, he says, boat ramps can be slippery and he has seen folk fall over, particularly as they get older.

Brian has been engineering all his life, and he still fixes up boats, restores old machinery and makes bits and pieces for himself and friends in his shed at home.

So the boat project was just one more thing to occupy his engineering mind.

Brian had the aluminium hull made (he doesn't have the right equipment for that job), and from there he set about creating the boat on wheels.

"The steering was the hardest bit to figure out.

"I wanted to get the wheels to move with the outboard motor so I only had to have one steering wheel."

A Honda stationary engine drives the front wheel and once the boat is in the water the wheels lift up and out of the way.

But that's not all: there is also a hydraulic craypot lifting device so Brian can launch his boat and lift his pots with minimal physical effort on his part.

When he drives his boat off the trailer, normally at the ramp opposite the Pier

Hotel, he can draw quite a crowd.

Even in the short space of time he was talking to the Kaikoura Star reporter two separate parties showed interest, asking questions and even taking photos.

"You can see what I mean about getting a lot of interest," he laughs.

"It really does attract a lot of attention."

- © Fairfax NZ News