Happy 20th Birthday to Nauticraft’s Escapade Pedal Boat!
Muskegon, MI (PRWEB) March 15, 2016 -- Nauticraft Corporation, a leader in manufacturing of pedal and electric boats, is excited to be celebrating the birthday of their premier Escapade Pedal Boat. It was 1996 when Nauticraft first began building the rotomolded version (it had previously been built by Hoyt-Harken as the Mallard).
A look back at the long success of the Escapade:
- Early 1980s – Garry Hoyt, renowned yacht designer from Newport, Rhode Island, designed a pair of pedal boats.
- The first of these boats was the “Waterbug,” of which the Harken Brothers (makers of yacht hardware) then built. And while the performance of the Waterbug was outstanding, there were some shortcomings to this boat (i.e. the small, tight cockpit made it unbearably warm in the summer, it was very heavy, and it was expensive to manufacture).
- Hoyt addressed these shortcomings of the Waterbug by designing the “Mallard.” This was a larger and more open boat with a stunning avant-garde design, but the fiberglass process was still costly.
- Unfortunately, both of these boats were ahead of their time and Harken pulled the boats out of production.
- 1994 – Curt Chambers, a custom injection molder from Michigan, became aware of the Waterbug-Mallard project and the tooling and inventory for the two boats, along with a license to build, was purchased by Chambers and transferred to Muskegon, Michigan. The Waterbug project was set aside, and a refocused effort on making the Mallard more cost effective began. The drive unit was replaced by an entirely new one, which was developed around the rotational molded housing.
- At that time, the rotational molding manufacturing process for small boats was evolving, and it was determined that this could be viable for the Mallard. Molds and manufacturing equipment were contracted for and a new and simplified pedal drive system was developed. The Mallard name was then changed to “Escapade" to reflect this evolution.
- 1996 – The rotomolded Escapade goes into production.
- 2002 – The Escapade Pedal boat earns a Guinness World Record for the fastest pedaled-powered English-channel crossing!
- 2005 – The low windshield Escapade is offered.
- 2016 – Nauticraft has molded and manufactured over 350 Escapade Pedal boats since their inception. Nauticraft Corporation continues to receive rave reviews from happy boat owners.
In regards to developments made to the Escapade over the years, it really is the same boat. The same mold is used & therefore the design is the same. The material is similar – though, in recent years, black specs have been molded in with the white material – which, in turn, helps to hide dirt/smudges. The windshield arch is also now removable for a more open feeling.
About Nauticraft Corporation
Nauticraft Corporation is located in Muskegon, Michigan. Over the years, their pedal boat product line has been expanded to include the 3-person Escapade, a 4-person Encore (Pedal, Electric or Pedal/Electric) and a 2-person Sprite. More information about their product line and company can be found at http://www.nauticraft.com. For sales, please contact Mary Davis at (231) 798-8440 or email inquiry(at)nauticraft(dot)com.
Joe Perri, JoePerri.com LLC, http://www.joeperri.com, +1 2316382061, [email protected]
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