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| The Portland Duck-At Home on the Road and the Water |
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 | | | The Hydra-Terra, "Portland Duck", makes regular amphibious tours on the Willamette River |
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By Peter Marsh
When Charles and Sarah Lewis want to go boating, they walk out to the driveway of their NE Portland home, climb aboard, and head for the river. No hooking up the trailer or waiting at the ramp, they just drive their very special craft down the road, and into the river, engage the propeller--and keep on going!
Actually, the Lewis' unique "boat" is a bit too big to be convenient for just two people to go boating, it's an amphibious vehicle built to carry passengers that they call the Portland Duck. (The name "Duck" comes from the WWII land/sea vehicle called the DUKW.)
The couple run a tour business, so they like to take a full load of people along to pay the bills. Charles first saw an amphibious-vehicle (Duck) tour in Boston, while he was studying business and government at Harvard University. A Massachusetts company takes passengers around the historic landmarks of the city and across the Charles River.
He immediately wondered if he could do the same thing in Portland? "Our Willamette River is a great attraction, and visitors are always fascinated by all the bridges," he says. So he contacted Hydra-Terra in South Carolina, the only USbuilder of amphibious buses, and learned about the various options and the cost (over $250,000). Then he did his best to research the business potential. But in the end, he really wouldn't know if the idea would work until he tried it!
He ordered his very own Duck in September of 2005, and with nine-months until the delivery, decided he should start planning the route. So he bought the next-best-thing-a used Amphicar (built in Germany in the 1970s). Now he could really get a feel for the route! (The Amphicar is the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass produced. 3,878 Amphicars were built in Germany from 1961 to 1968, and 3,000 of them were imported into the U. S.)
Charles chose the Oregon Convention Center as the pick-up point, then over the Steel Bridge and into downtown via the Park Blocks, past the City Hall and the statue of Portlandia, then south down Macadam to the Willamette Park ramp. (Incidentally, I was stopped at a traffic light on Macadam last summer on my way to the Sellwood Bridge and the Freshwater News office when the Duck pulled up beside me.)
The new Portland Duck finally emerged from the factory in June 2006. Charles drove it home across the country and started running tours in July. He was excited (and relieved I imagine) to see that all 46 seats were often full. His marketing is basic, it involves a website:www.portlandducks.com flyers at hotels and tourism bureaus, good press, and word of mouth.
Of course, the climax of the ride is splashing into the river. "It's always an exciting moment," says Charles. "I imagine a lot of the passengers must be holding their breath!" They have nothing to worry about. The Hydra-Terra vehicle is built with a Freightliner chassis inside a 3/16" marine-grade aluminum underbody (or hull) that is definitely watertight. In addition, the side chambers along the 40' X 8'6" body are filled with foam to create positive buoyancy, making it literally unsinkable. It is constructed to A.B.S. standards and is Coast Guard Certified for "semi-protected waters" including waves up to three feet high.
The "helmsman" is Captain Steve Emil, who has the unique double qualification of a 100-ton master's license and a commercial driver's license. A second crew person attends to the passengers and narrates the tour.
Depending on the strength of current in the river and general conditions, the captain may choose to take a circular route back to Willamette Park, or head down river and drive out at Swan Island or even St Johns if the river is really running fast. The duck can make 7 knots on the water, burning about 4 mpg, and gets 8 mpg on land.
Soundproofing is installed under the entire floor to reduce engine noise, and this duck was specially built with a full aluminum roof and removable glass windows for comfort whatever the weather. Besides the regular tour, the Duck also offers educational tours focusing on Portland's significant landmarks, people, and history; it's also available for private charter for weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, etc.
The power plant is a 300 h.p. turbo-charged 7.2 liter Cummins diesel engine. The radiator is mounted at the rear and cooled by a hydraulic fan. Power is fed to the rear wheels by an Allison heavy-duty automatic transmission, and to the 26"-diameter bronze propeller by a Velvet Drive 5000 series reduction gear. The propeller is engaged by the touch of a button; the rudder is turned by an electric linear actuator with a gauge on the dash indicating the rudder angle. The propeller operates in a tunnel that protects it from damage and reduces cavitation.
As part of its commitment to the community, the Portland Duck runs on bio-diesel (from the gas station at Columbia and 60th) and at least 5% of the after-tax profits are donated to schools and nonprofit organizations with cash and in-kind contributions. For more info www. PortlandDucks.com
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