Montana
I finally made it out for the maiden voyage. Floated about 5 miles with the river moving about 4.5 mph.
Once I got my body position in the boat figured out everything went really well.
The creeks are running hard from the snow melt and we had several inlets that I passed that created some rapids and back eddies. Lots of fun. I spent a lot of time standing with no issue.
The 5 hp Honda should be arriving this week and I’m excited to see how it does going up the river.
This is the New River in Virginia, near my home.
Water is cold and dingy, and fishing is not good yet, but the boat has great potential for what I like to do.
Montana
I wish this was a report on the first trip down the river with the S4 but its not. I had planned to take it out today but we had a pretty strong wind heading upriver most of the day. I have seen people have trouble going down the river with regular kayaks when the headwind was strong, so I figured that I should wait for a later time for my first trip.
I have a 5hp long shaft Honda on order. I was going to go with a Tohatsu but the Honda dealer is local and the Tohatsu dealer is 90 miles away.
I’m attaching a few pictures of what I have been working on as far as a dolly and storage. I bought a C-Tug kayak dolly not knowing if it would work or not but the S4 fits just fine and hauls well.
I attached a couple pulleys to hoist the S4 to the top of the storage cover. I left the C-Tug wheels attached so when I lower it I can just tighten the strap on the dolly and its ready to go.
Finally I put a tarp over the opening to keep the wasps and other critters from setting up a home on the inside.
Key Largo
Only an S4 is capable of negotiating these passages at this speed. But, I can take a wrong turn or two, too.
More Wavewalk adventures with Capn’ Larry »
DON’T TRY THIS YOURSELF BECAUSE IT’S HAZARDOUS – THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR IN THOSE TIGHT AND WINDING MANGROVE TUNNELS, AND BUMPING INTO A MANGROVE TREE OR BRANCH CAN RESULT IN SEVERE INJURIES, AND DROWNING.
Captain Larry Jarboe is a Master Captain and seasoned fishing guide who drives through mangrove tunnels on a daily basis. His professional skill level is the result of years of studies and practical experience, and a lot of caution. As much as the S4 is a very responsive skiff, where it goes depends on the driver, and the last thing you want to happen is a mangrove branch hitting you in the face, or poking you in the eye. Such accidents do happen in these places, unfortunately.
Please be watchful and very careful when driving through any kind of vegetation, and even near vegetation. A tree limb protruding from the river bank, and even a sunken tree trunk or a tree stump can be dangerous, and cause an accident.
We had great fun getting out today. I ended up getting one Sheepshead and a mangrove snapper too!
Thunderstorm finally chased us home though
