66 Canoe | Cape Falcon Kayak

Video: Final boat test before we leave for Mexico

November 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Final boat test before we leave for Mexico. Here I am testing some foam saddles that I made to level out the outrigger and yet another pair of rudder blades. I’m still not 100% satisfied with the steering situation, part of which is the boat and the other part is the rudder blade. The...

Video: Steaming in experimental reinforcement ribs

November 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Here I’m steaming a couple of experimental reinforcement ribs into the pedal drive canoe to strengthen the framework around the adapter box. No idea if this will become a permanent modification or not but here is the process I used: I started with some very dry bending oak. Normally we prefer it to be...

Video: First test of the new pedal drive canoe in outrigger mode

November 2023July 2024Leave a comment

First test of the new Pedal Drive Canoe in outrigger mode! Here I’m using our canoe catamaran system to attach an inflatable ama. I can definitely feel the drag of the ama but it’s not terrible, it seems to take away about .1 to .2 mph of speed, and the effect on steering is...

A lovely student-built rowing canoe

November 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Check out this lovely rowing canoe built by one of our students to use on the St. Croix river in Minnesota. This is a perfect example of the versatility of our building system. He started out building a 32” wide x 15’6” long solo canoe, then rounded out the bottom a little more for...

On YouTube: The Pedal Drive Canoe system is officially released!

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

The Pedal Drive Canoe system is officially released! This was a LOT more work than I expected but hopefully it will help people that can’t use a canoe paddle for whatever reason get back on the water in a canoe. In this YouTube video, I show you how the system works and go into...

Video: Just some nice imagery of the pedal canoe

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

The last task before officially releasing the pedal drive modification for our skin-on-frame canoes is to cut this intro sequence for the explainer video down to 15 seconds, but before I start chopping, I thought I would share the whole thing with you guys. Enjoy! ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram...

Video: Speed testing the pedal drive canoe

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

If I really wanted to see how the pedal drive canoe fared against a sea kayak I probably shouldn’t have chosen a 6’4” experienced kayaker and put him in our fastest boat. I was definitely working harder than he was to keep pace during the “normal effort” leg. My normal cruising speed is more...

Don’s nesting pack canoes

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

“Hi Brian, I finally completed the build of our pair of nesting pack canoes. We’ve now had the chance to paddle them several times on a few different bodies of water and are able to report how extremely pleased we are with them. The boats each came in at about 18lbs, are surprisingly fast,...

Video: More testing in the pedal drive tandem

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

The more time we spend in the pedal canoe, the more natural it becomes switching between pedal, paddle or sail just depending on the situation. Mixing pedal and paddle is especially fun for maneuvering. For the record, sail trolling has never gone well for me, but that doesn’t seem to stop me from continuing...

Video: Self-rescue practice in the pedal drive solo canoe

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

I still don’t understand if it’s really possible to self rescue a solo canoe? Here I’m doing some self rescue practice with the smaller of the two pedal drive prototypes. It’s not really much different than doing the same thing without the pedal drive, although it is a little more dicey because it’s hard...

Video: Sail testing the pedal drive canoe

October 2023July 2024Leave a comment

I’m playing a little game today. Wind picks up sail goes up, wind dies down, sail comes down, petal Drive goes in. I even managed to clock a few miles with the Bixby electric motor. There’s definitely worse things to do with one’s time… ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed....

Video: “We probably should have learned how to paddle the canoe before filming ourselves doing it”

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Actual quote from this paddle: “We probably should have learned how to paddle the canoe before filming ourselves doing it.” The reality is we’ve done almost all of our canoeing in solos, which limits my tandem experience to Boy Scouts and Liz’s to none. I wish I had an audio recorder running the entire...

Video: Transforming the pedal drive canoe back to a “regular” canoe

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Here we are transforming the pedal drive canoe back into an ordinary canoe. The finished results ends up about 3 pounds heavier than the same canoe without pedal drive capability, which isn’t too bad. In the original prototype all these parts collectively weighed about 5 pounds more, so we’re definitely making progress. ___ This...

Video: Thoughts on using the latest solo/tandem pedal drive canoe

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Some thoughts on using the latest solo/tandem pedal drive canoe prototype in solo mode: I love paddling/pedaling this boat! I was afraid that the pedal drive would steal some of the magic of normal canoeing, but it turns out that it’s just a different flavor of addictive. With no paddle tipping in the water...

Video: Crashing the canoe into an underwater dam

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

The audio from this clip is quite entertaining, but despite two very frustrating hours of trying I just can’t get it to upload. This was our first time at this particular lake, and we were not aware of the remnants of an old dam just below the surface. The pedal drive fins kick up...