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The idea is to propel a kayak with 'flippers' or paddles on
the sides. The paddles are driven by foot-pedals. The
foot pedals are powered by feet, which are powered by
muscles, which are powered by food.. you get the idea.
The paddles would move back & forth along the length of
the boat.
On the 'power' stroke', the paddle would flip
away from the boat (normal to the hull roughly) for
maximum grip on the water. On the return stroke the
paddle would fold down and move edge-on through the
water.
There would be guide-grooves, say half-way between the
chines and the gunwales. A single loop of cable would wrap
all the way around in this groove and over pulleys at stem
and stern.
Foot-pedal mechanism would move the cable back-and-
forth at some gear-up ratio to the motion of the pedals -
roughly 10:1
Mirage Drive for Kayaks
http://www.hobiecat...atures/miragedrive/
One example of existing kayak pedal drives [Custardguts, Sep 09 2010]
[link]
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Are you suggesting this as an improvement on existing kayak pedal drive systems, or were you not aware there were kayak pedal systems available? I'm not saying baked, but definitely on the shelf in a slightly different flavour. |
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Once again, I should have googled more. I guess
[marked-for-deletion] |
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No, just turn it into a pedal-powered escavator-typre tracked drive for amphibious kayaks. |
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The suggested mechanism gives a motion ratio of 1:1, so the paddles move exactly the same distance as your feet.
The advantage of paddles, discovered thousands of years ago, is that the bit in the water moves further than the rower's hands, giving a 'gearing up' effect. It is the same principal which makes bicycles more effecient than velocipedes. |
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The fins would not be on the bottom, but half-way
up the sides (between chines & gunnels) to handle
shallow water. |
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The mechanism I had in mind was not a direct link
between pedals and paddle-cable, but a system
where the pedals work cables that wind over a
small pulley, and the final drive cable wraps over a
big pulley, which is attached to the small pulley.
Yes, I know - a shining example of elegant design. |
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That Hobie Cat system is pretty slick - thanks! |
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