World's First Amphibious Pedal Paddle Recumbent Bike Boat Takes Epic, 150-Mile Journey

Ben Kilner describes himself as an entrepreneur, an engineer, and a maker. He likes to create contraptions and YouTube videos and his latest invention is the Duckleberry Finn Pedal Paddle bike boat. It shines in shallow, weedy waters, where it can sail fast and without getting tangled in weeds or suffering any damage to the propulsion system, and it can also be converted into a bike to be used in “Road Mode”.

The amphibious vehicle created by Kilner uses an inflatable stand up paddle board (SUP) from Two Bare Feet, the largest mid-range touring model they have. There’s also a DIY wooden frame attached to the paddle board and a full bike frame in the rear that turns the paddles into the water. The entire system is put to work via the two bike pedals.

That somewhat bulky wooden frame gets converted into a trailer for when you want to use the Duckleberry Finn on land and Kilner also carries the wheels for the bike and trailer on the paddle board while he’s on the water.

While the design of the strange vessel/bike is not the most appealing one so far, we’re just seeing a prototype for now. However, Kilner does intend to eventually turn the Duckleberry Finn into a commercial product available in several DIY plans. You have to register on his website if you want to be notified when any of his plans or products become available.

The amphibious bike boat was put to the test during an epic journey this summer, when his inventor used it to travel 100 miles (161 km) from the navigable source of the River Wye in Glasbury, U.K., to the river mouth at Chepstow and back 50 (80 km) more miles on the road, to the starting point.

You can see the Duckleberry Finn in action below.