Wavewalk Kayaks

-”The phone rang, and it was the driver from the trucking company, a very nice gentleman. I asked him to meet me right downtown three blocks since his huge semi would have had issues on the old narrow brick streets. Same great service as before, this trucking firm was wonderful to deal with.”

“So here are a few first pictures. This is so hard to type since my hands are quivering in the anticipation of paddling this beauty and of course pulling fish over the side.”

“This is one pretty boat Yoav, a real masterpiece. Please extend my thanks to the entire Wavewalk Team up there.
–Jeff”

I finally took my new W500 to test up in the Michigan’s upper peninsula. Perfect weather awaited me as temps hit mid seventies and sunshine abounded for the three day trip. I logged plenty of fishing and paddling hours on the W500. I thought my original W300 was comfortable and stable, but for a guy my size the W500 is the perfect fit.

As always no yak-back was noticed. Tracking was great and paddling seemed even easier then the W300.
With the longer length it took a little more effort to turn in the river current but was well worth it do to the large amount of space to stretch out in and the added storage. I have not had the W500 out in rough water yet but if it handles similar to the 300 it should do great.
I am convinced that this is another winner. Great job Wavewalk, you have done it again.
I would suggest the W500 for anyone who is larger framed than the average.
The trip was great, however the rock bass moved in to the areas where I was catching walleye in June. I was never able to locate the walleye, however the small bass provided entertainment.

Friday I took a trip to a local lake. I decided to go through a channel that connects two lakes. I have been down the channel before with a regular boat but it would have been difficult to fish with the type of craft I was in. However I did see plenty of fish and I took notes of where the fish were holding in case I ever returned.
The W500 allowed me to sneak up and anchor just upstream from my first target with out being noticed. The first target was a boat dock on a bend in the channel which had a five to seven foot deep hole under it.
I started by fan casting one of my favorite lures a floating minnow. Three fan casts produced nothing. Then I decided to drift a leech into the hole. Bam, a nice largemouth broke the water and put up a tremendous fight in the current. Two more casts, two more fish. I got complacent, after all how many fish could this little hole hold?. My bad, I cast my forth cast and turned to adjust my anchor when a huge bucket mouth jumped and shed my hook into the air. I know what your thinking, yea the biggest fish of the day always gets away! Well it did.

One hour later and over twenty fish later I realized what a honey hole I had discovered, and thanks to the W500 I was able to stay stealthy and present the bait precisely where it had to go. It was obvious that these fish haven’t had a lot of pressure on them, they had no hook marks on their lips.

I proceeded down the channel which only averaged a foot deep, but I anchored before every bend and had success all day. I ran out of my three dozen leeches and called it a day after three exciting hours.
Who would of thought this little channel could hold all those fish and even some quality fish.
Light gear and current made the action fun. These are fish I would have not been able to catch with out the W500. Large mouth, small mouth bass, and pike were all caught and released. I want to be able to repeat this day again next year.

One photo shows some add-ons. Drink holder, rod holder, and paddle holder to hold net in front and easy to grab, this seemed to work out really well.
Thanks again for a great boat,
John


Read previous blog posts by John Fabina:

John’s Tiger-Camo W500

John’s review of his W300 fishing kayak

Here’s a new report from Gary Rankel:

Was out for 7 hrs yesterday in hot weather and sun.

Ran into lots of redfish yesterday, but most were pretty spooky.

I did manage to get this beautiful 10 pounder on top water just as the sun was coming up.”

Also got a few sea trout and jack crevalle.

I just missed my “West Coast Slam” as a nice snook shook my topwater lure while airborne about 20 feet from the W (sorry I couldn’t snap a picture of that).
I also ran into a visitor who was really interested in your new W 500 (I think he thought he had just found the perfect mate). He entertained me for a good 20 minutes, repeatedly coming right to the side and of the W to get a good look.


More from Gary


By Jeff McGovern

Range of motion and protection from the fish - Sounds a little weird but the W kayak offers a far better range of motion for anglers and some measure of protection when landing fish.
I’ve noticed this the most dealing with saltwater speedsters in the form of jacks and ladyfish. Both are considered trash fish but only in terms of eating them. For getting into lots of pulling and yanking they are a blast. But when brought boat side for landing they always have far better ideas than the angler. Leaping and jumping at the last moment can easily put one into your lap or worse. Since they also have a face full of hooks the results of this last moment dash for freedom can be a disaster. If you are stuck in that L position you are too low and too limited in movement options to do much about it. These are also fish that will run in any direction and in a boat you can’t turn your body very well chances are you’ll be tangled up in no time.
In the W kayak, because you are upright in the riding position you can turn much more toward the fish and it’s angle of pull. Also when you go to land the fish you are above most of the danger zone and far better protected. After netting a fish you can simply rest the handle across the cockpit rims and hold in in place. You don’t have a net to worry about getting caught up in the rod, a portion of your body, or other gear. Plus if you are dealing with a fish you might want to keep for a great fish meal if it does jump around it’s going to end up at your feet in one of the hulls safe for the table.
Even in the course of battling a fish if all goes according to plan the L position is a lousy one to fish from. Since you can’t rotate well from the waist or really brace for the battle your shoulders and arms take some real punishment. The L position acts to deny using your core muscles to fight the fish. The W offers so many fish fighting advantages but as with many things about the boat they are not truly realized until the angler actually can try it. If there is a problem with that it’s simply that nothing compares to the W. No other boats have the advantages.
Anyway I just wanted to shoot a note along this line. Sometimes you just have to feel sorry for all those other non W kayak fishermen out there.




By Jeff McGovern

In preparation for comparison to the new W500 I have been spending time “relearning the joys” of sit inside and sit on top kayaks.

Besides the obvious back issue already known there is the concern of shoulder pain. I have had some discomfort, but in talking to a few other fellow kayak fishermen they mentioned the pain associated with casting from the awkward L position. I noticed soreness the next day trying to power out long casts from the L position. It was far easier to just get out and wade since in the standing position the casts were braced.

I think in many cases the so called fishing kayaks are really just fishing transport devices, since actually fishing from them is a constant compromise. Many times getting out on a suitable bank or sand bar is far more comfortable. Besides, in many sit on tops the wet butt syndrome leads to other comfort problems down the road…

If we compare a standard cast from the W kayak to a cast from a sit on top we see two different things entirely: The sit on top cast is a controlled flail with the hope for distance and accuracy. It is many times followed by a winch from the angler as they deal with the pain. A cast from the W kayak is a powerful controlled launch that accurately places the lure right where it needs to be. It’s quite a difference, and one that can only be experienced - it is difficult to describe.

I’ve mentioned the Emmrod fishing rods before both in articles on the your site, and in articles for Emmrod itself. Out of the W kayak the Emmrod casting rods are deck guns in power and distance. The W riding position allows the angler to use the Emmrod to it’s fullest. From the L position that same rod on a cast will not get the same results.

I thought about this motorized W boat design a few years ago:

It shouldn’t be too hard to turn a W500 kayak into a similar ‘personal watercraft’:

Using standard aluminum tubes, the stem of the steering handle can be made to be telescopic, so it could extend and retract, thus allowing to steer while riding the saddle as well as standing up.

Also, such telescopic steering system could allow for the driver to move fore and aft on the saddle while still steering. This could be useful for dealing with different water conditions.

-Food for thought for the engineering-oriented members of the W kayak community…

Here’s another ‘myth busting bomb’ on the Painless Kayak Fishing blog: It’s called “Kayaks, Back Problems, Lumbar Support - and the Simple Truth”

Basically, it details how sit-in and SOT kayak seats don’t offer lumbar support but rather inflict lumbar abuse on kayak paddlers and kayak fishermen alike.

Personally, the more I think of it the I’m outraged by what’s going on in the kayak market, and professionally, I’m dumbfounded by the fact that you hardly hear anybody talking about these big and painful issues that affect so many people.

It may be a ‘dirty little secret’ for those kayak professionals who are aware of it, but it’s a major problem for all those regular people who don’t.

Yoav




This new article examines the roots of lumbar back pain that so many people suffer from when paddling their sit-in and SOT kayaks and fishing from them. It’s called Lumbar Spine and Kayak Back Pain: Facts. It’s a must read because you won’t find this kind of discussion anywhere else, and if you like kayak fishing or just kayaking you obviously have concerns about your back.

August marks the beginning of the new fiscal year Wavewalk, and it’s a good time to compare y-o-y performance.
As it stands now, we sold 42% more kayaks in the 2008-9 year (August 1st to July 31st) compared to our previous fiscal year 2007-8, which in itself was pretty good.
The W500 is a big success, and it contributed significantly to this increase.
Overall, the pace of increased sales has been accelerating since 2006, in both our touring and fishing kayak models.

As for our website, another record was broken in July, with 18,638 unique visitors (real, individual people, that is). So far, our website attracted more than 100,000 unique visitors since the beginning of 2009.

It’s very easy to attach a regular kayak seat, or canoe seat, or stadium seat to the W kayak saddle: You can create attachment points by drilling holes in the cockpit rim and top side of the saddle.
Some people have done it, as one can see in on website’s kayak reviews section.

Having said that, most W kayak owners don’t use a seat or a back rest, and even those who’ve added one to their W kayak end up not using it most of the time, because you basically don’t need a back rest in this kayak. This is due to the fact that in the preferred paddling and fishing position (Riding) your own legs support you.
This is true for standing too, of course.

-”For me, the initial learning curve was pretty short, the “Ride” style felt quite natural, perhaps my years on motorcycles, snowmobiles, bicycles, skibikes, atv’s helped that along. I’ve played around with all the positions, standing up, tandem etc. I’m experimenting with paddling technique, weight shift etc. It’s a different kind of horse… Quick quips: stable, versatile, comfortable…
Speed: 3.5mph cruise, 5.0mph sprint, basically comparable with my 13′ day touring yak.
A guy on your forum called it a “kayakanoe”, pretty accurate.
I’ll send a comprehensive report after I’ve had more familiarization, done some customization, and have taken some photos.”

-”I discovered your micronautical.com site, very interesting… I especially like the solo sea/touring designs.

Suggestion: Add a loop at the 4 corners inside of the cockpit as leash points. This could be accomplished using the existing j-hook mount(s) used for the cockpit cover rigging.

Cheers,
Rod Ratzlaff
Lake George, CO”

(October 2009) NEW updated and comprehensive review (article) >>

-”Here is an update on my newest Wave walk yak, the W500:
I am making a prototype out of wood for the console. I may change it to a diamond plate later.”

-”I want it to be removable, so when I don’t want to use the trolling motor, I can remove the power head.

I didn’t want to add a Dry box/tackle box to the W500, like I did on my W300’s set up, after removing the power board from the head of the trolling motor. I didn’t want the box up there in my way, it makes for easier dismounts.”

-”This time I’m leaving the power head together, just cutting the shaft, and wiring the motor (bottom half) with a quick connect connector, so I can unplug the power head and remove it for just paddling.

Again, this will be a foot controlled steering, leaving my hands free to battle my fish.

I’ll send you and update after I mount my plate for the trolling motor.

Take care.

Rox”

Tim Kerr is a kayaker, and member of a kayaking club in Buffalo, New York. He came to West Newton, Massachusetts, tested the W500, and ordered one right away. Here is his review:

Buffalo, New York. June 29, 2009
The Wavewalk W500 has allowed me to return to the water!

After suffering from sciatica that developed after using my single hull kayak earlier this year, I searched for a more comfortable boat. Not only did I find the Wavewalk, I was immediately taken with its unique design that allows people like me with degenerative disk disease (I’m fifty-one) to lay back and rest, sit up straight or even stand and stretch out.

Kayaking is not for everyone but the Wavewalk opens the door for so many people that may have tried the sport and then gave it up because it just plain hurts their back. I’ve got a crushed disk that hates it when I stick my legs forward and then try to paddle as in a single hulled boat. The “saddle” combined with the twin hulls in the Wavewalk is a great invention.

I took the boat into the inner harbor in Buffalo. I didn’t try to lift it myself, I’ve got to be careful about such things. I brought along two extra items, a little waterproof pad to sit on, and a camera box on a leash. Attached are some pictures taken on my second day out. I spent the entire morning in the boat without back pain. The next day I was fine–no sciatica.

PS, I drove nine hundred miles in two days to try this boat, to be sure it was right. I’m glad I bought it. I’m “back” in the water again…

Tim Kerr

Tim beaching and getting out the W way: From the front, and without getting his feet wet

Added June 27, 2009:

-”Crossed the Niagara River last week. Was I the first in a Wavewalk? Paddling is going well. Going out to Lake Erie to play in some waves for the first time today…. Getting used to carrying it on the car and made a shelf in my garage for winter storage.”

Update from August 2009: Tim’s first movie W kayaking on Lake Erie, Pennsylvania

November 2009: Watch Tim’s Kayak Reentry Movie From Niagara River, NY

-”We just got back from Huntsville State Park, about 45 minutes north of Houston.  It is home to Lake Raven, a beautiful, serene and clean lake.  We camped overnight there (warm night) and went kayaking this morning.  Here are a couple of clips.  We tried fishing, but it’s so much fun paddling & trolling that it’s mostly what we did.  I even stood up while trolling and got a few stares.. At least 7 people asked me “What is it?” and I told them…”

-”This 4th of July weekend, we will be going down to the coast to try it in the bays.  I can’t wait to see how it does in the surf & small waves/wakes from boats and oh, maybe do some fishing.. Will keep you posted. Noel”

Robert Fisher is a kayak fisherman from Texas who bought his first W kayak in 2007 - It was a W300 model in today’s terms. A few weeks ago Robert ordered a second fishing kayak for himself, and this time it was a W500. Here is what Robert wrote us:

-”I have had my new W500 kayak out 4 times. The first time was just to see if there was a difference from the older Wavewalk, the next three times it was used to go fishing.”

-”The new W kayak seems to move through the water easier at higher speeds and in a straight line than the old one, it is more stable and easier to stand up in. The extra room is a welcome advantage.

I am 66 years old and am retired, so I use it to go fishing in 2 to 3 times per week.

The only negative I have found is it’s turning radius is larger than the old Wavewalk, this is probably due to the extra length of the W500, but I think with a little more use, that will become unimportant.

It is my opinion that more seniors should look at the W kayak as a source of exercise and entertainment. It is a great source of recreation.

Robert Fisher”

Noel put his design engineering skills to action, and came up with this perfect motorized W500 fishing kayak:

-”Problem solved with the trolling motor steering.  I rotated the handle 90 degrees outward, turned around in my seat, so now the trolling motor is in the back.  With this setup, you can turn at will, see the (cellphone) pics & video.”

-”My son Rainier also took it out for a spin and he’s very comfortable with it too.”

-”Sorry about the video quality, will have to do better…

Also getting more used to the weight/balance of the boat; standing is almost natural now and the boat does not feel tippy, unless I take my son in it with the trolling motor mounted.  It then becomes a little top heavy.  1 person is best with the motor/battery mounted.”

-”The motor mount consists of a 2 ft long treated wood, 1×6 base & a 2×4 upright mounted with stiffening brackets from Lowes.  Used 4x 1/4″-20 bolts x 3″ long with fender/spring washers/nut.  Drilled 4x 3/8″ holes in the hull to allow for flex, then bolted from inside using another piece of 4″ wide 1×6, thus sandwiching the thickness of the HDPE hull between the pieces of 2×4.  This, I hope, will prevent the holes in the hull from tearing out.  I’ve run aground twice so far at the bank at v. low speed and it held without any problems or getting loose.”

-”Check out the anchor mount quick release set up, I don’t fish shallow water so this comes in handy.  I don’t usually let the anchor hang as shown in one of the pictures, as it creates additional drag; I just pull it into the boat; it’s a 3.5 lb folding anchor.”

-”For the paddle  holder, I took closet hanger wire and bent it to fit, it works great; simple solution.

Noel”




Noel Mascarenhas is a Texan who got his new W500 fishing kayak a few days ago… (Read Noel’s ‘1st Impression Review’).

Here is his second review - story:

-”I can’t say enough good things about the WW.  When I washed it down yesterday, I flipped it over to get the water out of the hulls, and fully expected that some water would remain in the cockpit rim, but sure enough there was none; and then I noticed the drain hole in each end…also the hulls are sloped so that all the water will drain out of the boat when flipped over on the grass!  As a design engineer, I appreciate those little thoughtful features that Wavewalk has incorporated…most excellent!”

-”Had an awesome father’s day on the water with the family and the WW.”

-”My son Rainier is a natural kayaker, and is paddling standing, sitting, fishing sideways, turning in circles, reversing, stopping, actually landing at the launch point where we put in, he is already well on his way.”

-”We had a lot of people watching today, taking pictures and passing cars were honking as they went past, it was great!”

-”I mounted a trolling motor, anchor, battery box and crate with fishing rods.. See the attached pictures.

With the trolling motor mounted in the front (I reversed the trolling motor handle to point towards me), at the 3 setting, it was moving along pretty quick.  On the 5 setting, I was leaving a good size wake!  Steering was a different matter though, as I kept doing S-turns or going in a circle no matter what I did with the trolling motor.  I think it has to do with the flow channeling effect and the prop wash between and against the hulls.  The reverse on the trolling motor is very poweful, so I’m just going to turn around in my seat & operate it like that for now.  That will negate the hull effect, as I was able to steer very well in reverse.”

-”The battery location is critical.  On the saddle, it makes the WW top heavy, esp. with 2 people on board and stability/balance became tricky.  I moved it to the right hull, moved the anchor itself to the left hull and it stabilized.  After that it was smooth trolling!

In between tryouts, my wife Nini happened to notice a Mayfly next to her, so I picked it up & took a picture.. now that’s a perfect fly fishing picture.. a mayfly & the WW!”

-”I played around with the moving (side mounted on pulleys) anchor trolley this morning again and could not figure out a way to easily stop the rope once the anchor hit bottom (and still be able to operate the trolley), so I bought an anchor stop & mounted it between the hulls in the rear, it works great, as I can release the anchor & haul it up real quick, and I have full control of the rope.  I bought this in the boat section of (all places) Walmart.”

June 27 UPDATE: See Noel’s final motor rigging

Noel Mascarenhas is a kayak fisherman from Texas, who just got his new W500 fishing kayak. Here is his ‘first impression’ review of it:

-”We christened the W500 today, it was awesome.  At first it took some getting used to on balance as my son 12 and myself went, but once we got the hang of it, it was like learning to ride a bike, then it was easy.  My buddy who is 250 lbs tried it with his daughter (around 60-70 lbs) and he liked it too.  I’ve been sending pics of my kayak to a lot of people and everyone is impressed with it.

I have only paddled a canoe once in the past and I was surprised at how easy it is to paddle the wavewalk.

Here are some pics, we just returned from the lake..

Thanks for a great product.  I did notice that the pontoons deflect outward with more weight, which is normal.

Noel”

UPDATE (June 27): Noel’s Motorized W500 Fishing Kayak

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.

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