At the back, Ocean Kayak integrated a replaceable keel piece, because like you, we dragged the Malibu down to the water. And like all good sit-on-top kayaks, the Malibu has six scupper holes to allow rainwater or water crashed over the deck to run back out where it belongs.
This rig makes wide turns
Growing up a truck driver’s son in the 70s, one might expect I’d know the words to The Willis Brothers’ country and western hit, Give Me Forty Acres To Turn This Rig Around. Get the Malibu out on the open road and you can put the hammer down to comfortably knock off the miles. But around the launch I’m humming the next line in the song, “…It’s the easiest way that I found.”
Short of 40 acres, or the Malibu’s 30-foot turning radius, it’s easiest to put the coffee cup down, grab the paddle from its clip, tilt as far as you can and throw in a few good sweep strokes. Or so says the kayaker in me. But compared to other pedal drive fishing kayaks, the 12-foot long Malibu turns tighter than most.
Ocean Kayak’s Malibu Pedal is a convenient ride
So what do I know? I know my dad was right about the potential popularity of a pedal drive kayaks. I know I was right too; it’s not expedition kayakers who are going to be buying thousands of Malibu Pedals. I know my wife has an automatic Toyota 4Runner parked in our driveway. And I also know our Malibu at the Paddling Magazine office is the boat most often skidded into the river for early morning trips.
Maybe it’s because the Malibu Pedal is novel. Maybe it’s because it allows you to drink a coffee. More likely it’s because at that time of day when the sun is casting a golden light across the water, it’s not about kayaking for kayaking’s sake. It’s about just being on the water either to wet a line or raise a coffee mug to celebrate the coming of a new day.
This article was first published in Issue 54 of Paddling Magazine. Subscribe to Paddling Magazine’s print and digital editions, or browse the archives.