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John King’s Full Review Of His Rigged Fishing Kayak, Ohio

W kayak — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:58:47 +0000

Just wanted to drop a line and send some pictures of a recent day fishing. My oldest son and I went to a small local county lake and had a excellent day. We caught quite a few largemouth bass and panfish, nothing of any great size but just being there was enough.
It was also a good day for getting some more practice in the W500. Every time I go out in it I find something new I want to try. Standing and paddling took a little bit of work but I am becoming more confident each time I go out. Fishing from the W500 is almost effortless, it moves well and allows a high degree of stealth when moving in on cover or an area to fish.
I have kept the rigging so far to a minimum until I can spend more time experimenting to decide what is practical and most of all portable.
I plan on building some sort of bracket for a trolling motor for fishing on larger lakes. My kids bought a trolling motor for me on Father’s Day. I also have a wheel that I’m going to figure a way of using for portability. Dragging the W through the grass for a 100yds is a bit of a work out when your sixty something. But that is one of the reasons I decided to start this style of fishing especially when I discovered the W500. Get out and enjoy the thing I love most to do, fish with my sons and take in the beauty of this country that we live in.
My son had just taken first place in a kayak fishing tournament on the Ohio River, the day before this trip and we were both really enjoying the day. He currently uses a SOT kayak but I may be able to sway him over to the W500. I paddled past him a couple of times while standing up, and daring him to do the same.
My youngest son is starting to take more interest in this type of fishing and we may have him in a kayak soon.
I’ve shown my W500 to people and they are surprised to see the configuration of it. When I take it out fishing it seems to attract a lot of attention and questions. Paddle sports seem to be getting a lot of airtime and publicity in this area. The day after my son won the tournament on the Ohio River there was a paddle fest, that had a couple of thousand participants, held in the same area.
As you can probably tell, I really am enjoying my “W” and look forward to everyday that I can put it in the water. People at my work thought I had gone crazy until I started showing the pictures and sharing the stories. Now some of them are starting to ask questions that tell me they want to try my new “toy”. That’s what they called it when I first started telling them about it.
John L. King

< < Read John's initial, ‘first impression’ review of his W kayak

New: Watch movie of John running rapids in his W kayak >>

Initial Review of W500 Kayak, by Jim Addison, Big Guy from British Columbia, Canada

W kayak — Wed, 25 May 2011 12:28:39 +0000

I’m 6’-3”; 235 lbs. I have back and weak leg problems that will keep me from safely balancing in the standing position, let alone jumping up and down. Sitting, I can go all day! (at 70 yrs old that’s probably an hour or so)… The saddle and sitting positions it offers are the big appeal of the Wavewalk for me. Forget about the traditional L position – I couldn’t get up, even if I had managed to get down.
Once I saw the W500 I knew that was the boat for me, but, being me, and never having tried a W500, I kept thinking I could improve on the design here and there. During the acceptance process I learned a lot, and now I’m happy to accept the hull as it is.

I’m feeling a little guilty that I didn’t have any exciting adventures to relate.
The first time out, I went to a lake with a shallow beach where I figured I could walk back to shore if I dumped the boat. I started out cautiously, right from shore, without getting my feet wet. I paddled in the shallow area for less than a minute, then headed down the lake (how’s that for quickly gaining confidence?), then all the way up to the other end (a mile?), then back down the . . . oh, oh! The breeze has kicked up. This could be trouble. A couple of mental adjustments and I was paddling into the wind and doing OK. Remember, I’m not a paddler, not ever a rowboat. I rested a bit in the lee of the eastern lakeshore then headed back to the beach 1/2-way down the lake where I dis-embarked, without getting my feet wet.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary. I initially found the boat to be tender, but that was me, not the boat. Anything that only weighs 59 pounds is bound to be tender when it’s reacting to a 235 pound novice, and the more I use it, the more compatible we become. It took a bit of adjustment to handle the paddle, which I imagine every new paddler experiences. And even though I got a couple of scares out there on the lake by digging in too hard, I didn’t dump the boat.
I haven’t been chasing fish. I realized I’m not going to be an avid fisherman but the lure is still there, and watching Fisheries pour three tanker trucks of keeper size trout into the lake whets the appetite.

I’ve constructed a rack for my car using the trailer hitch and a roof rack on the 2 door coupe. The T-bar trailer hitch rack is connect to the roof rack by two 2 X 6 spruce(strong and light) boards. Because the car is low, it is an easy chore for me to lift one end of the kayak onto the back rack and then lift and slide the boat into place on the racks. I have the kayak, strapped to the roof rack ,hanging above the car in the garage. Just lower the whole setup onto the car, screw it down and voila!

When I’ve put a few more miles on the boat and had some experience with the different situations that I’m sure will pop up, I’ll pass them on to you.

Jim

Stan Trojanowski’s Amphibious Fishing Kayak, South Carolina

W kayak — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 15:09:34 +0000

I’ve created a solution how to mount a balloon wheel (see wheeleez.com) in between the hulls, to be able to move the kayak on land by pushing it like a wheel barrow.
Others have done it with elaborate frames or with straps.

I wanted to be able to leave it on the kayak permanently and swing it up while on water. My reasoning was-

One wheel allows for better maneuverability than two (there is a reason for wheelbarrow to have one wheel only)
One large wheel is better than 2 smaller ones when going over rough terrain
Finally one wheel is better because of space. It fits nicely between the hulls and can remain attached while on water. The kayak turns into an amphibious vehicle ready to land anywhere.

My idea evolved from John Putnam’s kayak wheel design, and I wanted to improve on it such that I do not have to carry the frame with the wheel. My biggest challenge was how to attach/mount this contraption. I thought it would be best to rivet some pipe clamps to the top surfaces of the hulls.

The only modification needed to this solution is to use longer pipe for the top mount axle (shaft), to keep it from falling out from under the clamps.

Stan

How To Carry Your Fishing Kayak

W kayak — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 12:14:38 +0000

The W500 is not a heavy kayak, and if you’re strong enough, and you don’t feel like dragging it on the ground, you can carry it on your shoulder, as shown in this photo:

One hand supports the kayak from below, together with your shoulder, and the other hand supports it from above.

Wheels for Fishing Kayak Transportation

W kayak — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:43:36 +0000

Here’s a new article called Wheels for Fishing Kayak Transportation.

It summarizes various rigging projects that we know about in this field, thanks to W kayak anglers who’ve contributed their creativity, insight and pictures…