As electric bicycles become more popular, so too does pedal electric sit-on-top kayaks. One of the latest vehicles to cross our radar, the Pedayak Electric, features a unique parallel propulsion system.
So, before we get into the complicated story…
The Pedayak Electric is manufactured by the French company L’Aquaphile and has a self-ejecting rotomolded polyethylene hull measuring 360 cm long x 73 cm wide (11.8 x 2.4 ft). The scale tip is 44 kg (97 lbs) including motor and battery, and can withstand a maximum weight of 180 kg (397 lbs) for pedalers, passengers, and luggage.
As with other pedal kayaks (such as the base model Pedayak), users can move through the water via a set of pedals on the top that rotate a propeller on the underside of the boat. You can go backwards by turning the pedal backwards.
Pedayak
In most pedal-powered watercraft, a motor is activated to increase the user’s pedaling power, and the combined muscle and motor power is transferred to a single propeller. In contrast, the Pedayak Electric has two inline propellers. There’s a fully human-powered one up front (but at the stern of the boat) and a battery-powered motor/propeller pod behind it.
This means that you can run using only your muscle strength without activating the motor, you can run the motor without stepping on the pedals and use only electricity, or you can use a combination of both by pedaling and using the motor. It also means that you can. Both propellers rotate at the same time.
L’Aquaphile founder David Adrian says this setup, among other things, acts as a failsafe, meaning that even if the battery dies or the user gets too tired, there’s at least one other way to get the boat running. . The included 2-piece deck retractable paddle can also be used.
Pedayak
In a rather interesting arrangement, the Pedayak Electric is steered via a horizontal rod mounted along one side of the cockpit, which the user slides back and forth by hand. That rod moves a tiller connected to the rear, which rotates the motor/propeller pod from side to side. The speed of the motor is controlled by a wireless waterproof remote control.
A single charge of the lithium battery, which is accessible from the cockpit, reportedly lasts about three hours when using electric power alone, and up to seven hours when the user helps pedal. The kayak’s motor-only cruising speed is 10 km/h (6 miles).
Pedayak
If you like the sound of the Pedayak Electric, it’s available for €3,900 (approximately $4,354 USD) from Pedayak’s website. Add-ons such as outrigger platforms are available at additional cost.
There is also a recently announced model with battery-enhancing solar panels priced at 4,650 euros ($5,193). You can see it in action in the following video.
pedayac solar
Source: Pedayak
