Month: January 2016

By Captain Larry Jarboe

Key Largo, Florida

A couple days ago, I launched my W700 for the first time. It has taken a couple weeks to get my stone crab traps set up and dropped overboard from my commercial fishing boat “Line Dancer”. This vessel, a 27′ Lindsey w/ a B-series Cummins diesel, will make a fine mother ship to transport the W700 and my W500 to the Everglades, wrecks, reefs, and Gulf Stream waters surrounding Key Largo.

My initial observations include:

The W700 is the ideal family or couples vessel for economy and ease of transport. Where will you find a tandem yak that combines the best qualities of a kayak, canoe, catamaran, stand-up paddle board, and micro-skiff in one boat?

The W700 really is a magic boat. Not only is the W700 more stable and roomy than the W500 (which was the most stable yak I had previously used), the air tight buoyancy straddle seat is a major safety improvement. The center holes in the separately molded flotation seat can be used as rod holders. I plan to install a removable PVC post in one to hold a waterproof GoPro camera for videos.

Though a double paddle works fine to propel the W700, I prefer to use a canoe paddle. The W700 and W500 Wavewalks actually solo paddle easier than a canoe but you should know the J-stroke, sweep stroke, and other canoe paddling techniques to use a canoe paddle effectively.

Presently, I do not intend to make major mods to the W700. But, in time, there will be fore and aft motor brackets for both gas and electric motors as well as an anchor bracket and rod holders.

It is obvious, that the W700 is a great addition to the Wavewalk series but the W500 will travel with me up and down the East Coast from the Chesapeake to the Keys by truck bed or car top. The W500 is more portable for a solo yakker. Thus, it still has an important place in the product line.

I know many of the Wavewalk owners have put away their vessels for the winter. But, the temperature in the Keys is in the 70 degree range and the skies are mostly blue and sunny. So, there is still great fishing and boating to be found here in the Caribbean of the U.S.

 

 

 

More fishing adventures with Capn’ Larry »

More reviews of the W700 and W500 »

By Chris Henderson

This is the first duck hunting season we have used both the W500 and the W700 as duck hunting boats and they are doing great!
It would be easy to put a blind on it (we have one all designed) but we mostly use the boats for transportation.
The area we hunt is tidal mud flat.  So the cover is minimal, actually non-existent.   We sit on beach chairs in the mud and pretend to be a log.   However, where the Wavewalk’s shine is in getting us to the spot.
We paddle for 1.5miles over water that runs from 6 inches to 20 feet, with lots of logs, mussel beds, and all sorts of things that are a constant danger to motorized boats.  In addition once we get to the spot we will be on the move the whole day.  For instance yesterday’s tide went from 1.9 feet at 3 am to a 14.4 feet at 9:54 am and then back to 4.9 feet at 4:43 pm.  We hunted from 5 am until about 4:00pm.  So we saw and moved through most of that. We start on a mud flat, retreat to a log and end up back on the mud flat.   It is work intensive hunting!
The Wavewalk makes it possible for a couple of reasons.
One it handles the current and wind with great proficiency.  Tidal current is a constant, one direction or the other.  In addition, this is the mouth of the Nisqually river, so you have a lot of water coming from there.  And it seems there is always a wind and often with accompanying waves.  With the Wavewalk you are able to paddle through all of this and feel secure knowing that you can handle it.  It is not just a convenience it is a safety issue.
We are paddling in water that has a constant temperature year round of 54 degrees, but the air temperature yesterday started at 24 degrees raising to a balmy 36, and oh yeah we paddle to the spot in the dark.  If you get in trouble you are on your own.
Often people ask me why not put a motor on it?  For one simple reason; MUD!  We move about 200 yards between low and high tides and then back again.   During that we are dragging our boats forward and backward with the tide.  We drag them in mud that can actually be a danger if you get stuck. The Coast guard had to airlift rescue a duck hunter from this marsh already this year who was stuck in the mud.  Dragging 60 or 80 lbs of boat through mud is a challenge, but if you added the weight of a motor it would become impractical.
The second reason the Wavewalks are so perfect for this hunting is the sheer storage.  In the W700 I am able to transport 36 decoys, camo blankets for the boat and hunters, shotgun, lawn chair, hunting bucket, thermos, and myself with ease.  In fact there is so much room in W700’s it hauls all of the decoys!

Yesterday I was able to take a friend who had never hunted in this way and put him in a Wavewalk for the first time.  He is a big fellow so I put him in the W700.  With very little effort he was comfortably  and efficiently paddling, and we had a great hunt.

These boats are not just for fishing but they make great duck boats as well. So far this duck season the Wavewalks have gotten us 63 ducks, and we still have January to go!

Loving the Wavewalk as a great duck boat!  Enjoy a few pictures of the season!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More fishing and duck hunting with Chris »