So i shared my first experience with the Pelican Catch 130 Hydrive recently when the pedal drive system failed on the second use only two days after purchasing. Pelican was closed over the weekend, so I contacted Academy Sports & Outdoors where I purchased the boat. The sales person was very helpful and insisted on immediately replacing my boat all together. I drove to the store and exchanged the entire boat for a new one.

The next day I rigged up the rudder and made sure all screws were tight and not backed out on the hydrive shaft housing which is suspected to be a weak point causing failures. I took the kayak out today on my local lake for about 6 hours of fishing and exploring. As I was headed back to the boat ramp, the hydrive pedal system failed again. This time it was the sprocket for the rear fin that snapped loose from the shaft just as the first drive had done.

What are the chances of two brand new drive systems failing back to back on their first or second use? I'm really starting to think this system is total garbage.

I called Pelican and they advised they will ship me a new improved drive system. I asked if they had developed a new one and was told that they will send me the same one i have, but "reworked" whatever that means. I started to call back and get more clarification on what improvements they are making that I should wait for the parts instead of returning my kayak all together and buying a Hobie, but they closed before I could call back.

I will follow up tomorrow to get more details, but I'm not very impressed with the drive system thus far. I'm hoping for some strong reassurances from pelican such as titanium shaft and sprockets or something much stronger than the cheap plastic they are using right now.

The boat itself is made very well and I'm happy with the boat, but it isn't any good if it doesn't move through the water as intended.