Stitch and Glue Pedal Boat

[Fred in Wisc]

Tossed it in the lake for a test run yesterday. Pretty successful. I think I'm going to adjust the steering linkages so it's less sensitive, it's got so much rudder authority that a little tiny bit of stick motion gives you a pretty abrupt turn. My daughter was quite frustrated with that until she got the hang of it. It needs a little movable handle to make the steering stick easier to reach, and probably a little dry box on board. Maybe a splash shield, those big paddlewheels throw some water when you are going fast.

It's fast for a paddle boat. It's very maneuverable (well, it's real small - 6 feet long and a little under 4 feet wide). It trims out pretty well with my daughter on board, maybe a little low in front, but with a heavier, taller person they will have the seat back more and it should trim out level. Abby says it feels stable and safe, even with some boat wakes, but feels a little tippy getting on and off of it. She says the seating is pretty comfortable, even after pedaling and drifting around for an hour or so.

Before our launch, we did a quick assembly. installed pedals and the chain rollers. Put the seat together (I offset the bench portions a little to give better access to the steering stick, will narrow them before final assembly). Put the steering together with some clamps to see how it works before gluing everything down. Adjusted the seat to Abby's leg length and bolted it down.


Abby bolting on the seat


Assembled for testing


Just launched


Out on the lake. She ran it out to the sandbar where some other folks were hanging out, got some "did you build that?" questions right off the bat. I had the family in our little Hickman Sled, let Abby go off exploring on her own a bit with the paddle boat.

I guess I can finalize the steering and rudder, epoxy coat all those parts, and get ready to paint. Hope I can get that done before it gets too cold here.

[terrulian]

Wow, this is a big occasion!! Great stuff.

Don't know if you want to spend the money how about just a tiller extension for the steering arm?

[Fred in Wisc]

I never posted pics of the final product. Here it is. Abby picked the color. I let the kids pick any color they want as long as it's bright so we can identify them easily out on the lake, and to maximize their visibility so the jet skiers and wakeboarders don't run them over.

[terrulian]

Great stuff. I see you have the steering gear sorted out.

[Fred in Wisc]

Yup. It's simple and durable. Just takes them a little bit to figure out which way you turn as you push and pull.

I'm pretty happy with how this one worked out, the only thing I'd change is to use a bigger gear on the paddles, the pedaling effort is a little high, but it moves along pretty well compared to our commercial paddle boat. And maybe add some rod holders. Then they could troll as they pedal.

[cape man]

Too cool!

[Jeff]

Very nice!! Jeff