Tom Roering started out having safety concerns as he taught his kids to enjoy ice fishing with him. He ended up building a water-ice-land vehicle (hence the name Wilcraft) that has all sorts of selling points for hunters and fishers: safety because it floats if it breaks through the ice, but also easy mobility, shelter from the weather, and cargo- or carcass- hauling capacity.
The Wilcraft has been 10 years in the making. Roering, who was a flooring installer not an engineer, developed early prototypes in his garage, then two years ago, started making production models at his Maplewood company, Multifarious, Inc. His end product is a drivable ice-fishing house that puts less pressure per square inch on the ice than a person standing or walking does. The wheels retract to set the hull on the ice, and there are holes in the insulated floor to fish through, but those seal shut with storage buckets and rubber gaskets when not in use.
Roering says the Wilcraft ($10,500 with standard features) extends the ice-fishing season for his customers, who got in about 16 weeks of fishing time each of the past two winters. It also extends people’s ability to keep fishing as they get older, he adds: “For those who have some physical limitations—and the aging population that enjoys the sport has time on their hands but certainly cannot drag out a sled anymore—the Wilcraft offers hop-in-and-go convenience.”
For now, Roering is selling the Wilcraft at his own small showroom in Maplewood and through a handful of distributors around the state. They’re listed, along with product specs and demonstration videos, at thewilcraft.com.
