Kayak fishing hype is everywhere, but the truth has a value of its own, since it can be demonstrated and proven in real life:
Kayak stability without comfort and safety is a misnomer, and so is kayak fishing standing and stand up paddling without comfort and safety.
It is not reasonable to expect a paddler or angler to rise up from the L position to a standing position, and it is reckless to expect that they’ll sit down from a standing position in case they lose balance, which always happens when you stand up in or on top a kayak.
This is where the 14 inches high W kayak saddle shines…
Any kayak designer, paddler or angler would tell you that a kayak can either track well, or turn easily, and that the longer the kayak’s hull the better it would track, but the harder it would be to maneuver, and vice versa. In the narrow and restricted world of traditional, mono-hull kayaks this is axiomatic, meaning that it requires no proof, since everyone already knows it to be true.
Wavewalk has already proven that its W300 kayak was a great tracker for a 10 ft long kayak, and did not require a rudder to help it track even under strong wind. The W300 also astonished quite a few kayak paddlers and designers by showing them that a paddler could lean it into the turn, and make very sharp turns – again, without a rudder.
Now we offer the W500 that’s much faster than the W300, and tracks considerably better. In fact, kayakers and kayak anglers compare its speed to that of a 14-16 ft long, fast fishing kayak, or a 12-13 ft long touring kayak.
The question that some kayakers and anglers have asked, and rightfully so, is whether this great tracker could maneuver easily without a rudder.
This demo movie shows how riding the saddle from its rear end changes the kayak’s hydrodynamics in a way that makes it highly maneuverable:
Leaning into the turn makes steering even more effective.
When tight maneuvers are no longer required, the paddler can go back to paddling the W500 kayak from the middle of the saddle. In that position, the W500 is perfectly balanced fore and aft, tracks perfectly, and can achieve its highest speed.
No rudder is required for either tracking or turning the W500 kayak. If you’ve used a rudder with your kayak you’d know it is really good news. This is because rudders cost money, they impede your kayak, and they have a nasty tendency to harvest seaweed and get stuck in the bottom when you’re paddling and fishing in shallow water.
In other words, rudders are pain…
By the way, aboriginal kayaks made by arctic circle people had no rudders, since the people who crafted and paddled them were better paddlers than we are.
This is a new demo video showing how to cartop two Wavewalk kayaks on any regular car rack.
Attaching the boats is easy.
If you don’t feel like using the ‘quick and dirty’ method shown in this movie you can simply slide the kayaks upwards.
We recommend protecting your car paint from being scratched while you upload and download the boats. We also recommend insulating exposed metal parts that might come in contact with the hulls on very hot days using cardboard, foam, or any other type of basic thermal insulation material.
Wavewalk kayaks are guaranteed to fit all car racks.
This is a new demo video showing what ‘super stability’ means. We show the footage in X4 slow motion so that the viewer can better appreciate what’s going on:
The movie was shot on the Charles River in Waltham, Massachusetts, by no other than Jeff McGovern, from Florida, who was on a business trip here and came to visit us.
Thanks Jeff!
By the way, I’m the one demonstrating the Wavewalk kayak – I’m 6 ft tall, and I weigh 195 lbs.