Truth be told pedaling a Hobie kayak couldn’t really be much simpler. Its easier than riding a bike and there’s not any specific techniques that you need to adhere to in order to get good performance. But if you’re looking for information on pedaling the Hobie kayak with optimal performance, keep reading.
Pedaling Efficiency
Avoid the temptation to pedal the cranks all the way to the end. You will know that you’re doing it wrong if you hear and feel a heavy click at the end of a pedal stroke, and or you hear and feel the fins hitting the underside of the hull. You do not need to maintain a full length pedal stroke to achieve efficient pedaling. In fact it is more efficient to keep the fins moving back and forth without extending the fins to their limit.
Pedaling in shallow water
It is worth knowing that with one pedal arm fully extended forward, the fins will flatten out against the base of the hull. Whenever you are passing over shallow water of just a few inches, push one foot forward to flatten out the pedals underneath the base of the hull. This will allow you to drift over shallow areas and is good practice when you come in to land the kayak. A handy tip regarding flattening out the fins is that it is still possible to achieve propulsion with the fins flattened out. Just do short pedal stokes (without doing a full stroke) and the fins will flutter in the flattened position. This will allow you to pass over depths of just a few inches of water without fear of damaging the fins and masts
It is possible to retain the flattened fin position without using your legs and this is handy to make use of when you come in to land. That’s what the plastic hook connected to the bungee cord on the deck is for. By hooking this around a pedal arm the fins will remain retracted underneath the base of the hull. The length of the bungee cord is adjustable, allowing you to set the hook position to accommodate various pedal length positions.
Tighter turning
Another useful tip worth knowing is that short pedal strokes will aid in achieving a tighter turning circle, and the faster you pedal the more effective this is.
