W Fishing Kayak Towing a Motorboat - Massachusetts
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008Boaters are always ready to help one another. Usually it’s motorized boaters who assist paddlers, but yesterday, while paddling our W kayaks on the Charles river in Waltham, we had an opportunity to help Anthony and Kelley, whose boat’s outboard motor had stalled.
We attached the back of my W kayak with a rope through its carry handles to the front of the motorboat.
From their motorboat, Anthony used my 9 ft long paddle, and Kelley paddled using a canoe paddle they had onboard. I paddled using an 8ft long paddle that belongs to my 9 year old son Yanay who had been onboard my W kayak and moved to the motorboat before we began the operation.
Yadin, my 12 year old son stayed in his own W kayak, and took pictures using a camera he borrowed from Anthony and Kelley.

It was a long and slow process, although the distance we had to paddle wasn’t long. After about 15 minutes we heard thunder and it started raining.

The Charles was already swollen from a previous thunderstorm, but since this part of it flows slowly the fact we had to paddle upstream didn’t seem to change much. The rain grew stronger, and after some 20 minutes more of paddling we made it to this dock in Waltham, where our cars were parked.




First of all, you can see more of what’s around you, whether it’s the water or the banks that you’re interested in. Wildlife and vegetation are more visible, and fish can often be perceived in the water when they wouldn’t be from a lower position.



So it was yesterday we hit the water. The trip was a long one. Our adventure yesterday lasted around 12 hours of solid on the water time. Mostly touring and a little fishing. We traveled to find the end of Moses Creek from the intercoastal waterway. Got to the point we could go no further winding our way into narrow passages which at low tide we could only see down the water way the sides were too high. Sometimes we had to remove the rods and duck down under trees and brush. The area is known for gators and alike but we only heard crashing through the brush off to our sides ans saw none of them. A few times it was up and over logs just like on the W video.The W was right at home in those tight places. I should have thought to bring just Emmrods and it would have been easier. It got into the low 90s but water temps were still cool. All in all the W did the trip just fine. Twelve hours with limited getting out time is a long day but comfort wise it was great. With both boats rated in the 325 range she had me on the heavy load part. Speed wise I was a little faster over long range and would pull ahead over open water sections of the flats heading to the creek mouth.
We got in some really tight spots. The W took the trip on in fine shape. Being so short that really helped in this situation. A long boat in the 12 to 15 foot range would have been impossible to get around in tight quarters. Of course I also had the advantage of being able to stand to see over things, very difficult in almost any other boat. Of course I did try out Nina’s mini kayak. Aside from being sure nobody saw me in a bright pink boat it worked well. To tell the truth though I don’t think I could have done the 12 hours in it. The riding position in the W works for long periods. It’s very hard to explain to someone without them trying it. Logic would at first say that air seat with all the padding should be far more comfortable. But that is just not the case.