Wavewalk Kayaks

Norm Craig from Rhode Island owns a W500 fishing kayak (see his kayak review), and he sent us some new ideas for rigging:
-”Went fishing and wildlife watching this morning. Took a pic of my big W to show ya a few Ideas:

Rod or paddle holder made out of closet shelving: Cut the shelving 3 rods wide, bend to your liking, and bend it to clip under the lip of cockpit. EASY……No riveting ,movable, and easy on and off.

Old canoe seat I had modified: Nylon strap cut to length. Stitch in  2 round 1″key holders, hook to clips on Yak. Slide seat back and forth for back adjustment .  To beach Yak unhook rings, slide seat back and off ya go. EASY

Find a car console that you like (about $5.00), get some gorilla glue and a foam floor mat. Cut the mat to the bottom of the console, glue as many pieces as it takes to be even with the bottom of the console. Make two 7″ strips out of the foam mat, 1 1/4″high, 1″ thick. Glue to bottom of console spacing, so they will fit into slits on kayak seat.
Nice and snug , easy on and off - use it if you like.

I was at a nice kayak shop today watching people cramming themselves into $2,000 kayaks. Oh my back felt bad just watching. I didn’t say anything but I wanted to.

-Norm”

It seems most kayak fishermen have gotten used to rigging their fishing kayaks with a milk crate attached behind the cockpit.
If you happen you own a SOT fishing kayak, rigging it with a milk crate would make sense, since SOT kayaks are basically hyped paddle boards that offer too little storage space and no real cockpit. Sit-in fishing kayaks offer a little more in this aspect, but not enough to drop the idea of adding a milk crate.

However, if you own a W fishing kayak, you may want to reconsider the pros and cons of adding a milk crate -

The only obvious pro that we can think of is that rigging your yak is fun, and attaching a milk crate to the top of a W kayak is an easy project that delivers immediate visual results…

And here are the arguments against rigging your W fishing kayak with a milk crate:

1. When launching, a milk crate would block your natural way into the cockpit from the back side of the boat. This means you might have to get in from the side, and possibly step in water.  Keeping your feet dry is one of those little pleasures you can afford with a W kayak, so why give it up if you don’t have to?
2. A milk crate catches wind, which can become a problem if there’s lots of it blowing around and you happen to be tired, and have a long way to paddle - A milk crate on top of a kayak demands more efforts from the paddler. Windage is essentially a tracking problem, and since W kayaks track better than SOT and sit-in kayaks they are less prone to windage issues, but nevertheless - it’s something to keep in mind.
3. Why store anything behind you, on top of the W kayak hulls, when there’s so much space available inside the W kayak cockpit and in its hull tips - within arm’s reach? It’s like attaching your luggage to your car’s rear bumper instead of just putting it in the trunk, or in the passengers compartment. The W500 offers 14 cubic ft or internal storage space, which is more than any kayak ever would, and probably more than you could ever use … -so why not use it?
4. SOT and sit-in kayaks have a very low deck - close to the water. Kayak fishermen who fish in salt water prefer to keep their reels as high as possible, away from the salt water, and they attach tube rod holders to their yak’s milk crate. This adds almost a foot of distance, and saves them some problems. However, the W kayak hull tips are normally higher, and you can protect your fishing rods by storing them inside the cockpit when launching, so there isn’t that much of a necessity for you to use a milk crate. Besides, you can rig the W kayak stern with deck mounted rod holders that pivot to any direction you want, and will position your fishing rods higher above water surface.
5. The milk crate adds weight to your fishing kayak. It’s not really important for paddling, but it could be for carrying it. It’s not that much, unless you’re tired and have to carry the kayak a long distance. The same is true when you have to cartop your kayak.

Norm Craig from Rhode Island contributed a review on his W500 fishing kayak, and now he sent us this great story:

-”I took my first passenger today - 6 year old Brian, who caught his first fish. The Big W was easy to take a kid out on, more than enough room. No problems at all once he got used to it. He was hanging over between the hulls playing in the water. Nothing like seeing a kid catch his first fish… He caught about a 15″ pickerel that scared the boy so I couldn’t get a pic… He even picked up one end of the kayak, and helped me carry it to the truck .    Norm”

John Brown, from Alabama, got his W300 fishing kayak in March.

Since then he’s rigged it to perfection:
-”It’s a great boat, and I love it. I got what I call the wavewalk-tan on my knees from paddling it so often… I do a lot of stand up paddling and poling. It works for me.” Says John.

Front view of John’s fully rigged W300 fishing kayak.
-”I just purchased a Hummingbird fish finder, but haven’t put it on yet.”

John paddling his kayak standing - scouting for fish.

John’s variation on the front storage solution.
The tube rod holders are RAM-301 (top) and RAM-119 (bottom) .

John’s anchor trolley system - a useful device for certain types of shallow water kayak fishing.

Close up on John’s W300 cockpit. Note the anchor attached to the anchor trolley, and how well the space is organized.

John’s version of paddle holders made from foam noodles. It’s as silent as it gets.

The classic milk crate used for attaching extra rod holders, and for more storage.

Yesterday we had 659 people visit our website. Not too bad for a small company from Massachusetts 

This is a picture sent to us by John Brown, a W kayak fisherman from Alabama:

John’s W-kayak is a W300 F2E, with a RAM-301 deck mounted rod holder in the front.

Some people have had a productive weekend, and one of them is Don Rainey from Northern California, a.k.a DaRainman…

Don has contributed an interesting kayak review to our website

NEW (June): Roxanne’s W500 Trip to the Backwater of the Farmington River, Connecticut (+Movie)

Roxanne Davis from Connecticut is a seasoned kayak fisherwoman who has owned and rigged two early models of the W300 series, and reviewed them. Now she got a new W500, and this is her initial review:

-”I can say three things about it so far: “I LOVE IT” - The room in it is just perfect.”

-”I was on Rainbow Reservoir testing my W500 on a very wind day, and more boat traffic then I had expected. It handled like a dream, tracked great, and pushed threw the winds, with gusts up to 25mph, and constant 15mph. I was amazed how well I could paddle into the wind with it without killing myself.”

-”Most motor boaters don’t care about the laws and wakes… I Had a big 18′ Deep-V powerboat fly by on plane about 20′ from me, and I rode the 2′ wake with no problem. Then I went back to fishing, turned my head just in time to see the next wake hit me, (not even sure where it came from??) I didn’t panic, and let it hit sideways, and the W500 just gently swayed up and over the wake, and down, and then over the second wake with ease.
The W300 would have handled it also, but not as smoothly as the W500 did.
I’m really going to have to take it on the salt now, that wake gave me the confidence this baby can take it!!

I applaud you Yoav,  you’ve taken the best yak in the world, and made it better!”

-”I broke the W500 in with 15 Smallmouth Bass, nothing huge, just fun.

She’s been officially Slimed!! 

Rox”

Rox’ new W500 with her special side rod holder

Rox’ W500 with a transducer mounted

Just look at this photo:

Yesterday our website had 645 visitors, and it’s the most we’ve had this year.

The all time record was back in August 2004, after the New York Times had published an article about our first invention: shoes for walking on water (US utility patent number 6,764,363).

We chose to commercialize our second, boat invention, in the form of the W-kayak product line, and it looks like we’re on the right track.

Norm Craig, a from Rhode Island, had serious back surgery only months ago, and realized he couldn’t go fishing in a canoe or a regular kayak. He became the first fisherman to use our new W500 for kayak fishing. He wrote this fishing kayak ‘mini review’ immediately after taking it on water for the first time, and today he sent us his second impression:

-”Beautiful morning with the big W:

A customer from Florida once told me he wished he had a fishing kayak that would enable him to relax and take a short nap while kayak fishing in the Everglades, knowing there are alligators around him…

I don’t know if I’d be able to fall asleep knowing there were alligators around my kayak, but I nearly did - knowing the Charles river is still pretty cold this time of the year:

Here’s a short fishing report from John, a W kayak fisherman from Wisconsin, who just finished a great camo paint job on his W300 kayak (see previous post)-

-”Some of my co-workers made me go out on a bigger boat today. We headed down to Waukegan Illinois on lake Michigan. We were after big perch. We caught close to seventy fish. The catch included some nice sized fish including some 14 inchers. We hope to have a fish fry tomorrow night at the firehouse. I hope to get out early next week in the W kayak. — John”

John Fabina from Wisconsin used Krylon Fusion spray paint for this superb camo paint job he did on his new W fishing kayak.

Says John:

-”I didn’t have time to go fishing today because we are going to the ball game tonight to watch the Brewers beat the Cubs. However I did do a little painting, and I like the way it turned out. When I head up north this summer to the rivers and backwaters maybe this will help me sneak up on the big ones. Check out the new color scheme.   Talk to you soon, John”

Robert Young sent us his review of the W fishing kayak he got last December.

Robert is an avid kayak fisherman, who goes on kayak fishing expeditions in the mangroves of Western Florida. He has a lot to tell about his fishing techniques, which include fresh live bait and paddling standing while scouting for game fish.

Robert’s first time in the W fishing kayak story is particularly educating.

Says Robert about his W fishing kayak: -”I don’t believe there is anything else out there, in this price range, with the capability of this craft.”

He rigged his W fishing kayak with super-silent paddle holders, and other interesting devices.

John Fabina, from Wisconsin, got his W kayak a short time ago. He sent us this picture of this good looking bass, and wrote:

-”Today I landed my first fish on the W. It was a small bass but nevertheless, it broke the ice. I was after trout today but all I caught was five bass. Had a good time and I was able to practice in the wind and waves. The W performed well. I might be able to try again tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes.   See ya,  John”

The Jacksonville Classic kayak fishing tournament is organized by Mike Kogan and the Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Club members. It’s the world’s biggest fishing tournament of its kind.  Jeff McGovern is an active club member, and here is his report from the event:

-”The 2009 Jax Kayak Classic was wonderful.  The weather was warm and the wind which has been blowing it seems for weeks finally laid down a little.  As you know three of us rented the house right on the water at Shady Oyster Fish Camp right near the base of the 206 bridge.  Talk about a great location, we were only a few feet from the water.  Saturday morning instead of facing loading the W, packing my gear, driving to the coast, unloading and setting up my stuff, it was just a short stroll down the steps and in the water.
The fishing has been picking up lately and we were not disappointed.  Everybody caught fish and that’s were the fun is fighting the fish and reeling them in.  We did not catch anything that would place but that was OK since the action was great.  I managed a number of little jacks that are more than enough fun for anyone even tiny as the one you see in the picture.  Other than that I did catch a half dozen black drum which are superb table fare.  By the way note how that measuring board can be placed across the rim of the W.  Very easy to measure even while on the water, a task in a sit on top that might loose you a fish.  In the W the chances are much less.

We only fished till around noon or so and then headed up to Jacksonville for the checking and dinner.  Of course the meal was pure southern style BBQ chicken and pulled pork with baked beans and slaw.  To wash it down there was a bar selling beer but my favorite is southern style sweet tea.  This time around we raised over 40 thousand dollars for the main charity and had 430 registered participants.  I’m sure today a number of folks just slept in to recover from the event.  It was a great time and from what I saw a typical southern hospitality for all, everyone had a blast.
The W is well suited for inshore kayak fishing tournaments.  Gear is close at hand and everything reached easily.  This time around I brought three rods.  Two were spinning rods, my little Chaos twins, with the Daiwa 1300SS reels I’ve found so reliable over the years.  Those two outfits we spooled with 10lb pink Fireline with 15lb fluorocarbon leaders.  The third outfit was a new style Emmord Rugged Flex pack rod set up with a Shimano Curado 200B reel spooled with 15lb Big Game High Catch line and a 20lb fluorocarbon leader.  The Emmrod was for topwater work at first light the spinning outfits were for the balance of the fishing day.  I’m still surprised at how well a rod can be handled from the W.  The distance and control is second to no other paddle craft out there. I’ll send over the shots in a few emails.  The first one of me and the W is a required shot for each participant.  It must show the person, the boat, and the measuring board at the launch site.—Jeff”

Added October 3: Norm’s Summer Adventures With Grandson Luke

Added May 17: Norm’s ‘Second Impression Review’...

Norm Craig, a fisherman from Rhode Island, could no longer go in canoes because of his back problems. He got his W500 this morning, and became the first client to report his initial experience with it:

“Picked up the new 500 today, spent about 1hr and was standing up and doing some easy paddling after about 45 minutes of getting used to it. Little shaky for about 10 min. Really a different animal but fun and easy. I’m 60 yrs old and just had major lower back surgery and still recovering so I got to go easy.

Had a canoe but after back surgery this looks like the way to go. Never been in a kayak so I don’t have anything to compare it to. So far I love it and will be doing some fishing soon.

Here’s a pic of me about 45 min into my first go around… More coming!

Thanks for talking me into the good paddle - I love it!  Norm”

What a month that was!

Record sales, 39% more individuals who visited our website compared to April 08, our first shipment to Norway, and the new W500 series…

I’d like to thank all those who’ve been helping and supporting us, especially our wonderful customers.

Yoav