2 new pedal boats hit the water on Long Island

Getting your sea legs takes on new meaning on two new boats setting sail from Freeport and Patchogue this summer — riders will sit around a circular beverage bar and pedal with their feet to make the boats go.

The Paddle Pub Long Island vessel launches its two-hour jaunt from Dublin Deck in Patchogue, carrying up to 26 passengers, 12 of whom can pedal simultaneously. The Cycle Boat leaves on a 90-minute cruise from the Nautical Mile area of Freeport with 16 passengers, 10 of whom can pedal at once. Both boats have a paddle wheel on the back.

People can sign up for open public cruises, and both boat companies offer private rentals for bachelorette parties, birthday parties, sunset cruises and other celebrations.

"It was easy to pedal," says Sabrina Cuccia, 28, a teacher from Rocky Point. "You’re singing along while you’re pedaling." Cuccia went on a Paddle Pub demo cruise with her fiance, Dominick Aprile, also 28, who works for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.

"We had a blast," says Aprile. "We’re actually going to do a conjoined bachelor/bachelorette party in the future, that’s how much we liked it. It was really fun to try something new."

The Paddle Pub Long Island riders can bring on food they order from Dublin Deck, and the boat will stop along the Patchogue River at Island View marina if passengers want to pick up beer or wine (they can also bring their own, but no glass bottles allowed; the boats doesn’t serve drinks), says Zak Seghrouchni, co-owner of the Paddle Pub Long Island. The Paddle Pub boat has a dance floor and a sound system, as well as the option for private groups to add on a DJ for an additional fee. There's also a rest room on board.

The boat is commanded by a Coast Guard certified captain, Seghrouchni says. "It’s very, very slow," Seghrouchni says of the boat speed. "It’s a very leisurely ride. If you get tired, no worries. People switch in and out of pedaling stations, get up and dance a little."

On the Cycle Boat, it’s B.Y.O.B. (no hard liquor) and B.Y.O.T. (bring your own tunes).

The experience is not a floating spin class; it’s no Peloton workout. "We can adjust how strenuous the activity is depending on how much we lower the paddle wheel. The lower we put it in the water, the harder is it to pedal, but the faster the boat will go," says Christopher Coscia, owner of the Cycle Boat.

But of course, there’s a motor that can do more of the work when needed, Coscia says.

"Honestly, we literally had the best time ever," says Taylor Rebaudo, 21, of Seaford, a hairdresser who did a cruise with her friends, her parents, and her parents' friends. "It was just different, cycling on the water along the Nautical Mile. Everybody was waving to us because it's a new thing, nobody's every seen it before."

The ride was smooth and nobody got wet, she says. "Afterwards, we walked to the Nautical Mile and hung out there," Rebaudo says. "We just did it to start off summer."

By Beth Whitehouse

beth.whitehouse@newsday.comBethWhitehouse1

Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.