www.long-expeditions.de

Some Call It Adventure I Call It My Way Of Live

------------------------Burn Fat Not Fuel 2

Pedal Powered Expedition Boat

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Foot Pedal Expedition Boat

© Copyright by Ch. Breier / Davey du Plessis

I have had this project on my website several times over the last years and then deleted it again !
It's just very frustrating

that I can't realise it, and only because of the budget...

But here we go again,

I keep trying, giving up is not an option !

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Unfortunately, it is impossible to build such a boat in Germany.

The costs would be astronomical.

The original idea was to build a boat that would be perfect from an ecological and economical point of view. Unfortunately this is not possible in Germany. So I can only hope to find such a boat somewhere used...

As you can imagine, I'm definitely not going to be sitting on a rocking chair when I retire...

Many years ago I tried to build a foot pedal boat with a friend in Malaysia. Everything was ready to go, but then the German customs prevented it because of the extremely high import tax for such a boat ....

But it wasn't a waste of time, because I did a lot of research on the subject...

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I have always been interested in this type of boat and the pictures and information Davey du Plessis has kindly given me about his Pedal Power Boat have rekindled my interest, BIG TIME ...

A boat of this size and with the power of the foot pedal has always been on my mind!

Length 23 feet, width 6 feet, beam 5 feet, 380Kg

A foot pedal drive to propel the boat

Davey was lucky that his uncle, a boatbuilder, was able to build it for him in South Africa!

For its small size, the boat is very spacious

I'm not the only one with budget problems, as it took Davey also a long time to get the project going ...

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A nother very nice foot pedal boat !

This boat is a truly unique project for a truly unique journey. The Expedition Boat is a custom design for Charlie Magnussen, an avid cyclist who is now looking to the ocean for his next adventure. He intends to start in Vancouver, BC and head north on an extended journey that may even include the Northwest Passage.

This is a solely human-powered craft, designed to be pedaled rather than rowed. The drive pedals are located inside the boat, to allow the user to be warm and dry in any weather while keeping the boat moving. The pedal drive connects to a small propeller, which is integrated into the boat’s forward rudder for maximum drive efficiency.

The boat was built atsand finished at Berkeley Marine Center. Mechanical engineering work for the drive system was done by Brooks Dees. The pedal drive is also performing well, with a max speed of 4.4 knots and an estimated cruising speed of 3 knots.

The Boat was designed by Jim Antrim, a graduate of Webb Institute of Naval Architecture, Jim Antrim founded Antrim Associates.

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They are very nice boats, but I have a problem with both of them...

The location of the pedal drive!

Midships is not the right place for a pedal system on an expedition boat.

On the ocean, where it is always deep enough, this is no problem, but along the coast with tidal waters and rivers it is an absolute no-go!

Along the coast and inland waterways, a very shallow draft is essential.

An expedition pedal boat also needs to be able to beach.

In short, the propeller has to sit in the stern, like on a real boat, to protect the propeller and allow you to get dry in tidal waters without destroying the drive. This is also the only way to get into shallow water at all!

Both hulls are very good and I like them very much, but I do not like the position of the pedal drive at all! Trouble is inevitable with a midship propeller system on an expedition boat!

------------------------------------------------------ There are so many places to explore in Europe with such a small boat.

The Rhine, the Moselle, the Danube, the Mediterranean coast, the Baltic Sea, Lake Inari, the rivers and lakes of Scandinavia, the rivers of France and Holland, the rivers and lakes of Poland and Russia...
And there is always the possibility of shipping the boat in a container to Canada or the USA!
There I would have endless possibilities with such a boat like the Great Lakes, the Inter Coastal Waterway, the Inside Passage etc...

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The following things are very important to me:

The boat should have a large cabin where I can sleep comfortably. It should be able to withstand bad weather for a long time.
The cabin has to have enough space for cooking. My extensive equipment needs to be stored safely and waterproof.

There must be room for all the electronics and navigation equipment!

There must be sufficent room for at least 6 month of food, like I had in my ORCA.

There should be plenty of room for some large 12V batteries.

There needs to be enough space for the solar panels and a small wind generator.

The boat should have very little draft and be able to beach. Without this it is almost impossible to explore most rivers and you will miss all the good spots. I would not have been successful on my trip without the shallow draft of my ORCA. 2007 expedition !

The boat should be propelled mainly by pedal power, with an electric outboard motor as a back-up.

It should use as little fossil fuel as possible. So again, more of a Burn Fat Not Fuel trip!

The cabin must be able to be heated, because I know from previous expeditions how important a heating system is on a boat. That it stays dry and habitable, especially in the northern latitudes!
But with such a small boat it is a real challenge.

The boat should not exceed a length of 6-7m and a width of 2m - 3.50m to keep it manageable!

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Before it is too late, it is really time to work on my last big dream, my last big adventure...

And if I fail...
Well...
At least I tried...

I won't be able to travel in the next few years anyway because of my mother's and my brother's health, so I'll give this project a few more years!

This is a realistic time to do some good research and maybe find a good and solid used boat...

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Catamaran

Buying a used micro catamaran would be the only real alternative.

But this is very difficult here in Europe, small catamarans are extremely rarely for sale!

A Boat like that from Roger Mann (USA ) is what I mean !

A micro catamaran would be a very good alternative.

It has enough space to install a pedal drive,
little draft and enough space for my equipment!

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A sailing catamaran would be ideal as it is already designed to glide efficiently through the water!

Therefore
perfect for the conversion to a pedal & electro drive

The catamaran from Sipke Diepbrink in the Netherlands

6,00m x 3,25m perfect size!

A very, very nice Catamaran !

Something like this is very close to my dream catamaran !

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A Ocean Rowing Boat would also be an alternative !

It also has a design for efficient gliding through the water!

Unfortunately, there are very few designs that have a roof, and most of them are open in the midship section, which would not be ideal for me an a long voyage...