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



The river is swollen due weeks of rain. I caught a small sucker but who cares. I didn’t even plan on catching anything.

Today would of been the first annual Lunker Fest on the Lehigh River at this location at 9am but…high swift volume rates and cloudy waters made it postponed to June 4, 2011 instead. So I thought I would paddle around in the river for the 1st time to play around in the moving swift water. Very easy and a pleasure to be part of this type of boat. My expectations today were even higher than what I had expected with this boat purchase. I navigated on the Wavewalk site for over 1.5 years, and finally got some dough to spend, and make it a reality.

I was very miserable in my sit-in kayak and needed to change ASAP. The pain & being unhappy in the L position made me be ready to switch. 2011 is a different year now….it’s a new beginning for me and a lot of people ask me what it’s called. I like the personal craft experience and portability…maneuverability is what this boat is all about. When you point it in the direction you want to go…your there and on top of your game. Thanks to the W kayak…no numbing pain anymore when out for hours on end. Outstanding product!!! You got to experience it!!!

- Lou



WaveWalkOne all decked out with the crate attached, the light/flag pole flying, rod holders (2) in place, the paddle holder based on Jeff's Wal-Mart hooks in place and if you will notice sitting on the seat there are three 2 gal containers and three 1 gallon watertight containers that I use for storage up in the hull tips. You will see in another picture a closeup of how I extract the 1 gallon containers which get pushed way up in the tip.

I think it is important to clarify why I am passionate about the WaveWalk W500 Kayak.
I used to be an accredited Canoe instructor, and have taught lots of Boy Scouts how to make a canoe go straight. For me a regular kayak makes “Pain Management” impossible. I have tried conventional kayaks and NONE OF THEM give me the freedom to stretch and move that I require in order to keep my back from cramping up and making fishing pure hell. The W500 was my last hope for a personal watercraft. If it weren’t for the W500, I couldn’t be a kayak owner – my back will not allow me to sit in a regular kayak for more than about 20 minutes.
The W500 allows me to move into positions that relieve the pain from where it is hurting the most and have it hurt somewhere else for a while. I found the ONLY KAYAK AVAILABLE that allows me complete freedom of movement – something none of SITS or SOTS can claim. I will match my W500 up against anything the SITS or SOTS have shown me, especially since I can use the W500 and I CAN’T use the others. It does bother some other yakkers though that I always have easy answers for the problems they are trying to solve…
I think that eventually I will manage to give HOPE to disabled people that Kayaking is not something beyond their capabilities.

My 2 gallon and 1 gallon ciontainers that fit up in the hull tips attached together. To maintain their watertightness I put silicone seal aroung the holes where the rope goes through their sides. To store, the big container pushes the little one up into the tip and to extract it the big one pulls the small one out. In one of the hull tips I don't attach them together as the big container is filled with water and has an aerator for keeping shrimp alive as bait. When I get to where I am going to be fishing I pour the shrimp into a mesh bait bag that hangs over the side. I keep my cell phone, wallet, and anything else that can't possibly get wet in the small one that has no holes drilled in it to ensure it always stays dry.

Before I found the W500, kayaking was beyond my capability. You couldn’t have gotten me in a kayak for a days fishing on a bet. I would have passed on an all-expenses paid fishing trip with a guide who was fishing out of kayaks. I COULD NOT HAVE STOOD THE PAIN. Hurting just isn’t worth it.
In late January through early April the white bass will be running in the rivers near me. Kayakers have a field day getting into water that others can’t get to. I plan on showing the W500 off to many of those guys and will offer free rides. They will be bundled up in their waders and still be getting wet. I plan to entice them with a DRY RIDE.
I promote your product on the net for FUN. Its something I believe in and would like others who have the same problems as I do to have the freedom to participate in kayaking without hurting themselves more.

I drilled a 3 inch hole in the third setion of the seat and installed a 2 1/2 tank fitting (the black round fitting) that goes through the poly board that hold the holder for my GPS. My depth finder/Fish Finder is dropped down through this hole and extends into the water beneath the hulls. Since the fish finder has side looking sonar on it too it has to go that deep. When underway I have a piece of 3 inch pvc that goes on top of the fitting and holds the sonar transducer just under the water when I am paddling, thus reducing the drag. The 2 1/2 inch fitting screw tight from underneath and reinforces the seat where I drilled the hole. A second, but no less valuable use for this hole is to run a chain through to lock the kayak into my truck when I am not with it. It keeps the kayak from wandering off if you get my drift.

GPS mount swung off to the side so I can move up to bow in boat. To exit the boat I would leave it straight and remove the depth finder and set it behind me and just walk off as usual.

The biggest problem I have faced with my W500 is the comments from non-believers. Some of the things they say can be painful if you don’t have a thick hide. They make their comments UNTIL they get on the water with me. I then do things like reversing direction in the kayak and watch their faces. I also make a big deal about stretching and twisting, standing up to show that I am completely free to move as I desire.

My stake out stick. It consists of a 4-8 ft long roller paainting extension pole from Home Depot with a 1 inch pvc T shaped handle on it on the top end and a roller handle (red part) that has had the part you attach the roller to cut off and then the shaft straightened and sharpened on the end. Works great and I attach it to the large carabiner on my anchor trolley.

I needed a stable kayak, that kept me dry (I mean 100% dry except for sweat) and after almost a year’s search finally decided that a WaveWalk W500 was the ticket. You are welcome to come to my home and try mine out on our neighborhood private lake. I offer this, because I had to buy mine sight unseen, untried, acting only on faith of others testimonials and several phone calls to a preacher in Corpus who owns one. The W500 is stable enough to not only stand in, but to paddle standing up. If you get wet in one its your own fault or because you decided to go wading. It has so much storage space that is so accessible that a crate isn’t needed. Unlike conventional kayaks I have a seat that is 6 feet long that I can sit anywhere on. I can stand, bend, twist, do anything I desire and stay in the kayak. Without doubt I feel I made the right choice, and I am however, a completely satisfied customer.

My flag/360 degree light pole. It's made from 1 1/4 inch pvc in three sections of 18 inches each. The Tektite white 2 led light drops in the top. When storing the pole for transit the pole sections are held in a piece of 4 inch pvc in the crate. I mount the flag/light pole in a 90 degree flush mount rod holder mounted as far back on the Hull tip a possible right next to the flotation foam. To make the 1 1/4 pipe fit into the pole holder I use a decreaser to 1 inch PVC.

I read the Texas kayak fishing boards (texaskayakfishing.com and the kayak section of www.Texasfishingforum.com) and just laugh. “Regular” kayak owners complain about lack of stability, lack of storage space, wet butts and wet feet, etc. An owner of a W500 has NONE of these problems. Take launching for instance – in a regular kayak you wade out half the length of the kayak and then get in – WET already. In a W500 I walk down between the hulls for 2 1/2 feet and step into the cockpit pushing off with the last foot on dry land and have launched completely dry. Landing I do essentially the same. To land I merely slide back in the seat, thus raising the “bow” and paddle or push quite far up onto the beach. I then slide up to the front pinning the hull tips to the beach and walk out between the hull tips – DRY.

Simple method of just using a carabiner to attach the anchor trolley to the handle and a picture of my rod holders. The BIG red caribiner goes over the stack out stick for anchoring.

Don’t believe the hype you will hear from folks who have other kayaks, and criticize the W500, because they have no idea what they are talking about (99.9% of whom have never even seen a W500 much less paddled one) that the W500 won’t turn, is hard to paddle, won’t track. Phooey on them. I can turn a W500 literally in place using 2 methods they don’t have in their arsenal. IF I need to change direction immediately I just turn around in the kayak (don’t try this in a regular kayak) and paddle the opposite direction OR I slide to the back of the seat lifting the front tips and do a couple of back paddles on the same side of the W500 and pivot in place. Regular turning is no problem either. Anchoring is another problem solved in a W500. A regular kayak MUST have an anchor trolley to be able to keep the anchor in the proper position to keep the kayak from going broadside to waves. The anchor trolley moves the anchor from place to place. In a W500, I can move from the back to the front of the kayak and I can move the anchor with me. I do have an anchor trolley on my W500, but its for MY CONVENIENCE mostly with Drift Socks so I can move the socks in small increments to keep me in position on a drift Quickly so as not to interfere with my fishing.

The WaveWalk kayak will keep you completely dry (no scuppers for water to enter to soak your butt) both on using the kayak and upon getting in and out of the kayak. The W500 has more storage than I can effectively use (14 cubic feet). I use a crate, not because I have to, but because it allows me to have a convenient place to fly my 360 light and flag from, and a place to keep my anchor and drift sock where it is instantly available should I need it. I use an anchor trolley because it makes the adjustment of where an anchor is located, not because I have to. Unlike those who use a conventional kayak and are largely confined to one place, I have a 6 foot long cockpit seat that allows me free access to the kayak tips on both the bow and stern which are interchangeable since the kayak can be paddled equally well either direction as they are exactly the same. You talk about turning – I can turn on a dime by sliding back to the rear of the seat and giving a couple of back paddles and the W500 will swivel in place. I can reverse direction simply by turning around in the cockpit and paddling the other direction. I don’t need to add flotation as that comes standard in the kayak tips and no it does not use up some of my storage space. Can anyone who has a regular kayak even approximate these features?? The features are as they are, and I will be posting about the merits of the W500 because I believe for the big guy and more importantly for the person who has disabilities that the W500 is the best kayak going.
It is so much easier to throw a cast net when you don’t have to do it from the sitting L position, and it’s so much easier it is to get things from your crate and from the 14 cubic feet of storage in the hull tips, if you can turn completely around like in the cockpit of a W500.

My favorite small boat cleat. Its called either a zig zag cleat or a W cleat. I'll go with the W. Very quick and easy to attach lines to and more than one line can be attached to the same cleat.

I did a lot of research before I finally settled on the WaveWalk W500, and I am glad that I can continually point out the things that are HARD OR IMPOSSIBLE from a regular Kayak that are so easy from a WaveWalk. It is most important to me for DISABLED KAYAKERS to know about the only kayak that I can own and actually use. As I have said before, my legs and back will not let me sit in a regular kayak for more than about 30 minutes before I have to get out. The having to get out is true for both paddling or sitting one place fishing.
The other fun and easy stuff like having max storage space, having max stability, ability to throw cast nets, are just gravy, because if you can’t get comfortable in the kayak, then you won’t use it and the subject is moot. IF I had a fishing kayak with the pedal drive I could not use it, and would not use it, because my disabilities keep me from using it. That said, after having a WaveWalk W500, I would still not use a pedal drive kayak even if I could. There are just too many other advantages to the WaveWalk that I would want to take advantage of. Why would I use a kayak with reduced capability and comfort???”
Give me a call or better yet come and paddle my W500,

Gary Johnson

Looking down into crate. The 4 inch PVC holds the anchor and anchor rope and chain, also a piece for the broken down flag/light pole, and one for a couple of drift socks which are not here yet. One of my 1 gallon size watertight storage containers fits here too.

Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.

Pain plays a critical role in our survival and well being, because it motivates us to withdraw from potentially damaging situations, avoid those situations in the future, and protect a damaged body part while it heals.

Pain is usually initiated by stimulation of the peripheral nervous system, that is the nerves in various parts of our body. These nerves are connected through the spinal nerve to our brain, where we become aware of the pain.

The Nerves Involved In Kayak Back Pain, Leg Pain, Etc.

The sciatic nerve is a large nerve fiber that begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve supplies nearly the whole of the skin of the leg, the muscles of the back of the thigh, and those of the leg and foot. It is derived from spinal nerves L4 (in Lumbar vertebra # 4) through S3 (in Sacral vertebra #3) in the lower part of our spine.

Meaning of Back Pain When You’re Kayaking, or Kayak Fishing

Any unpleasant sensation you feel in your body while kayaking or fishing from your kayak, is a sign that something is wrong, so you need to pay attention to it, and do something about it:

Your legs getting numb is a sign that means you should change positions, stretch, get up, and get things in order.

Pain in your legs, or your lower back means something is seriously wrong, and you’re either risking physical damage, or actually causing it just by being seated in the L position, whether you’re paddling, resting, or fishing.

Pain means you need to stop paddling and fishing, and try to ‘unkink’, stretch, stand up, walk, do some physical exercise, etc.,

You shouldn’t ignore pain, because the longer you feel it, the less likely it is that it’s just a warning of a possible damage, and the more likely it is to be either a sign of actual physical damage in the making, or worse – damage that’s already done.

What To Do, And What Not To Do

Paddling and fishing in the L sitting position while you’re feeling back pain is bad for you. By doing it, you’re actively prolonging your healing period, and you may even be increasing the damage in your back. This is especially true if you’re suffering from chronic, frequent, or acute back pain.

When you consult with other kayakers and kayak anglers, or with kayak outfitters, kayak fishing guides or kayak dealers about the pain you feel in your back, some of them might dismiss pain as being unimportant, and complaining about it as ‘unmanly’. Others could even brag about their ability to keep paddling or fishing despite the pain they feel. In our view, anyone telling you to ignore your back pain is being irresponsibly wrong, and you should not listen to them. You’d better listen to what your back is telling you, don’t ignore it, and take it seriously, and you’d better consult your physician.

If you’re advised to take pain killers while you’re kayaking, or kayak fishing, you’re being given a bad advice, since that would double your risk: You could be aggravating the damage already caused to your back, and possibly turning it into severe damage, and on top of this you’ll be increasing likelihood of becoming the victim of a kayaking or fishing accident resulting from numbed senses and slower reactions.  Needless to say that the same is true for drinking alcohol, and for the same reasons, and in some states drinking alcohol while being on board a small boat is illegal, and could get you in a lot of trouble.

Conclusion: You’d better not operate kayaks while suffering from a sore back.

Seeking advice from a physician specializing in back problems, and even from your primary care physician is likely to help you better understand you back problem, avoid aggravating it, and eventually solve it.

What Does The W Kayak Offer To Your Back?

1. Different basic sitting positions:

When you’re operating a W kayak in the unique Riding position, your legs support your upper body’s weight, similarly to when you ride a horse, or an ATV. This means there’s simply no backrest for your legs to compress your lower back against. The W kayak is unique, and all other kayaks (I.E. sit-in and SOT) feature a system including footrests in front of the paddler, and a backrest behind them. Such kayaks require that you sit in the infamous L position, with your legs stretched in front of you – constantly pushing your lower back against the seat’s backrest, and thus creating a condition that often leads to pain and injuries among kayakers, and kayak anglers.

2. Various ergonomic positions to switch to, anytime:

When you operate a W kayak, you can switch between Riding, Sitting in several postures (none of which is the infamous L position), Standing up, and Lying down on the saddle, in several postures. This means you can effectively ‘unkink’ , rest, stretch – both standing up and lying down, and relief local fatigue and stress in any part of your body, while still being in the boat, and operating it. None of the positions offered by the W kayak is potentially harmful.

Some anglers refer to themselves as being ‘fisholic’, and that’s basically the same thing, although phrased in different pseudo scientific terms

That new article is amusing, but it’s also serious, since anglers and paddlers who spend too much time in sit-in and SOT kayaks can develop chronic pain, especially in the lower back (yak-back) and eventually be forced to quit kayak fishing and paddling, as many do – and that’s too bad.

Enjoy the read, so you may enjoy the ride!