WE DO NOT USE OLD WW2 VESSELS
Unlike vehicles used in London, Liverpool or America we use purpose built vehicles NOT the converted 1940’s WW2 vehicles you may have seen in the media.
OUR NEW PURPOSE-BUILT AMPHIBIOUS VESSELS
The Windsor Duck was built in 2010 for the sole purpose of carrying you, our lovely customers! As we are amphibious we must meet BOTH road and water regulation’s. To get slightly more technical, our Seahorse Amphibious MKII (used in Windsor) has multiple sealed foam filled buoyancy compartments and 3 other watertight compartments. Meaning if you were to flood the vehicle with water over the side, it will continue to float due to the 3 watertight compartments although we like to keep our feet dry so we are not planning to do any such thing.
FAMILY VALUES AT THE HEART OF OUR BUSINESS
We are a family run business with our local friends and family regularly using the vehicle. We would never ever put anyone onto the tour if there was a doubt in our minds that it was not safe.
ALWAYS MONITORING RIVER CONDITIONS
In Windsor the depth of the river is between 6 – 8 ft and our vehicle requires 5ft to operate in. There is no chance of large waves on this stretch of the river. We will continue, as we have always done at Windsor Duck Tours, to monitor river speeds and conditions on a daily, and when needed, an hourly basis, to attain whether it is safe to travel on the river.
DEEP DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE OF VESSEL SAFETY
We also manufacture new amphibious vehicles meaning it is essential we have a great understanding of safety, construction and operation of these vessels.
THE UKS STRINGENT SAFETY CHECKS
The Marine Coastguard Agency have extremely high standards which alongside other measures, require us to have a service twice a year, and a PMI (periodic maintenance inspections) every 10 weeks for road safety. There are no double standards for UK amphibious vessels, we are as safe as any boat and safe as any bus.
OUR VEHICLES AND MANUFACTURING BUSINESS
It’s a common misconception that we run Historical WW2 DUKW’s, when in fact, our vehicles are all purpose built. Upon leaving the UK based factory the amphibious vehicles must meet BOTH land and water safety standards, assessed by Vehicle and Operator Service Agency (VOSA) and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) respectively.
Moreover to secure our passenger certificate we are surveyed every June by the MCA and complete a MCA assessment every 6 months. For the road side of things we have a Periodic Maintenance Inspection (PMI) every 10 weeks and a yearly MOT both of which take place at an authorised test site. In addition to this we run a daily 23 point checklist before the vehicle heads out for any of our tours!
Our mark 3 vehicle is larger than the one in operation in Windsor and has a maximum capacity of 40 people. As pioneers of this niche, we believe it to be over and above any current vehicle in operation in terms of safety and design.
If you would like more information on our vehicles please visit our Seahorse Amphibious website or alternatively fill in an inquiry form below and we will get back to you ASAP.