There are several things you can do to make your pedals more user friendly and more efficient.. Here are a few tips and tricks.
Straps: If you're using the standard straps, you'll get the best utility from them if they fit your shoes snugly. They help hold your feet in place if you insert the feet at an angle...
...and then rotate them to a vertical position:
Slings: Using the factory strap tabs, you can fashion a set of slings or stirrups to rest your feet in. The only downside is that you have to make them yourself. The picture here shows a set made of swim fin straps with added string as required to achieve the necessary length. They're great if you find your feet falling off the pedals or you have a sore spot preventing you from using the straps.
As an added bonus, the weight of the slings keeps the pedals in a semi upright position.
Pedal orientation: Speaking of upright pedals, there are a couple of other ways to keep those pesky pedals upright: Here's a picture of Apalach's screwed in weight system. The small weight works best if you've removed the straps. Tip: short or cut off screws are highly desirable!
This is Steamroll's hot-glued weight system:
Here's a view of Reconlon's bungee system. It's a little more positive and keeps the pedals facing your feet even with straps attached.
Clipless pedals: For those who can't leave their cycling shoes at home, you can order some old style pedal cranks with left and right threads and screw in clipless pedals of your choice -- or any other bicycle pedals you may fancy. This is old Hobie inventory, available till they run out.
Leg position: The more your legs are extended, the more power they have and the less fatigue you'll feel after pedaling awhile. You should be able to extend your leg fully without hitting the stops (unless you stretch). This pic shows the correct extension:
This leg needs more room to extend:
If the pedals are already in the #7 position and you need still more space, you can gain distance by moving your feet up on the pedals more, getting thinner (or forgoing) shoes, using less toe action, or getting one of the older style seats (shown here on the right) -- another limited supply item.
Pedal related Q and A:1.
My crank arm has some slack in the pedal position holes. Are they defective? No, all the crank arms have some wiggle room so that when you adjust the pedal position the pin snaps in fully rather than bind. You can ruin a drum by having the pedal position pin only partly inserted. When operating, the slack is not an issue as the pin moves to the front of the hole and stays there.
2.
My pedal position holes are beginning to elongate -- should I get new drums? You could or since the drums are symmetrical, you could just reverse sides. So the left #2 hole becomes the right #6 hole, etc. You can get new pin position decals for about a dime apiece.
3.
Which is faster, short stroke or long stroke? Both have their advantages, but mostly, which ever way feels best to you is what you should use. I tend to use a short stroke for max acceleration and longer stroke for cruising, but only as a matter of style. You can cruise with any length stroke you like. You can even run a longer stroke with one leg and shorter with the other by varying crank positions and foot placement as shown here:
4.
Does the boat coast better with the fins up or down? If doesn't matter much. With the fins down there is less interference drag between the hull and fins, and better steering response. The boat coasts best with the fins out and the drivewell plug inserted.
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