Winsome Two-Person Pedal Boat By Swallow Boats
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 09.24.06
Looking like a 4 to 7 mph, cruising cocktail table (where's the blender plug in?), the Winsom pedal boat is approximately 160lbs (75kg); 5.3m (17ft 4in); and priced at £4,995. From the Swallow website "The boat is moulded in double-skinned glass fibre for optimum strength, stiffness and weight. The crew sit facing each other and pedal the boat via a central gearbox where patent nylon gears drive a 12" propeller at about 300 rpm. The boat is steered using a fingertip tiller connected to a balanced rudder". "She has substantial buoyancy chambers fore and aft, as well as a forward water ballast tank to trim to boat for one-person operation or uneven crew weight". With a hand free steering, she could also be quite nice for fishermen. Don't forget to put sunblock between the toes though.
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That is over $7500, right? That's a lot of money.
$7500 is TOO expensive, but this is pretty cool - I haven't seen much innovation in this particular area lately.
That said, an aftermarket conversion kit to add pedal power to existing canoes would really float my boat.
ahem.