Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power (via one or more sails) or an engine.
The three main methods of exerting human power are:
While most human-powered watercraft use buoyancy to maintain their position relative to the surface of the water, a few, such as human-powered hydrofoils and human-powered submarines, use hydrofoils, either alone or in addition to buoyancy.
Oars are held at one end, have a blade on the other end, and pivot in between in oarlocks.
Oared craft include:
Using oars in pairs, with one hand on each oar, is two-oar sculling. The oars may also be called sculls. [2]
Two-oared sculled craft include:
Using oars individually, with both hands on a single oar, is sweep or sweep-oar rowing. [2] In this case the rowers are usually paired so that there is an oar on each side of the boat.
Sweep-oared craft include:
Moving a single stern-mounted oar from side to side, while changing the angle of the blade so as to generate forward thrust on both strokes, is single-oar sculling. [4]
Single-oar sculled craft include:
Paddled watercraft, or paddlecraft, uses one or more handheld paddles, each with a widened blade on one or both ends, to push water and propel the watercraft.. Commonly seen paddlecrafts include:
Pedals are attached to a crank and propelled in circles, or to a treadle and reciprocated,[ citation needed] with the feet. The collected power is then transferred to the water with a paddle wheel, flippers, [8] [9] [10] or to the air or water with a propeller.
Pedaled craft include:
A pole is held with both hands and used to push against the bottom.
Poled craft include:
Other types of human-powered watercraft include:
They row with their feet. As Mrs. Gấm puts it: "Rowing boat by feet is much quicker and less exhausting than by hands."
The sturdily constructed pedal/flipper mechanism operates like a penguin's fins - swinging laterally underneath the hull as you pedal.
It's outfitted with the MirageDrive propulsion system, a pedal-powered pair of flexible fins that function as oscillating foils—much like penguin and sea-turtle flippers.
Instead of a conventional paddle, these kayaks can be powered by a foot-pedal system which drives two under-keel fins. Inspired by penguin flippers, the fins swing side to side.
The Scubster is an underwater bike, a pedal powered submarine with twin propellors [sic] that push it through the water at a speedy 5mph.
First there was the bicycle, then the pedalo boat, then the pedal-powered aircraft — and now, thanks to a team of French engineers, the world has the pedal-powered submarine.