Brakes are useful for taxiing around on land and for controlling your speed down a boat ramp into the water. For salt water, we use a stainless steel scrub brake which is almost zero maintenance. Scrub brakes are not as effective as hydraulic disk brakes. Hydraulic disk brakes are very effective, and work well for fresh water applications, but require more maintenance when used in salt water.
The Cygnet and Explorer both come standard with maintenance-free front wheel scrub brakes. These simple brakes require no attention, even in salt water. They are sufficient to taxi around an airport at low speeds, or slow your descent down a typical boat ramp. However, they are not strong enough to hold back full engine power, or to hold position on a steep boat ramp. If your operations require more braking than provided by the scrub brake, dual rear wheel disk brakes are available. Keith LeCleir of Black Max brakes (a division of Free Bird Innovations) designed the system pictured below for the Explorer.
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