If You Give a Kayak a Subaru Engine …

Meet the “look ma, no hands” of personal watercraft

May 17, 2016 9:00 am EDT

“My arms are tired, let’s head back,” has been the death knell of many a kayak trip throughout history.

A group of designers, engineers and manufacturers with a passion for the outdoors want to eliminate that phrase from our collective vocabulary … and they’re using a Subaru EX21 engine to do it.

The MOKAI ES-Kape is a 12-foot-long, 200-pound kayak that’s equipped with a 7 HP, 4,000 RPM engine capable of hitting speeds up to 21 MPH. The air-cooled and chain-driven engine has a push-button electric starter and is designed to be environmentally friendly and fuel efficient.

The lightweight watercraft is also extremely durable, while its modular hull breaks down into three easy-to-transport pieces — no tools required. Another selling point of the ES-Kape? You get to control throttle and steering with a joystick that looks like it belongs on a Rampage arcade cabinet.

The $5,400 kayak is made at MOKAI’s plant in New York, and ships to the rest of the U.S. for $350.

Just don’t get caught out there saying, “My engine’s dead, let’s head back.”

Evan Bleier

Evan Bleier

Evan is a senior editor with InsideHook who earned a master’s degree in journalism from NYU and has called Brooklyn home since 2006. A fan of Boston sports, Nashville hot chicken and Kentucky bourbon, Evan has had his work published in publications including “Maxim,” Bleacher Report and “The Daily Mail.”
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