The Lutra Airboat 

The Lutra Airboat series is designed for smaller bodies of water. It boasts an extremely low profile and is deployable in as little at six inches of water. A covered, twelve inch fan provides smooth movement at five to six miles per hour. 

As all propulsion is created above surface level, the Airboat minimally disrupts the water, ensuring data collection is of the highest quality. This is particularly important when reading dissolved oxygen levels, as churning up the water via underwater propulsion can reduce the accuracy of data.

Platypus uses the Lutra Airboat in shallow or weed filled water.   While we are still very careful to manage the boat around places it could get stuck or when there is even insufficient water for the airboat, it allows us to get data in a lot of places where other boats can't. 

The airboat was the first platform that Platypus put together, originally for working in shallow flood waters where sending people might be dangerous.