{{Short description|Small pedal-powered recreational boat}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2009}} [[File:Waterbike on Lake St. Clair (1963).jpg|thumb|Water bike on Lake St. Clair (Michigan)]] [[File:Trampbåt - Nordiska museet - NMA.0096869.jpg|thumb|Pedalo at the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 ]] [[File:Pedalo IMG 2877.JPG|thumb|A paddle boat on Geneva Lake (Wisconsin).]] [[File:Swan paddle boat - tokyo Japan - 2022 April 2.webm|thumbtime=3|thumb|right|Boats in Japan celebrating spring with a swan pedalo accidentally running into a row boat, 2022]] [[File:Pedalinho.JPG|thumb|Pedalos in Brazil (called ''pedalinhos'')]] [[File:Aqua-Cycle Water Trike.jpg|thumb|Human-powered watercraft: aqua-cycle water trikes in the Pacific Ocean with Diamond Head, Hawaii in the background]] [[File:Chessie Dragon Paddle Boats.jpg|thumb|Paddle boats on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore]]
A '''pedalo''' (British English), '''pedal boat''' (U.S. English), or '''paddle boat''' (U.S., Canadian, and Australian English) is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the action of pedals turning a paddle wheel.
==Description== A pedalo is a human-powered watercraft propelled by the turning of a paddle wheel. The wheel is turned by people operating the pedals of the craft. The paddle wheel of a pedalo is a smaller version of that used by a paddle steamer.
==Use== Pedalos, being particularly suited to calm waters, are often hired out for use on ponds and small lakes in urban parks, as well as in beaches when the weather allows.
==Designs== The earliest record of a pedalo is perhaps Leonardo da Vinci's diagram of a craft driven by two pedals.<ref>{{cite book|last=Dumpleton|first=Bernard|title=Story of the Paddle Steamer|publisher=Intellect Books|year=2002|isbn=978-1-84150-801-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Paddle Boat|url=http://www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_exhibits/leonardo/models/01_model.html|website=Leonardo da Vinci Exhibit: the Models|publisher=Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)|access-date=17 September 2015|date=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151113072925/http://www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_exhibits/leonardo/models/01_model.html|archive-date=13 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Typically, a two-seat pedalo has two sets of pedals side-by-side, designed to be used together. Some models, however, have three pedals on each side, to allow a person boating alone to pedal from a centrally seated position.
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline|Pedaloes}}
{{Human-powered vehicles}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Boat types Category:Human-powered watercraft Category:Water sports Category:Water sports equipment
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