WAVEWALK KAYAKS

Brian Vickery, from California, is a fisherman and photographer who has special reasons to look for absolute, no-nonsense stability in his kayak, as well as total comfort.
Those of you who’ve visited our blog before already know that Brian has a genius and a passion for kayak outfitting and rigging projects-
Says Brian:
-”I have been away having left shoulder surgery, total replacement, so I am presently thinking of no more paddling for me at all. Dr says “mild” shoulder work in a few months PT time.
I put my W kayak in the water this morning and tried-out the folding amas. Wow!, when I tried my hardest to make it tip , I could not. Just like standing on a concrete floor. Solid, solid as I never thought it would be. That is saying a dickens of a lot, coming from me. I could not budge it at all.
I did find it was a tad hard to keep course though. Once the turn was made tho it kept good tracking. I think that with the two batteries and motor gone, it will sail well with a Genoa jib, and NO mainsail.
Cheers,, Brian”

More on Brian’s electric motor setup for his kayak >>

I thought it may be interesting to revisit the subject of motorizing fishing kayaks with an outboard gas engine.

To the best of my knowledge, so far only one W kayak angler has used such an outboard motor: Jim McGilvray, from Norfolk, UK, who rigged his 2007 W300 fishing kayak with a 2.5, 4 stroke engine, and a pair of DIY outriggers.
This is the movie Jim sent us, over two years ago:

This rig allows for more than trolling, obviously. The speed and stability are remarkable.

NEW (June): Roxanne’s W500 Trip to the Backwater of the Farmington River, Connecticut (+Movie)

Roxanne Davis from Connecticut is a seasoned kayak fisherwoman who has owned and rigged two early models of the W300 series, and reviewed them. Now she got a new W500, and this is her initial review:

-”I can say three things about it so far: “I LOVE IT” – The room in it is just perfect.”

-”I was on Rainbow Reservoir testing my W500 on a very wind day, and more boat traffic then I had expected. It handled like a dream, tracked great, and pushed threw the winds, with gusts up to 25mph, and constant 15mph. I was amazed how well I could paddle into the wind with it without killing myself.”

-”Most motor boaters don’t care about the laws and wakes… I Had a big 18′ Deep-V powerboat fly by on plane about 20′ from me, and I rode the 2′ wake with no problem. Then I went back to fishing, turned my head just in time to see the next wake hit me, (not even sure where it came from??) I didn’t panic, and let it hit sideways, and the W500 just gently swayed up and over the wake, and down, and then over the second wake with ease.
The W300 would have handled it also, but not as smoothly as the W500 did.
I’m really going to have to take it on the salt now, that wake gave me the confidence this baby can take it!!

I applaud you Yoav,  you’ve taken the best yak in the world, and made it better!”

-”I broke the W500 in with 15 Smallmouth Bass, nothing huge, just fun.

She’s been officially Slimed!! 

Rox”

Rox’ new W500 with her special side rod holder

Rox’ W500 with a transducer mounted

In a previous post on this blog we discussed different outrigger configurations for the W kayak.

This figure shows our general recommendations for a simple and easy to build DIY outrigger.

Note that the outrigger is voluminous, and placed far enough from the boat itself to enable paddling. Also note that the transversal bars are sturdy, and they are attached to the top of both hulls for more structural strength. This is important especially if you’re planning to place an outboard motor on the transversal bar, but it’s also important for sailing, tandem etc.

The bottom of the outrigger float should be on a higher plane than the bottom of the kayak’s hulls. This is because you need to take into consideration the fact that its own buoyancy will push the float upward once it’s in the water, especially when the boat is heavily loaded and therefore strongly pushing the float downward. This could cause the transversal bars to bend and possibly even break under the stress.

The third hull (float) should be long and voluminous, but preferably shorter than the kayak’s hulls, so as not to cause steering problems.