Those who want to relax near water bodies, whether it is a river or sea, a pond or a small lake, more often prefer active boat trips to passive lying on the beach under the hot sun. Among the numerous entertainments connected with movement on water, a water bike has long been very popular among vacationers.
Acquaintance with the technique
What is a water bike? Simply put, this is a regular catamaran, which we have already seen more than once on the berths of boat stations and, of course, rode along the expanse of water, enjoying and admiring beautiful landscapes, while simultaneously receiving an energy charge from training our body muscles.
Typically, this technique is small and lightweight, making it easy to transport it in a car. Of course, a big plus is that this type of transport does not need to be registered, there are no age restrictions for it. Fans of fishing will probably also appreciate such a water bike, for them it will be a convenient purchase, since the craft will not roll over from the blow of the wind. In it, unlike a boat, you can fish while standing.
Where can I buy such a bike?
Such a catamaran-pedal bike can be purchased quite easily in any specialized store. It presents their great diversity in models, manufacturing countries and technical specifications. The price range is also very different, from cheap options to the most expensive.
Create a homemade catamaran
But what if you try to make a water bike with your own hands? What do you think will work out? Before you begin to work, you need to study the relevant literature, listen to the advice of experienced masters.
Anyone who wants to construct such a catamaran on their own can himself figure out what materials he will create it from. There are a lot of options for this! Nevertheless, we want to illustrate several examples of the affordable assembly of such a technique.
Such a pedal boat will be made of two wooden floats, a convenient bridge, a chair, as well as a steering rack and a drive.
The main part is floats that keep the entire structure afloat.
Float manufacturing options
From wide boards with a thickness of 40 millimeters and a length of about 3 meters, support skis are made - floats, at one end of which they make cuts at an angle of 45 degrees. To increase the buoyancy of skis, use a dense foam, which is glued with waterproof or epoxy adhesive to their lower surface. After it dries, all the edges of the workpieces are carefully processed with sandpaper or a file, and then covered with several layers of bright nitro enamel.
Inflatable floats are made, the material for which will be a rubberized fabric. The creation process is quite time-consuming, but the mass of the entire catamaran due to this will significantly decrease.
The advantage of the first method of manufacturing floats over the second is that it is much easier to adapt the chair to the wooden structure, as well as the drive mechanism.
The driving force in such a catamaran will be ordinary pedals from a simple bicycle. To install them, holes are cut out in the bridge. To bring such a technique into action, it is necessary to make a paddle wheel and blades, due to the rotation of which it will be possible to increase speed. Usually they are made of stainless metal and welded to the rear hub. To control the catamaran, you also need to install a steering wheel that will allow you to rotate the device in different directions.
And finally, all the basic work on creating a homemade craft is completed. Now, you should try this device to see how it behaves on the water.
Hydrofoil for a pedalo: how is it?
How to make a water bike, now we know. Have you heard anything about aquasiper? It turns out that this is the so-called hydrofoil. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
And its lightweight aluminum construction, made of material used in aviation, provides minimal resistance to hydrofoils, thereby allowing speeds to reach almost 30 km / h. And all this works without any fuel and engines, only the strength of your muscles is required.
Is it possible?
Is it possible to build such a pedal boat with your own hands? Yes easily! If there were skillful hands and a head, everything else a good master would definitely find. We will carefully consider this unusual form of transport. A person seated on an airplane resembles a rider bouncing up and down, as if jumping along a very rough road. At the same time, with the help of the steering wheel, he can turn in any direction, and, most importantly, all this will happen not on the ground, but on the surface of the water. When creating such a bicycle, close attention should be paid to the reliability of the leg mounts, and it is also necessary to make the correct calculations for the hydrofoils in order to ultimately ensure complete safety for the rider.
Looking from the side at such a jumping person is funny and fun, and it seems that this is easy and simple. In fact, to slide on the water smoothly and confidently, it takes a lot of effort and dexterity, because it is not for nothing that such a bicycle is considered a sports simulator.
Why not buy?
Fans of outdoor activities, who have a great desire to have such a technique, but have no opportunity to independently design it or buy it in a store due to high prices, may well choose the option of acquiring it using various media. Second-hand opening bike, if it is, of course, sufficiently reliable and suitable for use, it may well please the owner for a long time and give him a lot of pleasure. After all, someone can sell a bike not at all due to the fact that he became unusable, and the owner decided to get rid of it faster. It is possible that the former owner for a completely different reason, not belonging to the category of technical, decided to take this step. Of course, when buying such a craft, you need to carefully, and better in the presence of a person who knows firsthand this type of equipment, examine all the components of a water bike, and then make the final decision.
Isn’t it great?
It is difficult to resist such a purchase as a pedalo, which weighs only 14 kilograms and, in addition to this, can also be disassembled. Putting it in a bag for a while (disassembled), you can travel with it everywhere and experience it in any reservoirs. The maximum weight that the design of such an aquasiper can withstand is 110 kilograms, the minimum is 35 kilograms. Therefore, for safety reasons, adolescents under 11-13 years old should not ride on it.
These age restriction guidelines are for hydrofoil buyers. For those who decide to purchase a catamaran bike for walking in the water, there are no such restrictions. In this case, it all depends on the adult: if he admits his child to him, then he trusts and does not doubt his strength and endurance. But attentiveness and control over children and adolescents are always necessary and will never hurt. Be careful on the water!