WAVEWALK FISHING KAYAKS BLOG » breakers

First W Fishing Kayak Review From New Zealand, by Dennis Hodgetts

W kayak — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:40:16 +0000

Dennis is an avid angler who lives on New Zealand’s North Island, which is the warmer part of the country. It’s late autumn now in New Zealand.

The weather has been very rough for the last month – not cold but continuous storms.
It finally settled yesterday. It is now getting colder but is quite settled.
When I say cold – in this part of the country it never gets very cold. We have 1 or 2 frosts each year but it seldom gets much below a daily maximum of 10 degrees C (50 degrees F).
As a consequence of the storms, I haven’t been able to get out in the sea in the kayak, but all is not lost.

Boxed W fishing kayak on top of Dennis' SUV, New Zealand

I took the W500 out on the Sunday after I received it. I spent part of Saturday making a wheel so that I could push the kayak over the sand.

Dennis' DIY wheel for his W500 fishing kayak

The day was overcast and the sea was rough but I decided that I had to give it a go.
The waves looked small from the shore but 20 yards off shore I struck breaking waves about 2 to 3 feet high. I was really impressed how well the W500 handled them. I would not have taken them on with my SOT.

Out past the breakers was a swell of between 4 and 5 feet, and I was really impressed at how comfortable the kayak was in those conditions. I paddled out about half a mile then parallel to the shore for a while and then headed back in through the surf. I didn’t try standing.

Paddle clips

About a week later, desperate to go fishing, I took the W500 to the local harbour, no joy with fish because the anchor kept dragging in the strong current and strong wind – both in the same direction. However I saw a guy standing up in a board (supping) so thought I would have a go at that. I paddled up wind for a while then stood up and let the wind push me back downwind while I experimented with steering by leaning. Had a great afternoon and came home even happier with the W500.

The weather has been rotten so I have not taken the w500 out for a while until last weekend – I went fishing but not kayak fishing.
I belong to a local surf casting club which has a competition weekend each month.
The May competition was last weekend.
Because of the very rough sea, club member all headed to the local harbour to fish. The harbour is very shallow, and there are only a few places where you can cast into deep water from the shore.

My favourite spot is a toing beach at the bottom of a tall clay bank. At some time someone has cut a short driveway from the top of the bank to the beach so that a small dinghy can be launched there.
The problem with the spot is that there is really only room for 2 people (we all fish 2 rods).

The solution – I loaded my W500 on my ute (pickup), and when I reached the fishing spot I loaded surfcasting rods, sand spikes (rod-holders), bait, waterproof coats, an extra change of warm clothes, fishing box, chair, and enough food to last me through the night, and paddled the W500 across to an island in the harbour. It held all the gear easily and it was an absolute breeze to paddle even in the strong wind that was blowing at the time.
The fishing was wonderful, and although I intended to stay from about 4pm when I arrived to the 4am high tide, I ended up heading home at about 9.30pm.

Fish Dennis caught with the participation of his W kayak...

Limit on this variety in this area is 9 fish. They must be over 27cm (9 inches) to be of legal size, but 30cm (12 inches) to be accepted for weigh in by the surfcasting club. These fish – snapper – are great sport fish. Even the small ones put up a great fight, and they are the most preferred variety for eating in the country.

Dennis' W500

Dennis' anchor trolley

New: Read Dennis’ account of the first time he paddled his W kayak standing up >>
Dennis catching a 100 lbs eagle ray, at night, with his W kayak >>

Brandon’s Fishing Kayak in the Surf, Nantucket

W kayak — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:45:13 +0000

Brandon Cutter and friends, from Cape Cod, Massachusetts play with Brandon’s 2008 W fishing kayak in the surf in Nantucket. They paddle in parallel to the beach – hopping on breaking waves. They launch, surf and beach. (1 minute)

One of them easily recovers his overturned boat, and then keeps paddling.

Keeping the Inside of Your W Kayak Cockpit Dry in the Surf

W kayak — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:42:43 +0000

You’re planning to take your W kayak on a fishing or paddling trip in the ocean, and you may be asking yourself what’s going to happen if you have to launch it in big surf, and in such case how to protect yourself from getting wet.
Indeed, if you’re launching in big surf some spray might get the inside of your W kayak wet, and even splash you. This is why all 2008 W Kayak models come outfitted with a preparation for a cockpit cover:
You can use any waterproof fabric or plastic sheet to cover the front part of your W kayak cockpit and thus prevent spray from getting in. Once you’re past the breakers you can easily remove the cover, fold or roll it, and store it in the cockpit or on top of the hulls

This picture shows the cover protecting almost the entire cockpit, leaving some place for you to sit in the back, which is where you want to be when launching in big surf:

This picture shows the cockpit cover protecting just the front part of the cockpit. This is a preferable when you’re positioned in the middle of the cockpit:

Normally, even without a cockpit cover spray shouldn’t be a problem at all since if some spray gets in the water will be drained from the saddle to the bottom of the hulls, and you won’t have to sit on a wet surface.

If you’ve had some bad encounters with big breakers while not using a cockpit cover and there’s too much water in the bottom of the hulls for you to feel comfortable with you can easily drain it using a small bucket or a kayak bilge pump. Then you can dry the hulls completely with a sponge.

Unlike SOT kayaks, the structure of the W kayak enables you to clearly see the bottom of the hulls, and therefore water can’t be there without you perceiving it.

Similarly, when you’re going paddling in fast streams and you want to keep dry you may find the cockpit cover to be useful – without it getting you entrapped in your boat like a traditional kayak spray skirt might.

The W kayak cockpit cover is also useful in case the weather changes suddenly and you get caught in heavy rain, and it offers protection against cold wind.