The market for individual craft is one of the most interesting. Here you can find the most incredible ideas for every taste, wallet and water area.
Everything I did in my life was in one way or another connected with the sea and shipbuilding, including the activity on the creation of new devices and apparatus for working in water. Yachting exhibitions provided an opportunity to get acquainted with different shipyards, their products, as well as production processes. But the thought of doing something on my own did not leave me. I understood that entering the market with another inflatable boat was not an option. I wanted something non-standard, convenient, versatile and practical.
Catamaran bike
Analyzing the market, I “caught a wave” of an emerging or, better to say, a revival in the XXI century. water bike-catamaran. There are not many companies that mass-produce them. To be precise, in 2015 there were two of them: in the USA and Brazil, and today there are already four. And here’s what’s interesting: no one makes a catamaran bike completely foldable. We all have a bag and … a frame that needs to be transported somehow. Four years ago, I had the idea to make a Catamaran-to-go – a folding pedal boat packed in a bag 1 m long, 0.4 m wide and 0.4 m high (it can be placed in the trunk of any car, transported on a train or plane).
The first time we met Igor Shmakov and his catamaran at the SPIBS show in September, and in January he showed his Catamaran-to-go at the boat show in Dusseldorf. According to Igor, his original water bike attracted a lot of attention of the general public: competitors, individuals, and companies involved in organizing water and water recreation were interested in it.
MBY edition
Design
The Catamaran-to-go design feature is the so-called X-frame. Its development is the very highlight that allows the catamaran to calmly withstand rolling on a short wave. Material – AMg5, which has proven its reliability and durability in sea water. While creating the prototype, we tested solutions that seemed convenient and practical, but in fact proved unviable. For example, the X-frame was originally made folding, like an umbrella, which turned out to be inconvenient during use. Then they decided to leave the schematic diagram X, but insert each supporting pipe separately.
As balloons, the now fashionable Air Deck material is used, from which SUP boards are made. With them, the catamaran looks beautiful and is stable on the water, although there are options with traditional cylinders.
Catamaran-to-go on the Griboyedov Canal in St. Petersburg, where even small motor boats rarely swim
Getting on and off this catamaran is quite simple
Such a low seating position has a positive effect on the stability of the structure, which is directly related to safety.
Motion
The Catamaran-to-go advantage over its competitors is its ergonomics. By ditching the high bike ride position, which raises the center of gravity of the structure, we have improved its stability in waves. In addition, in our version, a person sits about 500 mm above the water, and a shelf for his legs protects him from excitement.
There are two propulsion options: pedal and electric. They are interchangeable at the request of the customer. When electrically driven with a standard battery, the electric motor is guaranteed to work up to one and a half hours at maximum speed, and in mixed mode (50/50) – up to four hours.
The catamaran handles are the movable part of the steering unit and transmit the rotary movement to the engine and propeller through the cables. On the right handle (at the client’s request, it can be done on the left) there is a motor control panel with two buttons: the first – forward position, off and back, the second – speed switching (4 and 8 km / h). Now we use wires to connect to the remote control, in the future the remote control will become remote or will be displayed on a smartphone.
The same handles (without changing the design) are used when installing the pedal drive – they shift the rudder blade.
An unprepared person will spend 15 minutes on assembling a catamaran, and even less on disassembly.
Exploitation
An unprepared person will spend 15 minutes on assembling a catamaran, and even less on disassembly. The design is simple, reliable and aesthetically pleasing, so that after a while you do not have to change anything. We have carefully studied the features of the operation of catamarans from other companies. As it turned out, it was the service that was one of the problematic points. As a result, in order to minimize, or even better, to remove the service point altogether, we decided to make some of the catamaran nodes “old-school”, but reliably, so that sand and sea water under the sun would not eat them away.
What for?
A catamaran is, first of all, a “gadget” for recreation on the water, walks along the coast, for children to ride, fishing, excursions along the canals or wild lakes, fjords and rivers. It can be taken with you and for those who rent campers. And thanks to its foldable design, our Catamaran-to-go fits perfectly even on a small yacht or motorboat, so you will have plenty of opportunities to diversify your vacation.
Text and photo
Igor Shmakov
Chief Editor
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