Pedal Boats

[happyflowerlady]

Years ago, I had one of those little blue pedal boats like you can often rent out at beachfront resorts and parks. I just loved that little boat! It was designed for two people, but also worked just right for one person. It took two of us to get it loaded into the back of the pickup, and unloaded again at the boat dock; but once it was in the water, it was great. I had an old half-submerged log on the bank of the lake that was almost across from where my house was; so I kept the pedal boat chained up to the log, and then just walked down with my fishing tackle when I wanted to go fishing. Since I could both pedal and steer with my feet, I was able to use both hands when needed for the fishing pole, and i would troll along the shoreline and sometimes hook a nice kokanee for dinner.

I was looking at pedal boats online today, and found that they have signifigantly improved since I had my little blue one. I found one that is sleek and elegant looking, and they come in all sizes, so you can get one to suit your needs. These look more like a regular boat than the old-fashioned square ones do; so it is no wonder that they can go faster, and even be safer in rougher waters than the square ones are.

We aren't even going to talk about how much they cost. Even though Amazon has them at a great price (comparatively speaking); they are still so far out of my league that they might as well be a yacht. Anyway.....dreaming is free.

 

[2sweed]

I can see right off what a advantage having the pointed nose and wind shield would be on open water in dealing with wind force, as well as, incoming waves. It would be easier to point into the waves then to just have them crashing over you, as in the regular square shaped boats. I wouldn't mind owning one of those to cruise up the backwater streams off the big reservoirs and on the rivers, we have around here. Of course a small trolling motor would be handy if my legs grew to tired to petal. That way I would have room for my camping gear.

 

[campforums]

I don't know what I would do with one if I had one, they are very slow and not really meant to be moved around once you have them in the water because they are so bulky. I don't have any ponds nearby so I don't know where I'd put one, also depending on what variety you have you have to have be in fairly calm waters. I have also used the ocean kind (water trikes) which are pedal boats but designed to use in the ocean (they look a bit different).

This is what they look like:

I think I will stick to renting pedal boats out when I want to try them when I'm near a tourist area since that's where they seem to be pretty popular.

 

[happyflowerlady]

I have never seen one of those ocean trikes before. I can see that they are probably a lot of fun to just ride up and down the beach. I agree that it would not be good to use the little square pedal boats in the ocean. When the tide turned, it would take you out to sea for sure.

They are more designed just for someone that wants to be out in a boat on quiet water, probably; but I really like it because I could troll along and fish, where you can't do that nearly as well if you are in a rowboat or a kayak, and need both hands for rowing or paddling. Since I could tie it up at the log, and padlock it, I only had to get it in the water one time, and then back out when the weather got too cold for fishing.

 

[campforums]

You will see lots of them along the beaches in Florida and South Carolina, at least that is where I saw lots of them. It is really quite amazing how well you can maneuver over waves with those big floating wheels.

I like my boating to be a little more fast paced

 

[JoshPosh]

Years ago, I had one of those little blue pedal boats like you can often rent out at beachfront resorts and parks. I just loved that little boat! It was designed for two people, but also worked just right for one person. It took two of us to get it loaded into the back of the pickup, and unloaded again at the boat dock; but once it was in the water, it was great. I had an old half-submerged log on the bank of the lake that was almost across from where my house was; so I kept the pedal boat chained up to the log, and then just walked down with my fishing tackle when I wanted to go fishing. Since I could both pedal and steer with my feet, I was able to use both hands when needed for the fishing pole, and i would troll along the shoreline and sometimes hook a nice kokanee for dinner.

I was looking at pedal boats online today, and found that they have signifigantly improved since I had my little blue one. I found one that is sleek and elegant looking, and they come in all sizes, so you can get one to suit your needs. These look more like a regular boat than the old-fashioned square ones do; so it is no wonder that they can go faster, and even be safer in rougher waters than the square ones are.

We aren't even going to talk about how much they cost. Even though Amazon has them at a great price (comparatively speaking); they are still so far out of my league that they might as well be a yacht. Anyway.....dreaming is free.

I would of loved to have one these back in hawaii. Casting and being out in the water would be fun and good exercise. Didn't that one guy try to pedal his way around the world with one of these? Didn't he have solar panels on the roof?

 

[Northern Dancer]

....I use a paddle boat - it's called a canoe.

 

[campforums]

....I use a paddle boat - it's called a canoe.

Pedal, paddle, schmadel, it is all the same to me!!

 

[JessiFox]

"Dreaming is free" indeed That sounds so fun! It's lovely that it was manageable enough for you to go solo sometimes...sounds like a great, relaxing time. Wouldn't hurt getting a little leg exercise in, either while you're fishing.

 

[happyflowerlady]

Actually, the lake that I was using it on was a fairly large (and deep) lake. it was in Western Washington, and was called Lake Mayfield. They had a State park just down the road from where I lived, and the picnic and swimming area were on one side of the bridge, and the boat launch was on the other side.

There were some pretty fast boats out on the lake, some with water skiers, and some just racing around, and they all made some pretty large waves, and would have been dangerous for me to be anywhere close to them.

I stayed closer to the shoreline, and just far enough out for the water to be deep enough to catch some good fish. When I was done fishing, then I would go back up to the old log where I tied the boat up, and walk across the road, and home to cook my trout dinner. The lake also was well known for its tiger-muskie, and those were some scary looking big fish. I always worrried about one of those taking off my foot when I was swimming, and they were actually seen close to the swimming area at the park.

 

[campforums]

Have you done anymore research, maybe some plans to do some pedalling this year?

 

[happyflowerlady]

There are actually some beautiful lakes here in northern Alabama that would probably be perfect for using a pedal boat, @campforums. The thing is, I do not live close to any of these lakes and would have to haul the boat (assuming that I had one again) to the lake, use it , and then load it back up and haul it home. I only have an old car (stationwagon actually), so there is no way that I could transport the boat.

Before, I lived almost across the street from the lake, and had a small Mazda pickup that I could easily haul the pedal boat in the back of. Once it was unloaded and in the water, it stayed there all summer, because I just kept it chained up to a big log that was right where my little trail down ot the lake was at. I just carried my fishing pole and tackle box back and forth when I went out fishing.

It was also a great place to swim, and much more private than the public beach at Ike Kinswa State Park, just down the road. The lake was fed from cold underground glacial water; so even in the hottest days of summer, it was often very cold water. I do live pretty close to the Tennessee River; but the current there is way too swift to take a pedal boat out into the water. I will have to settle for the little back yard swimming pool nowdays.

 

[campforums]

There are actually some beautiful lakes here in northern Alabama that would probably be perfect for using a pedal boat, @campforums. The thing is, I do not live close to any of these lakes and would have to haul the boat (assuming that I had one again) to the lake, use it , and then load it back up and haul it home. I only have an old car (stationwagon actually), so there is no way that I could transport the boat.

True... Most of the pedal boats I see are either those available to rent/use at specific places for using pedal boats or people who own them have them on their private property with a private body of water to use them on. Also I think because of the shape and mechanisms of a pedal boat they are quite awkward to carry unlike a canoe.

So you do not have the pickup truck anymore?

 

[ashley0323]

I love to do the pedal boats! I love to be able to do the petals, it makes me feel like I do my exercise in, Epecially the next morning when your upper thighs are on fire!! The scenery is always pleasant too!

 

[Alexandoy]

There is a beach resort here called Matabungkay where we always rent a pedal boat that could carry 6 people. The pedals are handled by 2 persons that can enable us to roam the waters although we stay near the shore all the time. The pedal boat is good for exercising the legs so it’s for dual purpose. Sometimes we rent the pedal boat to fish for fun with a line and hook although usually we do not catch anything.

PS. There was a time that I initiated a sort of argument, a friendly and funny argument though. I said it is actually a "paddle boat" and not a "pedal boat" because there is a paddle. Of course the other side would argue that there is a pedal, in fact there were 2 pedals for 2 people huh. You can imagine the fun when the kids would exchange banter with the adults.

 

[happyflowerlady]

That is exactly true, @Alexandoy . These boats have pedals and when we pedal, it runs the paddle wheel underneath the boat, so it IS actually either/both of these designations.
When I had mine, I also stayed close to shore. One day, I was a little too far out from shore, and the wind came up. Because of the square shape of the pedal boat, it was really bouncing and rolling on those waves ! I started heading for shore right away; but I was concerned if it would make it without turning over when a few of those large waves hit the side of the boat.
Since I wasn't deep-fishing , it was better to fish closer to the shore anyway, and I usually had good luck catching fish when I trolled the boat slowly along.