Those who want to relax near water bodies, whether it be a river or the sea, a pond or a small lake, more and more often prefer active water walks to passive lying on the beach under the hot sun. Among the many entertainments associated with moving on the water, a water bike has long been very popular among vacationers.
Introduction to technology
What is a water bike? Simply put, this is an ordinary catamaran, which we have already seen more than once on the piers of boat stations and, of course, rode on the smooth surface of the water, enjoying and admiring the beautiful scenery, while getting a boost of energy from training the muscles of our body.
Usually, such equipment is small in size and weight, making it easy to transport it in a car. Of course, a big plus is that this type of transport does not need to be registered, there are no age restrictions for it. Fishing enthusiasts will probably also appreciate such a water bike, for them it will be a convenient purchase, since the watercraft will not capsize from the wind. In it, unlike a boat, you can fish while standing.
Where can I buy such a bike?
Such a catamaran water bike can be easily purchased at any specialized store. There is a wide variety of them by models, producing countries and technical characteristics. The price range is also very different, from cheap options to the most expensive.
Create a homemade catamaran
What if you try to make a water bike with your own hands? Do you think it will work? Before starting work, you need to study the relevant literature, listen to the advice of experienced craftsmen.
Everyone who wants to design such a catamaran on their own can figure out for themselves what materials they will create it from. There are so many options for this! Nevertheless, for clarity, we want to give several examples of the available assembly of such equipment.
This water bike will be made of two wooden floats, a comfortable bridge, a chair, as well as a steering rack and drive.
The main part is the floats that keep the whole structure afloat.
Float options
From wide boards 40 millimeters thick and about 3 meters long, support skis are made - floats, at one end of which saw cuts are made at an angle of 45 degrees. To increase the buoyancy of the skis, a dense foam is used, which is glued with waterproof or epoxy glue to their underside. After it dries, all edges of the blankscarefully processed with sandpaper or a file, and then covered with several layers of bright nitro enamel.
Inflatable floats are made, the material for which will be rubberized fabric. The creation process is quite laborious, but the mass of the entire catamaran will significantly decrease due to this.
The advantage of the first method of making floats over the second is that it is much easier to adapt the chair, as well as the drive mechanism, to the wooden structure.
The driving force in such a catamaran will be ordinary pedals from a simple bicycle. Holes are cut in the bridge for their installation. To put such a technique into action, it is necessary to make a paddle wheel and blades, due to the rotation of which it will be possible to increase speed. They are usually made of stainless steel and are welded to the rear hub. To control the catamaran, you also need to install a steering wheel that will allow you to turn the device in different directions.
And finally, all the main work on creating a home-made watercraft is completed. Now it would be time to test this device to see how it behaves on the water.
Hydrofoils for a water bike: how is it?
How to make a water bike, now we know. Have you heard of aquaskiper? It turns out that this is the so-called hydrofoil water bike. Sounds good, doesn't it?
And its lightweight aluminum construction, made from aircraft-grade material,provides minimal resistance to hydrofoils, thereby allowing speeds up to almost 30 km/h. And all this works without any fuel and motors, it only takes the strength of your muscles.
Is it possible?
Is it possible to design such a water bike with your own hands? Yes, easily! If there were skillful hands and a head, a good master would definitely have everything else. Let's take a closer look at this unusual mode of transport. The person sitting on the waterplane resembles a rider bouncing up and down, as if jumping over a very rough road. At the same time, with the help of the steering wheel, it can turn in any direction, and, most importantly, all this will take place not on the ground, but on the surface of the water. Close attention when creating such a bike must be paid to the reliability of the leg bindings, it is also necessary to make the correct calculations for hydrofoils in order to ultimately ensure complete safety for the "rider".
Looking at such a jumping person from the outside is funny and fun, and it seems that doing it is easy and simple. In fact, it takes a lot of effort and skill to glide smoothly and confidently on the water, because it is not for nothing that such a bike is considered a sports simulator.
Why not buy?
For lovers of outdoor activities who have a great desire to have such equipment, but are unable to design it on their own or buy it in a store due to high prices, the option of acquiring it through various media may well be suitable. A used introductory bike, if, of course, it is sufficiently reliable and usable, it may well please the owner for a long time and give him a lot of pleasure. After all, someone can sell a bicycle not at all because it has become unusable, and the owner decided to get rid of it faster. It is quite possible that the former owner, for a completely different reason, not related to the category of technical ones, decided to take this step. Of course, when buying such a watercraft, you need to carefully, and preferably in the presence of a person who is familiar with this type of technology firsthand, examine all the nodes of the water bike, and then make the final decision.
Isn't it great?
It's hard to resist buying a water bike that weighs only 14 kilograms and can also be disassembled. Having put it in a bag for a while (unassembled), you can travel with it everywhere and test it on any water bodies. The maximum weight that the design of such a water skipper can withstand is 110 kilograms, the minimum is 35. Therefore, for safety reasons, teenagers under 11-13 years old should not ride it.
These age limit recommendations are for buyers of hydrofoils. For those who decide to purchase a catamaran-bike for walking around the water area, there are no such restrictions. In this case, everything depends on an adult: if he allows his child to reach him, then he trusts and does not doubt his strength and endurance. Butattentiveness and control over children and adolescents are always necessary and never interfere. Be careful on the water!
