Hybrid-drive kayak can be pedaled or motored – or a bit of both

As ebikes continue to climb in popularity, so do pedal-electric sit-on-top kayaks. One of the latest to cross our radar, the Pedayak Electric, features a unique parallel propulsion system.

So, before we get to all the complicated stuff …

The Pedayak Electric is manufactured by French company L’Aquaphile, and sports a self-emptying roto-molded polyethylene hull that measures 360 cm long by 73 cm wide (11.8 by 2.4 ft). It tips the scales at a claimed 44 kg (97 lb) – motor and battery included – and can accommodate a maximum pedaler/passenger/cargo weight of 180 kg (397 lb).

As is the case with other pedal kayaks (such as the base-model Pedayak), users can move it through the water via a topside set of pedals that spin up a propeller on the underside of the boat. Pedaling backwards allows it to go in reverse.

In most pedal-electric watercraft, a motor kicks in to augment the user's pedaling power, with the combined muscle/motor power getting channeled into a single propeller. By contrast, the Pedayak Electric has two inline propellers. There's the entirely human-powered one in front (but still at the stern of the boat), behind which is a battery-powered motor/propeller pod.

This means that the user can go with muscle power alone by not activating the motor, they can go with electric power alone by activating the motor but not pedaling, or they can go with a combination of the two by pedaling and using the motor, causing both propellers to spin at once.

L’Aquaphile founder David Adrian tells us that among other things, this setup serves as a failsafe – if the battery runs out, or if the user gets too tired, there will still be at least one other method of moving the boat. An included two-piece deck-storable paddle can also be used.

In a rather interesting arrangement, the Pedayak Electric is steered via a horizontal rod mounted along one side of the cockpit, which the user slides fore and aft by hand. That rod moves a connected tiller in the rear, which in turn swivels the motor/prop pod to the left or right. The motor's speed is controlled by a wireless waterproof remote.

One charge of the cockpit-accessible lithium battery should reportedly be good for about three hours of runtime using electric power alone, or up to seven hours if the user helps out by pedaling. The kayak has a motor-only cruising speed of 10 km/h (6 mph).

Should the Pedayak Electric sound like your cup of tea, it's available now via the Pedayak website for €3,900 (about US$4,354) – add-ons such as outrigger platforms will cost you extra.

There's also a recently announced model that includes a battery-boosting solar panel, which is priced at €4,650 ($5,193). It can be seen in action, in the following video.

Source: Pedayak