Best Way To Steer  Your S4 Microskiff and W720 Kayak Skiff

The differences between steering with a U-Jointed tiller extension and steering with a regular extension, or no extension at all.

First, it’s important to clarify here that when you drive using a U-jointed tiller extension, you use both your left hand to grab the tiller handle, and the left side of your body to gain additional mechanical support (leverage).  You can get additional support from your left elbow. In some cases you can even use both hands. This method makes driving easier, and it’s different from steering using a simple tiller extension that you typically just grab with your left hand, unless you have to make a sharp left turn, which may require that you grab the handle with your right hand, and hold it behind your back.

When is steering the S4 or W720 directly with the tiller preferable to steering it with a U-jointed (articulated) tiller extension?

The answer is that typically, driving with a U-jointed tiller extension works best, for the following reasons:

1. If you want to drive standing up, you need a tiller extension, since your outboard’s tiller is not long enough to allow for this.
2. If you’re driving solo, you’d better use a tiller extension because if possible, you want to drive your S4 and W720 from the middle of the cockpit, and not from the stern, since this helps keeping the boat level (trim it), which improves its speed.
3. If you have a passenger on board sitting in front of you, you don’t necessarily need a tiller extension, because the additional weight at the front would keep the boat level, but using a U-jointed tiller extension is more convenient because you keep your left forearm on your side and not behind your back. It’s also more fun, because it allows you to drive standing up when you feel like it.
4. You can drive the S4 Microskiff sitting and facing sideways on its saddle (side-saddle), with both your feet in its left hull, and your left hand holding the tiller handle. There is no major problem with this traditional way of driving dinghies, except that driving while facing forward is more convenient because it offers a better view of where you’re going and what’s going on on both sides of your boat, and not just on its left side. Facing forward with a foot in each hull also makes balancing yourself and the boat easier, especially in choppy water, and when you have to deal with big wakes from fast motorboats.
   Note that the hulls of the W720 are too narrow for driving seated in the side-saddle position.
5. Interestingly, driving with a U-jointed tiller extension is more intuitive than driving without one, because driving with it makes the boat go in the same direction that your hand points to, unlike when you drive without it, and you need to remember that whichever direction your hand will move in, the boat will go in the opposite direction…

The Benefits Of Extending Your U-Jointed Tiller Extension

For years, we’ve been successfully using U-jointed tiller extensions, and recommending them to our clients. We recently outfitted such a device with a short tiller extension at its end, which elongated it by 13 inches.
Driving both the S4 Microskiff and W720 Kayak-Skiff with this extra-long U-jointed tiller extension yielded good results – It enabled the driver to sit further forward, towards the middle of the boat, as well as drive more comfortably standing up.
Therefore, we recommend trying such an extra long U-jointed tiller extension if you’d like to drive your S4 or W720 standing, such as when you’re sight fishing , and in order to slightly improve speed on flat water.

Joysticks, Control Boxes, and Steering Wheels

Steering the S4 Microskiff and the W720 Kayak-Skiff is different from steering a full size skiff, and it typically involves direct steering with the outboard motor’s tiller, or preferably, by means of a U-jointed tiller extension.
The S4 and W720 can be effectively steered both ways.
Other, more complex steering systems include joysticks, control boxes, and steering wheels.

The reasons why S4 and W720 owners don’t outfit their boats with the steering systems are –

1. First, unlike control boxes and tiller extensions, steering wheels and joysticks don’t offer the driver direct control of the motor’s throttle, so the driver has to turn around and grab the tiller handle each time they need to to change the motor RPM. This is inconvenient, and it’s hazardous in case of emergency, or in case of tight maneuvering, when quick reactions are needed.
2. S4 and W720 owners prefer not to outfit their boats with steering systems because they add complexity in connecting and disconnecting the motor, and they take space inside the cockpit. Having a boat that is so simple, versatile, lightweight and portable as the S4 or W720 is very advantageous, and their owners are reluctant to give up any of these advantages.
3. Steering with a wheel, a control box, or a joystick, can work if you’re seated, or standing, but in order for them to work in both positions, you’d need to come up with a special adaptation, which could be tricky.

Steering Console – Yes or No?

The S4 and W720 are the world’s two most lightweight microskiffs, and weight is a very important factor to consider. Even adding just a few dozen pounds to the boat’s total weight can have a serious effect on its portability, both in terms of transportation (e.g. the difference between car-topping and needing a trailer) and carrying, namely the ability to access more difficult launching spots instead of depending on boat ramps –
You want to have as much portability as possible, because it defines your freedom to launch, go, and beach anywhere (coincidentally, this has always been Wavewalk’s motto).
This is to say that adding a console with a steering wheel or control box to the S4 cockpit sounds like a cool idea, but we think that overall it’s not necessarily a good one, unless you intend to keep the boat docked year round, or at least for the entire season, and/or you don’t mind having to transport it on a trailer.

As for adding a console to a W720, it seems excessive to begin with.

Our Experience With Joystick Steering

Years ago, Wavewalk developed a joystick steering system for its W700 series. It was easy and fun to use, and it allowed for intuitive and effective steering both seated and standing, without adaptation. However, we decided to discontinue that joystick product for three reasons:

1. The first reason was that our joystick steering system did not incorporate a throttle function, and in this sense it was significantly inferior to a U-jointed tiller extension, which offers this important functionality in full.
2. The second reason was that it took valuable space in the middle of the cockpit, but steering with a U-jointed tiller extension offers similar benefits, namely that it allows for driving both seated and standing, while taking far less space, located in the rear area of the cockpit, which is less useful for seating passengers, and/or for keeping fishing gear.
3. The third reason was that we didn’t expect to sell many units of that product, and it was rather expensive to manufacture in small series.

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The W720 is Wavewalk’s new Kayak-Skiff from the W700 Series. It features an integrated motor mount rated for up to 3 HP, although this video shows it mounted with a 6 HP outboard (Please don’t try this at home!).

The W720 is a truly wonderful kayak that glides and tracks like no other, whether in a solo or tandem mode, and it also works perfectly as a canoe – The best all-around paddle craft.
Its high saddle seat guarantees that the passengers onboard will enjoy a comfortable and back-pain free trip.
The W720 offers a very large onboard storage space in its twin hulls.
It is 12’10” long and just it weighs just 85 lbs, which makes it easy even for one person to cartop.

Driving the W720 is a pleasure – It is very stable and responsive, and it tracks perfectly, like a much longer boat, thanks to its twin hulls.
Launching and beaching it is a breeze – forget about boat ramps!

Things you see onboard the S4 microskiff in this video –

• 6 HP Tohatsu outboard gas motor with a 20″ Long (L) propeller shaft. No other length would do. This motor is outfitted with a 9″ pitch propeller, for maximum speed. 8″ pitch propellers work too.
• There is a towel on the bottom of each rear hull tip. Spray that enters the cockpit while the boat bumps into big waves finds its way to the rear, and the towels soak it, so the bottom of the hulls stays dry.
• A paddle is a necessary item onboard any small boat, especially if you go in shallow water, or launch from a beach.
• 3 gallons of fuel suffice for 12 hours of this 6 HP Tohatsu motor’s operation at full throttle, and much longer at a lower RPM.
• The U-jointed tiller extension enables the driver to face forward while driving, instead of sideways, and it offers to drive from the middle of the cockpit instead of driving from its rear, which makes the boat more level and faster.
• This extra tiller extension added to the U-jointed tiller extension allows the driver to sit or stand more forward, closer to the middle of the boat, and thus further improve its trim and speed.
• Two 5 lbs anchors would keep the S4 in its place in moving water.
• The rope is for pulling the S4 microskiff in water that’s too shallow for paddling, or on the beach, and for attaching it.

Horst Merkle

Indiana

I went out yesterday, breaking in the outboard, and I got to almost 9 kn on half throttle.
I am very satisfied.
What I like most is that the S4 tracks straight even if I let go of the steering, but it reacts immediately when I pull to either side, and it’s a very stable platform.
I love my S4.

 

To put this problem in proportion, there is very little water that accumulates at the bottom of the S4 Microskiff’s hulls – It’s extremely rare to have more than a gallon in each hull at the end of a trip in very choppy water and 3 ft waves, and this amount of water affects neither comfort nor stability, or anything going on onboard.
It takes a minute or two to remove this amount of water from the hulls using a manual bilge pump or a portable electric pump, and even a large size towel is enough to absorb it effectively.

Absorbing the Water With a Towel

Typically, S4 Microskiff owners do what other owners of small boats, canoes, and kayaks do at the beginning of the trip, which is to lay an old large-size towel on the bottom of each hull, and let it absorb whatever water gets into the cockpit. It’s a perfect solution, and if you notice that a towel absorbed as much water as it can, you can squeeze the water out of it by holding it outside the cockpit and twisting it – It’s both simple and effective.

Hand Bucket

This simple and effective tool is still popular among boaters, and it works well, especially if you need to throw a lot of water out of the boat in a short time. It’s less effective if you want to dry the bottom of the hulls completely, and it’s tricky to use it while you’re seated on the saddle seat of a Wavewalk S4 microskiff or W720 kayak-skiff, because of the seat’s height.

Bilge Pump

Some people carry onboard a manual bilge pump. This works too, except that in most cases, there isn’t enough water at the bottom of the S4 hulls to prime the bilge pump, and this is where the towel works better, and it can leave the bottom completely dry.
Others use an electric portable pump that works similarly to a manual pump. No problem here too, except that it’s likely that the water on the bottom of the hulls of your S4 isn’t deep enough to prime such pumps, since typically, you need at least 1/8″ of water for this.

Tip: Manual bilge pumps are simpler, and therefore more reliable.

Testing a Portable Electric Bilge Pump

We tested the Trac Portable Pump from Camco, and we liked it at first. The reason we chose it in the first place was that the three D size batteries go inside the pump’s housing, and this avoids possible complications from using an external battery.
We also liked the fact that this pump is taller than some other models, which makes it more comfortable to use when you’re onboard, and it’s fully submersible, so no problem if if falls in the water.
The pump comes with a hose and a clip for it, which is another advantage.
This electric bilge pump’s throughput isn’t impressive, but it’s enough to deal swiftly and effectively with the little water that we’re talking about.

Tip 1: We removed the suction cups from the bottom of this pump, in order to enable priming it in even skinnier water.

Manual vs Electric Bilge Pump

Both cost about the same (about $30) and both work well.
The advantage of the electric pump is that it does the work that your muscles do with the manual pump. It’s not a big thing, but it’s a nicer feeling not to have to work when you’re tired at the end of a long trip, even if it’s just little work.
The advantage of the manual pump is that it’s foolproof, in the sense that you’re not required to remember to replace the batteries, and it’s more likely to be in working order when you’d need it.

Bottom line – Manual is simpler and more reliable, and therefore better.

Should You Take a Bilge Pump or a Hand Bucket Onboard?

The answer is Yes, absolutely and unequivocally, especially if you go in the ocean, or on a swift river. Why? Because stuff happens, and even if you’ve had a hundred totally dry trips before, it doesn’t guarantee that in your next trip you won’t be required to pump out more water than you’re used to, and using an old towel can be too slow and too hard for large amounts of water.

Tip: In boating, ‘Stuff Happens’ is the rule.

Drain Plugs

This discussion would not be complete without mentioning drain plugs, such most medium and large boats feature. These plugs start working only when the boat is moving above a certain speed.

Again, in this case, the small quantities of water that we’re talking about are not worth taking the risk of drilling under the waterline. This is especially true in view of the fact that the S4 and W720 are made from Polyethylene, a polymer resin to which practically nothing sticks well, so that in the long run, drain plugs could develop leaks if not reinstalled or at least re-waterproofed every now and then,.

In sum, in our opinion, installing drain plugs is a solution that’s disproportionate for the purpose of draining the hulls of the S4 microskiff and the W720 kayak-skiff, and it doesn’t fit in the context of maintenance free boat such as these boats are.  Therefore, it may be worth consideration only in very special cases where the boat is expected to get filled with water continuously, such as when you drive your S4 in a storm, but we recommend not to try taking yur S4 or W720 in such circumstances, and stay home whenever the authorities issue a Small Craft Advisory for your area, because Stuff Happens…

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