WAVEWALK KAYAKS

The W300 first appeared in April of 2004, and it was called ‘W boat’. Later, its name was changed to W-Kayak, and in May 2009, when we launched the new W500 series, we renamed the early series W300.

The W300 represented a breakthrough in paddling and fishing, from every aspect:

It introduced stand up paddling into the kayak world, as well as stand up fishing. To this date, no other kayak has shown such performance, except the W500.
The W300 also introduced the W saddle, and the Riding position, as well as the freedom to switch between a variety of comfortable positions – none of which is the infamous L kayaking position.
The W300 broke the records in kayak mobility and versatility, and was the first kayak to enable its operator to move fore and aft along the saddle, thus enabling to change the boat’s center of gravity (CG), and thereby gain the best control in strong wind, breaking waves, and fast current.
This was also the first kayak to offer leaning into the turn as means to facilitate turning – a feature that some kayak designers had argued was a fiction, until we proved it to be real in online demo videos

The W300 gained fans in 4 continents, among kayakers and canoeists as well and anglers, who outfitted it with electric motors, outboard gas engines, and sails.

The W300 made people happy, whether they were 80 years old, or 5 years old. It was used for both solo and tandem paddling, and I loved playing with it in the ocean surf.

The W300 enabled people with sore backs and other health issues to paddle and fish again – Without it they would have had to stay at home, or go in a motorboat.

The W300 took 3 years to design and build. Jo Mares, a boat builder and offshore kayak fisherman from Key West, Florida, said about his 2006 W300: -”…still thrilled with the W and not have been able to improve the basic concept without detracting from it in some other way. The W really is the best”
This was an important sentence for me, since it forced me to work harder in designing the next generation of W kayak – the W500 series. The challenge we took upon ourselves was to improve everything… and today, one year after we launched the W500, it’s possible to say we succeeded:

1. The W500 weighs just a little more than the W300, yet it’s much bigger and roomier.
2. The W500 is just 12″ longer than the W300, yet its redesigned hulls make it go much faster.
3. The W500 is just 3.5″ wider than the W300, yet it’s much more stable, without being harder to paddle.
4. The W500 is a true tandem kayak, yet small children and elderly people can control it very easily.

Customers who already owned a W300 and tried the W500 unanimously said that the W500 was much better. Some of them sold their old W300, and some kept them as ‘guest’ boats

New customers kept ordering the W500, and praising it, and the W300 became so much less popular in comparison to the new, bright star, that we finally decided to discontinue it. However, we’ve kept all the customer reviews on it on our website – for sentimental reasons  – We simply love this boat

John owns four of the world’s best looking fishing kayaks, thanks to his original camo designs. But how do you attach four W fishing kayaks to a pickup truck bed when you’re going for a long paddling and fishing trip with your family ?

Says John:

-”It should be easy to transport four W s in the back of my pickup. I used the noodles on top of the 300 s that fit side by side between the wheel wells just as they did before. The slightly wider 500 s are placed on top of the noodles and the 300 s. Five straps do the trick. Two in the back keeping any sliding out action from occurring. Two pulling back to prevent the top W s from going through my rear window, and one strap going through the handles to prevent the wind from lifting the W s up. Hope to take the fleet out Friday if the weather cooperates.
John”

Read more about John and Jeanne’s kayak fishing trips in Wisconsin and Michigan >>

John Fabina has already contributed a lot to our website and blog – Pictures, trip reports and kayak reviews, but he’s also stepped into the domain of art: The Art of Fishing Kayak Camouflage.

His work is both original and beautiful, as you can see-

Originally, a yellow W500 fishing kayak, which got transformed into a blue dream camo boat, under John’s magical brush (or airbrush, spray can…-how does he do it?):

Originally, a green W500 fishing kayak turned into a special-ops, or commando style camo boat:

John’s fleet of 4 camo fishing kayaks: The ones on the bottom are W300 (originally yellow and green), and the 2 top ones (tiger pattern and commando style) are W500 fishing kayaks

More than ever, we look forward to John and Jeanne’s new trip reports and pictures -

Since 2007, the movie Walking On Waves has shown kayak paddlers and anglers what a W300 fishing kayak can do in the ocean surf, and that’s something no other kayak to this day has been able to come close to showing, including SOT fishing kayaks that are up to 42 inches wide, that is over a foot wider than the 25″ wide W300.
Interestingly, no one has shown anything similar with any fishing kayak that’s outfitted with outriggers, or features integrated outriggers, since these fishing kayaks are simply neither stable enough, nor can they they offer the maneuverability and control the W kayak design has.

At first, the movie was uploaded to Google Videos, but after some time it was moved to YouTube, where it got 25,000 views.

More interestingly, no paddling or kayak fishing magazine – whether printed or online, saw the importance of this stand up paddling performance, although they’ve all published articles about other fishing kayaks that allegedly offer stand up fishing, when in fact what they offer are tedious, lackluster and often hazardous gimmicks that not too many people seem to take seriously.

No wonder these media don’t benefit from much trust from their readers…

We managed to get lower shipping rates from the freight companies that we work with, and consequently, we can lower the shipping rates our customers are required to pay us.
The new shipping rates for kayaks will be effective starting today.

Please don’t worry – If you’ve already sent a check based on the previous, higher shipping rates, we’ll give you an automatic refund for the difference.

The new shipping rates for shipping a kayak to your address are:

As always, our rates include call before delivery service, and each W fishing kayak is shipped in an individual cardboard box, for maximal protection.

Map of continental US regions for shipping our kayaks

Donavan Campbell is a W kayak stream fisherman from North Carolina, who contributed a fishing kayak review of his W300.

His wheel system offers the advantages of being low-cost, simple, easy to make, and lightweight for carrying on board. It’s all-terrain, and easy to attach to the kayak.

-”Wanted to pass along pictures of the wheel system my dad and I created for the W300.

We utilized a 1/2″ aluminum tube as an axle inside a 3/4″ aluminum tube, attached plastic wheels and mounted (drilled through both tubes) aluminum shelf brackets as guides and as a place to attach the bungee.

Important thing to me was keeping the weight to a minimum (complete set weighs about 3lbs) because when you river fish, where you put in is not where you get out; the wheel system goes with you.

Additionally no ball bearings or anything that would rust as the wheel spins on a plastic bushing, the axle does not turn.

Has proven to be very stable and quick to attach and detach.  Everything was purchased at Lowes Hardware for little less than $50.

No problem maneuvering any terrain now.

I imagine in a couple of years the plastic bushings and wheel will need to be replaced but this is a minimal investment.  Hope someone finds this helpful.

–Donavan”

Great weather and a good turnout accompanied the first meeting of the Nature Coast Kayak Fishing Club held yesterday in Crystal River. My W 500 was noticed by a few other W owners in the area who stopped by to say hi and chat. It also attracted many other folks inquiring about that “crazy looking” twin hull kayak on my truck.

After a few hours of paddling at a local park, we gathered for a picnic hosted by Matt and Sue Clemons of Aardvark’s Florida Kayak Company in Crystal River where Cap’t Adrian Englert also organized a Meet and Greet for the new club. He brought a few rigged fishing kayaks with him including his W 300, and lots of folks stopped by to inquire about the sport, kayaks and gear, and claim their club membership cards.

I’ve now met 5 people in our rural county who own Wavewalk kayaks, and haven’t heard a negative word about them yet. Perhaps we can organize a W convention and fishing trip sometime this summer.

Gary Rankel

Donavan Campbell is a stream kayak angler from North Carolina, who got his W300 in the summer of last year. He took his time to write a review, and it was worth waiting for…:

I wanted to share my review of the W300 with you…

-”Look at the teeth on that Muskie!”

I use the W300 on the New River in the NC mountains (Sparta, Jefferson) for smallmouth bass fishing.

I was very impressed with the stability of the W300 for river fishing and it’s tracking.
Water depths range from 10′ to 6″ on the New River and the W can handle either along with occasional sharp rocks.

I keep the rigging light for easy maneuverability out of the water and plan to add an additional rod holder and the “wheels” I see from other owners. I fish with other standard kayaks and am glad I purchased the W, I strongly recommend the W to everyone that asks, thanks.

Donavan Campbell
Statesville, NC

Added some fish pictures, first calendared fishing trip for 2010 is March 26th & 27th!

PS- If anyone in western NC wants to check out a wavewalk I would be happy to help them…

Most people think that paddling a kayak in flat water isn’t very interesting. They are right, when sit-in and SOT kayaks are considered, but flat wrong when W kayaks are:

This movie is one of my favorites. It shows the W300 performing like no other paddle craft before, and highlights some of the W important advantages for paddling, touring and kayak fishing.

The reason I chose to post it again on this blog is because I recently discovered how to add annotations to YouTube videos

Yoav

Jerry Kushner is a winemaker from Kentucky, who purchased a W300 fishing kayak early this year, before the W500 became available.

Here is Jerry’s review of his W kayak:

“I planned to fish some of the fast flowing rivers with my Wavewalk kayak.
After I got it I tried it in my pond, and at first it felt tippy but once I got my balance I found it easy to paddle and maneuver.

Finally, I got to use it in the Gulf of Mexico.  I installed a pair of fold up outriggers that I purchased from Paddlers Hideaway (I found them on e-bay).
The first time I took the kayak out the waves in the surf were one to two feet high and even when broadsided by a wave the system was solidly stable.
I felt real secure, and for an almost eighty year old this rig is ideal for fishing offshore.

Jerry Kushner”