WESTBROOK, Conn. — Kayakers will soon have more power at hand – no hands needed. The latest technology aboard Kayaks has come to Connecticut – at least for a weekend.
Old Town, a Maine-based manufacturer of canoes and kayaks has set up shop by the docks at the well-appointed Black Hall Outfitters – a fishing gear and personal watercraft store where they are showcasing what’s called the “Big Water ePDL”.
Essentially, an E-PDL has taken electric bike technology and put it in a kayak.
“It was the next evolution, so what we did is we took the technology of electric bikes and we’re the first to bring it to market into a peddle drive for a kayak on the water," said Paul Johnson, the senior global sales manager at Johnson Outdoors, the parent company of Old Town Kayak.
While there are only around a dozen of the Big Water ePDLs in the country today, that will soon change; Gene Chmiel, the owner of Black Hall Outfitters has already taken orders for the new e-kayaks.
“I think there is going to be a lot of people who aren’t just kayak fishermen, there are going to be people who want recreation but also want the ability to maybe get home if they are a little bit tired or want to kick back with a cocktail and let the boat take you home," said Chimel.
The price tag for a Big Water ePDL is around $6,000, and their hope is it becomes the next wave in the personal watercraft space.
“You are going to see this up and down the shoreline, you’re going to see this inland, you’re going to see this on rivers, you know, this is the future," Johnson said.
To learn more about the Big Water Kayak click here.
To learn more about Black Hall Outfitters click here.
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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