Canadian adventurer Greg Kolodziejzyk is certainly no slouch ... among other things, he has set the 24-hour endurance records for riding human-powered vehicles on both land and water. In 2010, he announced his plan to pedal an offshore-capable custom-built boat from British Columbia to Hawaii. After a series of open-water trials, however, he decided against the 3,000-mile (4,828-km) endeavor. The boat, called WiTHiN, is nonetheless quite the feat of engineering – and it's now up for sale, should you have the cash.
WiTHiN looks rather like a large enclosed sea kayak, and is propelled by a leg-powered drive unit. That unit consists of a set of pedals located inside the cockpit, that spin an external two-bladed propeller via a shaft drive. At 80 rpm, Kolodziejzyk has taken it up to a speed of 3.7 knots.
The boat's body is made almost entirely of carbon fiber, although it has a 100-pound (45.4-kg) steel keel bulb mounted one meter (3.3 feet) below the hull, to aid in stability – according to Greg, it's possible to stand up through WiTHiN's top hatch without capsizing. In the event that the boat does capsize in rough seas, however, it has a self-righting design, and is reportedly capable of rolling 360 degrees without leaking ... assuming the hatch is closed, of course.
The inside is divided into six watertight compartments, including the cockpit, a sleeping cabin, and a main storage compartment that can reportedly store over 100 days worth of food and supplies. Greg recorded a video tour of the boat before his planned Hawaii trip.
Steering is maintained by a hand lever beside the recumbent pilot's seat. That lever controls a large stern-mounted rudder. WiTHiN also features a powered ballast shifter, to eliminate listing caused by side winds or uneven weight distribution. That shifter, along with a host of other electronics, receives power from two 80-amp batteries that are in turn charged by seven solar panels. Some of the many "other electronics" include a desalination unit, an autopilot, a GPS chartplotter, interior and exterior lighting, bilge pumps, a satellite tracking beacon, a satellite phone, and a VHF radio.
Kolodziejzyk is also throwing in a long list of comfort and safety equipment, including a sleeping bag, mattress and floor mat, plus a Jet Boil camp stove, fire extinguisher, flare gun, medical kit and air horn.
The boat was designed by award-winning Australian naval architect Stuart Bloomfield, and ended up costing approximately CDN$122,000 (US$118,491). Greg is asking CDN$84,000 ($81,584) for it, although he's also open to trades.
Should you be looking for something similar but with a couple of extra hulls, you might also want to check out the Microship, a custom pedal/wind/solar-powered micro-trimaran built by adventurer Steven Roberts. He'll take $73,000 for the thing.
WiTHiN can be seen in action in the video below.
Source: Adventures of Greg