Big boys in their element

By ROBIN BAILEY

The 8th annual Big Boys Toys show is on next weekend and things maritime are again well represented. We are not talking about ordinary boats here. The show line-up includes a couple of amphibians, a propeller-driven dolphin lookalike, and the latest thing in personal watercraft.

The PWC out of the giant Bombardier Recreational Products stable is the Sea-Doo 3D. It is one machine with three configurations. The vertical version allows the rider to stand, the second is a bit like riding a motorbike, and the third puts the rider behind the wheel in a kart-driving mode.

Denise Jamieson, from PWC Planet at Takapuna, says the 3D is aimed at people from 15 to 35, known in the industry as Gen Y - marketing speak for the youth sector. The configuration changes are quickly and easily made and with a price-tag of $15,290 Jamieson expects the machine will be hugely popular here.

Bombardier calls the 3D the most significant development in PWCs since the first sit-down version and the company says it will revolutionise the way the market develops. Each experience on the water is very different from the others, because the rider can change positions often during a day on the water.

The big brother to the 3D will also be at the show. It is the 215hp Sea-Doo RXP that can do more than 65mph in stock trim. Bombardier says it is the newest entry in the musclecraft segment of the PWC range.

Musclecraft is defined as having the acceleration, horsepower and performance to satisfy riders who want manageable exhilaration.

For a completely different aquatic option there's the Bionic Dolphin. Co-developed by Kiwi Rob Innes, this is described as a radical marine leisurecraft that looks like and simulates the movements of a dolphin. Its inventor calls it a carnival ride gone wrong. The Dolphin is piloted from a cockpit encased by an F16 canopy and the 110hp motor can propel it at up to 50km/h.

The local Sealegs amphibian will be there too. The Sealegs European promotional campaign for 2005 will see one of the Auckland company's wheeled craft attempting to break the English Channel-crossing record for an amphibian set by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson in an Aquada earlier this year.

As always, Big Boys Toys caters for the land-based motoring enthusiast, with exotic and high-performance cars from throughout the world and the prototype race car designed and built by the University of Auckland engineering team. The show also includes, for the first time, a section dedicated to motorcycles.

Big Boys Toys runs from 9am to 8.30pm Friday and Saturday and 9am to 6pm on Sunday. Entry is $16 for adults and $5 for children, with a $40 family pass for two adults and up to four children.

Big Boys Toys