Darrell started designing and manufacturing pontoon boats and canoes in 1958, in Florida, where he founded Mohawk Canoes. Darrell designed dozens of models, some of which are still in production. Mohawk became one of the most successful and well known canoe companies in the country.

Darrell also designed and produced the famous Mohawk paddles. Wavewalk has sold Darrell’s versatile double-blade canoe paddles until recently.

Darrell sold the canoe business in 2006, and the paddle business in 2007.

Darrell was my first client – He bought the first W boat from me in the spring of 2004, before I even had a format for an invoice…

This morning, while I was going through some old documents, I found the stub from the check he sent me.

After Darrell got his W-boat I called him, and asked him if he had already paddled it, and what was his impression. Darrell’s answer was:

-”I paddled it, and I felt more comfortable than in a canoe.”

I didn’t know what to make of this answer, because as a beginning designer I was inexperienced and rather confused. My ideas at that time were focused around stand-up whitewater and surf paddling, and I didn’t quite see the significance of what he had told me.

I think I see it now.

Yoav

The all time record was back in August 2004, after the New York Times had published an article about our first invention: shoes for walking on water (US utility patent number 6,764,363).

We chose to commercialize our second, boat invention, in the form of the W-kayak product line, and it looks like we’re on the right track.

Here is what Jeff recently wrote me:

“In the W kayak I find myself poking the boat into grassy areas since the grass coming up between the hulls will hold it in place. With the slightly additional height the angler is at casting over the grass is easy. Also you don’t catch grass on the back cast as you would in a lower boat.
I’ve fished the same areas out of a SOT and the W the last few months, and there are distinct advantages to both designs at certain times. At a higher tide the W can creep into the grass areas where the SOT would be surrounded by grass making a cast impossible.
Also with moving forward in on the saddle the W becomes a pivot point so a larger fish has a tough time of getting on the wrong side of your efforts. In most other kayaks that concern is addressed with a longer rod to clear both ends of the boat but that is still harder.
As you look toward newer W models I’m wondering if raising the saddle a bit would be nicer for big guys like me.
Those little trashcans I use pushed in the hulls are pretty handy.
One other thing about the W that comes up is the ease of dragging it on the ground. For short beach launches or for areas like the fish camp where I normally launch the W proves almost effortless. Other kayakers have mentioned how simple the W is to handle – I really only have to pick it up once at home to load it and then once more when I get back to put it away. At virtually all my launching spots all I do is pull it off the back of the Ranger and onto the ground. Once I place the rods in the rack I can drag the whole thing to the water and be off. Other kayak fishermen who use SOTs are either waiting for assistance or making multiple trips to the water. Jeff”

BTW, Jeff writes articles on fishing in general and kayak fishing in particular: http://www.wavewalk.com/kayak_fishing_with_Jeff.html

It’s important to remember that when comparing the speed of two boats you need to be proficient in paddling both of them. For example, it would be plain stupid to ask a canoeist who has never paddled a kayak before to evaluate the speed of a 20′ long racing kayak… Similarly, you don’t expect a sea kayaker to be able to appreciate the speed of a fast canoe if he or she has no canoing experience at all.
Therefore, before you try to check how fast your W kayak can go you have to spend the time necessary to become a proficient W paddler, and that can’t happen in a day since W canoing is somehow different from regular canoing, and W kayaking is very different from regular kayaking.
Expect the expectable: There’s a learning curve in this process, as there is one for any new activity you’re undertaking.

Note that the smaller the boat the harder it’s penalized for extra weight – Don’t overload your W kayak.

In case you want to join a group of experienced sea kayakers on a trip you should know that fast touring kayaks are narrow and usually over 16′ long, which means they are likely to go faster than your 10′ W.

This is a link to a long technical article on this subject: http://www.wavewalk.com/KAYAK_SPEED_ARTICLE.html

Yoav