2 Custom Built Pedal Watercraft w/trailer in DOCKLANDS, Victoria for sale
Update 1-9-2014: Taffy now has fishing rod holders installed for the aft facing pedaler.
We launched both boats last weekend and can report they perform better than we remembered. The recumbant seats recently installed in Matchstick are a big improvement over the kayak seats.
Asking price continues to fall.
Update 07-07-14: Matchstick now has recumbant seats made from Rosewood and Hoop Pine installed and tested. These are much more comfortable than the Hobie kayak seats, not suprisingly because Matchstick and Taffy are not kayaks.
These boats were designed at my request by professionals specifically to be powered by Hobie Mirage Drives with the Turbo Fins.
The hull shape is not like canoes or kayaks (I call them canoes because you gotta call them something and I haven't made up a new word yet.)
Boat 1, (on top), "Taffy" Built by my wife and and I over a 6 month period at a cost of over $6k.
The crew faces each other. The person in the stern steers. Has watertight compartments forward & aft and centre island. All compartments have access with hatches. I built recumbent seats for "Taffy".
Materials are 3mm ply, glass cloth, West System Epoxy. This build is composite plywood and glass cloth saturated with epoxy. Weight 63kg. Length 19.5ft, (5.9)m.
Boat 2, (bottom), "Matchstick", Built by my wife and I over the course of a year at a cost of over $8k. Both crew face forward and both can steer. Forward & aft compartments along with the entire floor is watertight with access hatches. "Matchstick" has Rosewood and Hoop Pine recumbent seats.
Materials are Paulownia strips, glass cloth and West System Epoxy. This is a strip planked boat. Weight 93kg. Length 19.5ft, (5.9m).
Boats easily average 7.2kph on the 17km trip from Victoria Harbour up the Yarra River to Herring Island and back. The hull design not only makes for a super easily driven shape but also one that's very manoeuvrable. Both boats have the Hobie "Twist -n-Store" rudders with the "big blade".
I had these hulls designed because I fell in love with the Hobie Mirage Drives but wanted a larger faster boat that you could actually sit inside of and stay dry. We don't change from street clothes when we go for a pedal and take our phones, camera wallet etc.
We fitted biminis to provide shade in the summer.
Hobie Mirage drives allow you to use the big muscles in your legs to move through the water. (Arms weren't meant for continuous duty.) Mirage drives are extremely efficient and compact. They are brilliantly simple. Your local Hobie dealer has spare parts. There are YouTube videos showing how to adjust and maintain the Mirage drives.
We've built 3 Pedal Craft so far. The red boat in the videos is the prototype and is not for sale.
Videos:
http://tinyurl.com/FastBoats
Taffy photos:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/LightWeigh
Matchstick photos:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/StripPlanked
I can launch and recover the boats from a floating dock by myself as well as return them to the trailer. (I'm 57 years old and 73kg)
Package include 4 self inflating PFDs, 4 Hobie Mirage drives w/Clipless Pedals, 2 paddles, a GoPro camera mount, registered trailer w/LED lights and launching dolly.
Since theses boats are essentially power boat hulls, they are suitable for electric power. The Hobie eVolve Electric drive could be easily fitted to make the boats the best of both worlds.
http://www.hobiecat.com/accessories/evolve/
Call anytime if you have questions. See at Shed 2, North Wharf Road, Docklands, 3008, Vic
Note, Taffy's deck is no longer a bubble gum colour, it's now satin yellow.
