The show is taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida De Las Americas (Located in downtown Houston) Exhibit Hall A, Houston Texas, 77010.

Last fall, Gary, a avid kayak angler and W fishing kayaks dealer in Minnesota, made a significant contribution to the development of the motorized W fishing kayak.

This will be the first time the W500 fishing kayak is exhibited in any trade show.
Gary expects visitors from the Midwest, Northwest and Canada to come to this trade show especially to see the W500.

Our W kayaks can be easily outfitted with electric trolling motors, as well as small outboard gas engines.

While we recommend outfitting the W500 and W502 kayaks with motors featuring a long, 20″ propeller shaft, we’re aware of the fact that few small outboard gas engines on the market feature such long shafts, and most old and new small outboards available feature a shorter, 15″ propeller shaft.

We designed this version of the W Transom Motor Mount for such short shaft motors:

Unlike the motor mount for 20″ long shafts, this mount cannot be attached directly behind the cockpit, since that would prevent using the clamp screws that fasten the motor to the mount.
Therefore, this mount should be attached to the W kayak at a few inches distance behind the cockpit’s rear end, in a manner that would make it possible for the user to tighten and loosen the clamp screws without experiencing any problem.
This distance depends on the type and size of clamps your motor comes with.

Kayak Compatibility: The W Kayak Transom Motor Mount fits W kayaks from the 500 and 502 series.

Motor Compatibility: This W Kayak Transom Motor Mount fits electric trolling motors, and outboard gas motors up to 2hp. We recommend outfitting the motor with a long, articulated tiller extension that enables the driver to steer from a position that’s closer to the middle of the cockpit, rather than from its rear.

Material: This W Kayak Transom Motor Mount is crafted from 1″ thick Trex board.
Trex is an environmentally friendly, composite material made from recycled and reclaimed plastic, and reclaimed wood. No trees are cut down for the purpose of making Trex. This material is widely used as decking and railing material since it will not splinter, rot or deteriorate due to harsh weather or insects. Trex resists damage from moisture and sunlight, which makes it a better alternative to wood for this matter. Unlike wood, Trex requires no painting, coating or maintenance.

Dimensions: This W Kayak Transom Motor Mount is 4.25″ high and 20″ wide, and it weighs 6 lbs.

Attachment: This W Kayak Transom Motor Mount is easily attached to the W kayak by means of two bolts. We recommend attaching this W Kayak Transom Motor Mount close as possible to the cockpit, as much as your motor’s clamp screws allow, in order to improve stability, access to the motor, control, and safety.

• Retail price: $118

First and foremost, kayak fishing in tandem involves a Safety issue, because two passengers moving about in the cockpit or on the deck of a fishing kayak in an uncoordinated manner can easily destabilize it. in such case, it’s enough to have one passenger overreacting to cause the kayak to capsize. Obviously, having fishing rods, lures and sometimes even fish flying around in all directions in space that’s so severely restricted isn’t a good recipe for safety. In fact, it is dangerous.

The second problem to consider is Convenience – Every angler wants and needs to have an unlimited range of motion around them, to allow them to perform basic things such as casting, reeling in, landing the fish, unhooking, and so on. Anglers must have a comfortable workspace for tying knots, attaching lures and bait, and doing other technical work involving handling of fishing gear, including sharp objects such as fishing hooks, and knives, which is hazardous in itself, without adding the fact that the angler is sitting in a small vessel, with a fishing partner a few feet away…
Besides, when you’re fishing in tandem, the last thing you want to deal with is your fishing lines getting entangled with those of your partner, and you certainly don’t want to be part of an accident involving someone getting poked in the eye by a misguided fishing hook, etc.. -The possibilities for a disaster are so numerous that it’s practically impossible to list them all in this article, but we assume the reader gets the point…

Kayak fishing in tandem is more complicated, and more difficult than tandem kayak paddling, and we don’t fully recommend it, unless the crew is composed of one experienced adult kayak angler and one junior kayak angler, such as a child, who needs guidance and often even technical help with handling their fishing gear. In such case the obvious choice for a kayak is the W500 that features a 6 ft long cockpit, and a longitudinal seat that makes it possible for the two anglers to sit separated by a long span, but also to approach each other effortlessly and safely when they need to do something together, such as in case the experienced angler has to instruct the novice, or help them hands-on perform a fishing related task.
A small sized angler such as a child may get confused, or overexcited, but they’re unlikely to cause a severe balance problem that the second, bigger, and more experienced will find impossible to deal with.
A large size angler getting into some kind of trouble that would cause them to lose balance and tilt the kayak sideways is a totally different problem that the second crew member might not be able to correct, especially if they’re caught off guard.
This movie was shot by Jesse Martinez in his W500, during a fishing trip in which he took his two small kids on board:

More information about kayak fishing with children >>

Kayak fishing standing in tandem is even more problematic, and should be practiced only after both anglers have practiced tandem kayak fishing before, as well as stand up kayak fishing. Needless to say that the kayak used for this type of fishing should fit for such such activities. Note that vendors’ claims about their kayaks’ stability are often exaggerated, and should be viewed with both caution, common sense, and healthy skepticism. Before getting hooked on the idea of kayak fishing in tandem, remember that it’s you and your fishing buddy that are going to be sitting in kayak out there in the real world, and not some guys who got paid to demonstrate a fishing kayak in front of a camera.

Kayak fishing offshore in tandem is even more difficult, and hazardous, and we do not recommend it, unless both anglers are lightweight and very experienced with fishing together out of small boats, such as dinghies and canoes. Fishing in tandem out of a kayak equipped with a powerful motor, such as an outboard gas engine adds yet another level of risk, and in such cases you may consider outfitting your kayak with a pair of large size outriggers, such as this South Korean couple is using on an offshore fishing trip >>