Very comfortable for a good long day on the lake

By Jim Gifford

Michigan

I am enjoying the boat very much. I am very happy with it.
I modified a cart to fit his boat and easily take the boat from the garage to my trailer then to the lakes pretty easily. I am experimenting with a trolling motor mount that will allow me to place the trolling motor to the side. I registered the boat to keep the state happy.

The grand kids have been out with me a few times, but don’t want to stay out as long as I wish. This should improve as they age and want to fish as much as play. It has proven to be a great boat to use on my own as well. I have lots of room for what I use to fish. Very comfortable for a good long day on the lake.

In all I enjoy using the boat very much and also the planning of ways to make it my own.

The motor mount is not fully tested. The cart is just 1inch pvc 31 inches long with 7 inches of a pool noodle at each end. This is tie strapped to a kayak cart I had already.

 

Wavewalk 700 with DIY motor mount

 

 

Wavewalk 700 attached to wheel cart

 

W700 on wheel cart

 

Touring and diving with the Wavewalk S4x3 multi boat – skiff

By Captain Larry Jarboe

Florida Fishing Kayaks

Carlene, my wife is the camera lady.
Amy, Rebecca, and Calypso are the phenomenally photogenic crew.

The S4x3 performs very well, underway and at anchor.
We swam with the regular contingent of Caribbean fish but a nurse shark and an albino manatee cruised through the snorkeling quartet of mermaids too.

And, we motored with a family of dolphins who had to check out the new gray and white critter on the surface.

It is so wonderful to be surrounded by beautiful happy women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry offers guided fishing and diving trips in the Key Largo and the areas that surround it »

More fishing adventures with Capn’ Larry »

Wavewalk S4 with a 6.5 HP mud motor – first test

By Chris Henderson

Today I was able to do my first test drive of the Wavewalk S4 with a mud motor!

As a duck hunter the potential for the S4 is incredible. Couple that with a mud motor and you can access places that others cannot go. I hunt tidal mud flats where traditional boat motors are difficult to use due to the changing tides (water depth) as well as the sand bars that constantly shift. The mud motor allows operation in very shallow water and lets me get over those sand bars. Other duck hunters hunt in flooded timber where the logs eat propellers for lunch and occasionally eat whole lower units. The mud motor is the only way to travel safely in those kind of swamps. That is why putting a mud motor on the S4 is like combining peanut butter and chocolate.
This was my very first run, so I have a lot to learn about operating this kind of motor.

There are a lot of different styles of mud motors out there and the cost can be very prohibitive. But I found a kit which is created by Mud-skipper called the Twister. Rather than a straight shaft it has a curved shaft. At first I was concerned that due to this the turning radius of the boat would be dramatically effected. As it turns out that fear was unwarranted. The two hulls actually keep you from turning too sharp which could cause you to overturn considering the nature of how the motor turns. The 6.5 hp was plenty of horse power and I cavitated way before I ran out of power.

Lots of experimenting to do to get it all dialed in but it was a great first test run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More kayak rigging, fishing and bow duck hunting with Chris »

Trolling for Barracuda in the S4

By Captain Larry Jarboe

Florida Fishing Kayaks

One of my least favorite fishing techniques is trolling.

Putting a rod and reel in a rod holder and waiting for what seems like hours for a bite can be borderline boring. Then, dragging a fish against the movement of a slow moving boat as we do fishing for stripers or bluefish in the Chesapeake Bay diminishes the tug and pull of the fish. Imagine cranking in a 5 gallon bucket of water. Welcome to the successful outcome of a trolling expedition.

However, trolling from a Wavewalk S4 is a completely different experience. After good success with my kayak spinning rigs trolling custom fabricated lures in mangrove creeks and channels, I set off to find the perfect rig for trolling in the clear inshore waters of South Florida.

I finally settled on a Shimano TR200-G graphite reel loaded with 20 lb. test mono line on a 4′ kayak Ricky Rod made in Miami.

With this rig in hand and the outboard tiller in the other, a kayak trolling fisherman (or woman) can smoothly ease out line and control the action of the lure or rigged bait while steering the S4. Unlike leaving the rig in the holder, with the rod in hand, bites are easily felt and the hook set. Now, we are fishing and catching and really enjoying the battle.

In less than an hour, I caught 4 barracuda no more than a 1/2 mile from my house using this technique. All were released. But, I had to gently tow the last one back to the dock to safely release from the dive platform of my big boat. It was just too big and toothy to bring aboard.

My next project is to build a long distance de-hooker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry offers guided fishing and diving trips in the Key Largo and the areas that surround it »

More fishing adventures with Capn’ Larry »