Peter Lammerts doesn鈥檛 golf or fish 鈥� but his latest invention does both.
The retired heavy-duty mechanic says the , or Golfish, can take you through a full day of recreation: a trip through town and a round of golf, followed by fishing at the nearest lake or river.
Lammerts, 70, had friends suggest he try to build an amphibious vehicle, after seeing his 1960s German-made Amphibicar.
鈥淎re you nuts?鈥� he asked them.
But a seed was planted.
鈥淎nd then one night lying in bed, [I thought] what the hell is the difference between this and a float plane?鈥�
Lammerts began designing pontoons for a gas-powered golf cart that swing up and store overhead when the vehicle is on land. He says it only took a few tries to find the right shape and size to keep the cart afloat.
鈥淎nd then I figured I need to make it unsinkable, so I got the latest technology in styrofoam inside the pontoons,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e were out in it with a thousand pounds of people and forgot to put the plugs in 鈥� she went down another two inches. Can鈥檛 sink it.鈥�
| Peter Lammerts pilots his Floating Golf Cart on the Fraser River with friend Brian Davies along for the ride. |
Lammerts says he鈥檚 been an inventor his whole life, earning two Manning Innovation Awards nominations over the years.
鈥淢y parents used to freak out because even as a kid, like seven years old, as soon as I bought a toy I鈥檇 take it apart and then they would be mad because I couldn鈥檛 put it back together,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd then, as I got a little older, I started putting them back together again and that鈥檚 always been my hobby, is tinkering.鈥�
Lammerts is in the process of patenting the convertible pontoons.
He says he has seen great interest in the invention when he has taken it to Arizona, where some towns allow golf carts on city roads. He envisions those communities to be his prime market for the Floating Golf Cart, which he anticipates will retail for approximately $26,000.
kelvin.gawley@abbynews.com
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