By Chris Henderson
Well I haven’t sent in a report lately because I have been deer hunting and the Wavewalks were not involved. But now it is on to ducks and the Wavewalks are an essential part of our arsenal.
We have long paddles in strong currents and in rough weather and the Wavewalk handles it just fine!
The W700 is particularly good as a duck boat. Two hunters can carry their gear and tandem paddling makes the currents no big deal.
On this trip we were able to use the outgoing tide as well as the current from a river to make the trip back home easy. According to the GPS we were doing 7-8 mph paddling with the current.
I have designed a blind for the boat but have yet to finish building it.
Most of the time the Wavewalks are only used as transportation. We are also able to transport 3 dozen deeks, two hunters, shooting boxes, guns, camo nets, all in the W700!
Enjoying the stability and versatility of the these kayaks.
Here are a few pictures from our latest duck hunt.
Thanks Chris,
Sounds like you had an enjoyable trip, and it looks like it was a productive one too 😀
7-8 mph is the kind of speed you achieve when paddling in whitewater. Tidal currents can be fast, and it’s practically impossible to paddle against such a current, given that one’s paddling speed is about half of that.
A small outboard motor can be particularly useful in such conditions.
Yoav
Any hunt that I get to share with my sons is a great hunt!
Fortunately for us we do not have to paddle against the current, we only have to cross it on the way out which is a different route than on the way back in. On the way back in we can ride it to our advantage! You are right that a motor would be very helpful, except for one small problem. Depth. We are often so shallow that the mud sticks to the paddles paddling on the mud flats anywhere from 6 inches to 10 feet depending on the state of the tide. The river channel we ride home on is filled with snags and sand bars galore. In fact, we hunt where the guys with motors can’t get too. That is the beauty of the Wavewalk. Options!
Chris,
I’d be a happy man the day I see the first Wavewalk outfitted with a mud motor! 🙂
I have to admit that sometimes I watch mud motor videos on YouTube just for fun…
Yoav
Yoav,
Do you or any of our members know of a good mud motor kit for a 3-5 hp 4 stroke engine?
Larry J.
Larry,
Nothing that a web search for “mud motor kit” won’t reveal, but you need to by a special motor for this.
Thankfully, Harbor Freight offers such small motors at ridiculously low prices – a fraction of the cost of the mud motor kit itself, which is just a few hundred dollars 🙂
But where would you find mud in Key Largo? Do you plan to fish in the nearby swamps?
Yoav
Yoav,
Presently, looking at the mini-swamp runner kit w/ a 2.5-3 hp Harbor Freight motor. They are in Palmetto and seem to be the most knowledgeable about the light weight rigs. Key Largo is only one mile from the southern edge of the Everglades. Lots of swamp there. And, the mud runners appear to work well in open water, too.
Larry J.
Larry,
This kit looks awesome!
After watching countless mud running videos on YouTube*, my uneducated impression is that running through mud, grass, and various obstacles requires more power than going through ‘regular’ water, and (based on my personal experience) 2.5 – 3 HP is kind of the lower end for the W700.
Anyways, I think you’re going to have fun beyond belief!
Yoav
* My redneck side also loves watching whitewater motorizing and boat racing, but nothing beats mud, thick grass, and fallen trees! 😀
Yoav,
There are YouTube videos showing a mini-swamp runner pushing a frantic attack barge style duck boat through both open water and weeds. If it can drive that much flat bottomed resistance beyond displacement speed, it should make a W700 skim nicely. But, I have been wrong in the past.
An assembled MSR w/ engine weighs about 50 lbs. That is about the max that I want to tote.
They seem like a fine company to deal with. Steve who answered the phone was super helpful with tough questions.
Still waiting on the prop for the 2 stroke Merc outboard…
Larry J.
50 lbs is acceptable, sort of. It’s less than what my 6 HP Tohatsu weighs…