Northwest Reel Life Jan-Feb 2024 Volume 4 Issue 4 - Flipbook - Page 13
PUSH PEDAL DRIVE
The push pedal drive
works exactly as the
name implies. You push
forward with one foot
and alternate to the next
foot as you move along
the water. A few things to
keep in mind when using
these drive systems. The
distance between the
peddles and the seat can
be adjusted. You’ll want to
make sure you have this
fine-tuned before putting
in a significant number of
miles on your kayak. Wrong
positioning can lead to
undue strain on the knees
and leg muscles. Foot
positioning is important
too. For example, having
your feet too low on the
peddles can also lead to
excessive strain on the
knees. Finally, a fair amount
of training on calm waters
with little to no current
should be done before
plunging into fishing
adventures that will require
you to travel long distances
over the water or require
you to kayak against strong
currents. The goal here is to
ease yourself in and build
up the muscles required
for a type of leg movement
that isn’t exactly natural to
us.
A big pro about the push
pedals is that they use a
fin system. This system
consists of two flexible fins
that move side to side as
you peddle.
Some of the newer
systems have a feature
that will allow the fins to
flex backward toward the
stern of the boat if you
were to accidentally get
into shallow waters where
the fins might otherwise
drag and potentially break
on the bottom. Fins also
hold up well in weeds and
kelp and rarely present a
significant risk of getting
tangled in underwater
vegetation.
ROTATIONAL PEDAL
DRIVE
If you’re a cyclist or better
yet, a recumbent bike
cyclist, then you’ll already
be familiar with the
movements necessary for
