WAVEWALK KAYAKS

When you’re 6’3″ tall and weigh 245 lbs, like Jeff McGovern, you can speak softly (he usually does) and carry a big stick, or a small one – in this case an Emmrod fishing rod.

But you can’t stand up in a fishing kayak unless it’s the real deal, that is a kayak that works in real life, and not just in the mind of some kayak manufacturers, and in their marketing hype…

So Jeff, who likes to feel comfortable anywhere and anytime (he usually does), especially when he’s kayak fishing, uses only a W500 fishing kayak – and he won’t use anything else.
He calls his W kayak “a therapeutic yak”, since last year he had sciatica problems after a long drive from Florida to Chicago and back, and his W kayak helped him relax and stretch.

This photo was shot by Jim Green, Jeff’s son in law, and a promising kayak angler himself.

Just look how Jeff is perfectly relaxed while casting…

Kayaking, Leg Numbness, Leg Pain and Sciatica is the latest blog post on the new Painless Kayak Fishing blog.

Something tells me that it’s going to make some people angry, but it’s also going to give food for thought to a lot more people – paddlers and fishermen who are either considering kayaks, using them, or have already given up because of back problems, which are at the root of most leg problems.

Tim Kerr is a kayaker, and member of a kayaking club in Buffalo, New York. He came to West Newton, Massachusetts, tested the W500, and ordered one right away. Here is his review:

Buffalo, New York. June 29, 2009
The Wavewalk W500 has allowed me to return to the water!

After suffering from sciatica that developed after using my single hull kayak earlier this year, I searched for a more comfortable boat. Not only did I find the Wavewalk, I was immediately taken with its unique design that allows people like me with degenerative disk disease (I’m fifty-one) to lay back and rest, sit up straight or even stand and stretch out.

Kayaking is not for everyone but the Wavewalk opens the door for so many people that may have tried the sport and then gave it up because it just plain hurts their back. I’ve got a crushed disk that hates it when I stick my legs forward and then try to paddle as in a single hulled boat. The “saddle” combined with the twin hulls in the Wavewalk is a great invention.

I took the boat into the inner harbor in Buffalo. I didn’t try to lift it myself, I’ve got to be careful about such things. I brought along two extra items, a little waterproof pad to sit on, and a camera box on a leash. Attached are some pictures taken on my second day out. I spent the entire morning in the boat without back pain. The next day I was fine–no sciatica.

PS, I drove nine hundred miles in two days to try this boat, to be sure it was right. I’m glad I bought it. I’m “back” in the water again…

Tim Kerr

Tim beaching and getting out the W way: From the front, and without getting his feet wet

Added June 27, 2009:

-”Crossed the Niagara River last week. Was I the first in a Wavewalk? Paddling is going well. Going out to Lake Erie to play in some waves for the first time today…. Getting used to carrying it on the car and made a shelf in my garage for winter storage.”

Update from August 2009: Tim’s first movie W kayaking on Lake Erie, Pennsylvania

November 2009: Watch Tim’s Kayak Reentry Movie From Niagara River, NY

Finally made it out this morning and had a blast. Took the W but with a bit of hesitation because of  that sciatic nerve pinch from the Christmas drive up to Chicago is still a bother. It’s uncomfortable to sit in some positions but I figured the W would offer at least one position of comfort. I was right, thank goodness and found a few positions. The riding upright was best where the discomfort was almost gone. Of course standing helps a bunch and that was a blessing since I did not have to land the boat for a stretch. According to my checking into this type of pain issue it can take four months or more to work itself out. Today ended up going very well, I guess I’ll get a prescription for the W and just have to fish more often.
The fishing itself was limited to just little blue fish, they were the only ones around but any fish on the end of a line pulling is great. All 10 of them were around 12 inches or so but they pull very hard and act like piranhas hitting a bait. The weather started out around 50 or so and by the time I headed home it was around 70. Performance wise the boat handled just fine using the W paddle. I met one other yaker on the water and he was fascinated with the W. I guess he had been trolling the website but bought what he could touch and feel. His boat was a little [edited: 9' long fishing kayak] and he was a small fellow. When we got into weeds he could not even cast because they were over his head and blocking him. He also kept using his anchor to hold himself in place while I would just nudge the W’s tail end into the grass and let it catch between the hulls, worked fine to keep me in place in the light wind we had today.