Venema 8x8 amphibian

The Venema 8x8 is a small home-built amphibious vehicle made in the Netherlands by Marnix Venema, who sent photographs of it under construction to the archive in May 2018.

Design

The body is a fully welded, self-supporting steel shell of 3 mm and 1.5 mm plate with no separate chassis. All eight wheels are driven by a single chain on each side, which runs over guide wheels so that each sprocket engages the chain over more than 70% of its teeth. The wheel axles are stainless steel, and the seals are small (27 mm internal), making them less vulnerable than those on machines such as the Argo.

Power comes from a 4 hp Briggs & Stratton engine with electric start, driving through three forward and three reverse gears with an automatic clutch. It steers by braking the wheels on one side through a differential, using disc brakes taken from a scooter, and long curves can be made very precisely by pulling the handles more or less firmly. A jet drives it in the water. Top speed is about 20 km/h. First gear gives only 3 km/h, enough to climb straight up a 40-degree dyke bank, though only on dry grass.

The design was inspired by the German wartime Kettenkrad, which explains its retro seat. It is the same width but a metre shorter, so that it fits in the back of the builder's Toyota LiteAce van.

Testing

Before painting it was tested in the water several times with other engines and a small outboard motor. It rusted badly and was later blasted and given an offshore coating with a camouflage scheme in zinc paint. Venema planned to show it at events such as the steam festival in Almere, and to build a small series if the concept proved reliable.