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@nickrauchen Ah, a pedal boat! You looked too laid back in the early photos, it took me a while to catch on.

How do those work in shallow water where you're dragging the bottom?

@ericphelps

They need about 18 inches to work, but no problem... you either feather the drive (blades tuck up underneath) and paddle... or for a prolonged paddle you pull the drive out completely to reduce drag. (Same for the rudder.) At that point it will go as shallow as any other similar kayak hull.

Extra bonus... the drive blades become your centerboard when you fit it with a sail!

@nickrauchen Now you made me go do a search to see how those things work. Pretty clever mechanically! I'm envious of the combination of higher speeds and lower effort. Perfect for really long expeditions like yours!

@ericphelps

The truly amazing thing is performance against wind and waves. The low profile (to the wind) combined with the increased strength of legs (vs arms) makes it possible to travel upwind when most small power boats stay on the shore. You get wet of course, but you can move even with 20+mph headwinds and 2ft waves! The limit seems to be short period waves above 2ft, where you get lifted up so high the rudder is out of the water so you can't steer...