Below is a simple project that can help to make it a delight to spend 8 or more continuous hours on the water, as I had the chance to do this past weekend. That allowed me to land more than 30 largemouth bass and 35 pickerel in a single outing. Thank you Wavewalk! This accessory is simple, lightweight, inexpensive and can add comfort:
Simple, inexpensive plastic chair with legs sawn off
To my surprise, the legless chair will not move an inch once you are seated. This means that you can relocate yourself at any time just as you can with no chair. And without the legs the chair is easy to transport, easier to put in and remove, and the lack of legs means total access to your gear. And while the Adirondack models have imposing arms, the type of chair pictured allows you complete freedom to paddle while seated in the lap of luxury.
The idea to write this piece came from a client in Rhode Island who owns a 20ft center console, who told me he never uses it on weekends because of all the time he had to waste at crowded boat ramps, and the aggravation associated with it. Michael Chesloff from New York Fishing Kayaks added a few wise comments too, from his own experience as a fishing boat owner.
So how much quality time do you waste on activities related to your boat trailer?
To begin with, you need to attach the trailer to your vehicle, but that can be done in a few minutes.
Then, you need to drive to the boat ramp, which can be located far from the area that you’d like to fish in. This is a big waste of time, especially in slow traffic, since you’re wasting time both driving your vehicle to the ramp and driving your boat from the ramp to the area you’re going to fish in.
And then comes the big frustration – You get to the boat ramp area, and you have to wait in line with other fishermen and their trailers. All of you wait for fishermen that got there before you, and need to either launch their boat, or take it out, so the time waste is significant, and so is the frustration associated with it.
Finally, you get to approach the boat ramp with your trailer, and launch your boat, which can take considerable time, and it’s not a nice experience since you know that so many people are waiting for you to finish.
Then, you have to drive to the area where you’re going to fish, and you’re in a hurry because of all the time you had to waste on launching.
Then, at the end of your fishing trip, you have to quit earlier, so that you can get back to the boat ramp in time to take your place in the queue, together with other motorized fishermen waiting to take their boat out, or put in… And here too, once your turn to put out arrives, you don’t feel good about wasting other people’s time, and that can be stressful and unpleasant.
How much time would a car top motorized W kayak save you?
In contrast, car topping your motorized kayak takes little time, and you can launch it practically anywhere you need, including places that are much closer to where you’re planning to fish, and where no other motorized fishermen are waiting for their turn to launch or take out. Launching itself is easy, takes very little time, and requires no special maneuvering, since you can launch in any kind of dock or beach, including launching in the surf.
Driving your motorized kayak (a.k.a. personal microskiff) at 8 mph gets you to your fishing destination pretty fast, even in the presence of wind, waves and current, and that makes a big difference from human powered fishing kayaks, whether paddled or pedaled. This said, you can fish in no-motor zones (NMZ) too, since your little W motorboat is a paddle craft as well, so you keep getting the best of both worlds.
On your way back from from your fishing adventures, you can simply approach your launching spot and beach there immediately, without waiting for other boaters who are either launching or beaching. This is true even if that spot is a rock garden, or if the tide has changed the conditions there.
You just car top your little super-versatile marvel, and you’re on the road again within a couple minutes.
The bottom-line advantage of owning a motorized W kayak
Spending more time fishing and less time on the road and in boat ramps is a win-win proposition, since it means you’re having more fun and catching more fish.
The same is true about spending more time fishing and less time paddling or pedaling to your fishing spot and back from it.
This video shows how easy it is to launch and carry a motorized W kayak:
Actually, we passed the million visit mark a while ago, but since we started using Google Analytics reports in 2006, we have data starting from then and not from before.
The website itself has been alive since 2001, but it didn’t get many visitors in the first years, as this figure shows:
1,000,000 visits to Wavewalk fishing kayaks’ website since 2006
And to those of you who wonder what’s the difference between a Visit and a Hit – A visit means someone (a person, not a robot) visited the website, and saw at least one page of it, including pictures. If a page features 17 pictures (like our home page does) a visit to it would record 18 hits: 1 hit for the page URL (web address), and 17 hits for the different URLs of the pictures on the page.
The report also shows that about 78% of the visits have been ‘new’, which basically says these visitors didn’t come back to visit But 22% of the visits were second, or third visits, etc. – whether because the visitors bumped into our website again by mistake, or because they found something interesting to read or watch here
Yoav, I’m happy to give you my experience-based congratulations on such an excellent design. I’m having a lot of fun I simply wouldn’t have had without it.
My first W kayak session on the water was excellent! -
A little ways out, a couple of guys on SUP boards were heading out about 50 yards to my left; the Hood River sandbar was to my right and I was in very shallow water. I heard one saying “It’s shallow, watch your fin..” I felt somewhat smug since it was obvious to all of us that I was in thinner water than they were, paddling along just fine.
Then I stood up and kept paddling; I heard one say, “yea, it’s a standup…” and then, the other said something about “training wheels”. LOL – some people don’t understand how sound travels over water. I definitely sensed a bit of envy there – if not then, then surely a bit later, as those two headed back to the beach, no doubt pooped-out from nonstop standing and paddling, as I leisurely meandered about, enjoying the fantastic view, sitting and resting frequently.
I love your term, “evolutionary failure.” It’s so apt for sup-boarding. It’s as if a sled-like creature – adapted only to descending snowy hillsides on its belly via gravity – had to suddenly face life on the flat plains, without any significant anatomical changes except the addition of one arm.
Despite all my wishful thinking, I was truly surprised by how much distance I covered so quickly and effortlessly with my W kayak. I could have gone much longer and farther, but the sun was pretty intense and I haven’t seen that much of it yet this year. As it was getting lower, I was seriously tempted to get back out again!
I couldn’t resist the calm, full-moonlit sunset this evening and took to the water again. I’m so glad I did. What would otherwise have probably been a very ordinary, forgettable hour turned out to be a beautiful, rather profound experience.
Once again, I enjoyed a perspective I normally only imagine from shore – but better – and a degree of solitude that’s unattainable within quite a few miles of here by road. The icing on the cake was unexpectedly achieving, in the fading light, a new level of grace and rhythm with the paddle, boat, and water. I’m eager to try to capture some of that feeling on video, in a way I haven’t quite seen in the many great vids online already.
Looking forward to many more spectacular hours and days of paddling, exploring, sightseeing, bird-watching, and fishing, in this wonderful, new kind of watercraft,
Perry,
Editor’s note: Perry Platt has become Wavewalk’s dealer in Hood River, Oregon. Visit his website: Oregon Fishing Kayaks
I took my kayak down to the Sanibel Causeway today to do some fishing and relaxing.
Sanibel causeway
The view and water today was absolutely spectacular. It was the kind of crystal clear Florida day you wish for when your on vacation or in my case have a day off. I am always amazed at the difference of my view in the water and the fish I can see with the polarized glasses when I stand up as compared to sitting down.
Trout
I caught about a dozen trout and few Jacks. The gulp were working really well.
Maybe next week I will get some Reds to bite instead of just chasing them off.
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But 22% of the visits were second, or third visits, etc. – whether because the visitors bumped into our website again by mistake, or because they found something interesting to read or watch here 
