Lots for your yachts — Subs, Surfboards and Bikes
By Doreen Hemlock | Staff Writer
FORT LAUDERDALE — A workout bicycle on pontoons, a compact submarine for three people and
a motorized surfboard are among the pricey water toys debuting this year at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.
Many of the gizmos are aimed for use on the world’s largest yachts. Superyacht owners increasingly outfit their floating mansions with the latest gear, including some that cost more than a small yacht.
Here are three new offerings at the Fort Lauderdale show, set for Nov. 5-9:
S1 Schiller Bike: Ever consider working out on a bike on water, far from asphalt and car traffic?
Judah Schiller did, and his S1bike on pontoons is the result.
Schiller describes his new product as “premium bicycle meets ultraportable catamaran.” The pontoons deflate, the pieces click apart and he easily transports it in a mid-size sedan.
“I put it in the back seat of a VW Passat,” Schiller said.
Schiller launched his company last year in California’s Mill Valley, north of San Francisco, and he debuted his S1 model in May this year.
Human-powered, the S1 bike can reach top speeds of about seven miles per hour and sustained speeds of five or six miles per hour, “definitely faster than a paddle board,” Schiller said.
“You can go out for a great bike ride with no helmet, no cars and bad drivers, no asphalt and potholes,” he said. “You can have a bike ride in a beautiful marine environment.”
Schiller Bikes now are available in 18 countries, in locales from Dubai to Bora Bora.
The S1 bike retails for about $4,500 for a standard model and $5,500 for a carbon edition. “Next year,” added Schiller, “we’ll be introducing speed-enhancing accessories.”
The retailer Nautical Ventures will offer the bike at the Broward County Convention Center site, in the outside Sailfish Pavilion in the Aquazone area at booths #9 and #10.
Super Yacht 3 submarine: Curious to ride a private submarine deep underwater?
U-Boat Worx of the Netherlands now offers a new three-person compact submersible built to reach depths of at least 100 meters (about 325 feet). It can be upgraded for waters 200 and 300 meters deep.
The sub can take travelers underwater for up to eight hours. Inside, the craft offers leather seats, air-conditioning and a seating arrangement that optimizes views for the pilot and two passengers, its manufacturer said.
U-Boat Works designed the new sub specifically for superyachts and debuted the craft in September at the Monaco Yacht Show.
The retail price for the 100-meter sub starts at 1.5 million euros, or more than $1.65 million.
The new sub will be displayed at the show at the Bahia Mar site in the Yachting Tent a Yacht Chandlers/ Brownies YachtDiver booths #651 through #656.
JetSurf motorized surfboards: Want the speed of a jet ski with the feel of surfing?
That’s the idea behind motorized surfboards, developed by JetSurf of New York.
Made of carbon fiber and equipped with small engines inside, the boards weigh about 28 pounds on average. They can reach speeds up to 35 miles per hour, marketers said.
The JetSurf boards offer an alternative to wake-boarding, in which a rider is towed on a board similar to a snowboard in the wake of a powerboat, said Roger Moore, CEO of distributor Nautical Ventures.
“When people go wake-boarding, they need a boat, a tow-line, a pilot and an observer,” said Moore. “This, you can do on your own. ... And you can do some pretty cool tricks.”
A group of enthusiasts came up with a prototype board in 1994. Today’s models are a bit wider and a tad longer than the average surfboard to accommodate the engine inside.
JetSurf’s first commercial board hit the market in 2004, and the company said it’s been refining the product ever since “to be faster, leaner, greener and more dynamic.”
Today, the motorized boards are made by MSR Engines in the Czech Republic and certified for meeting European Union requirements for safety, health and environmental protection, said JetSurf of New York.
The boards can run for roughly four hours on a tank of gas and feature two-stroke engines up to 100cc. On big waves, they can make it easier to surf. On lakes, they let surfers race on courses.
Retail prices start at around $11,000 for JetSurf’s beginner Ultra Sport model and exceed $20,000 for more advanced models.
Nautical Ventures of Dania Beach is offering the Jet-Surf boards at the Broward Convention Center site at the outside Sailfish pavilion in the Aquazone area at booth #4.
dhemlock@tribpub.com or @dhemlock on Twitter
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