This morning, the mold makers we contracted to produce the cast aluminum rotational mold for the S4’s twin-hull part (we’ll use the W700 saddle for this product) sent us this picture with a technical question, and we thought that some of our blog readers could be interested to see it:

What this image shows is the rear part of a large size bloc of solid wood, from which a computer-controlled cutting machine called CNC Router cut the form of the S4 that we designed.
The CNC router took the information it needed for cutting the wood out of the Computer Aided Design (CAD) file that we produced with a CAD software program.

Once all adjustments and polishing are done, the mold makers will coat the solid wood pattern (dubbed ‘plug’, or male mold), and use it to produce two concave molds called ‘sand molds’, into which they will cast molten aluminum. One of these molds will have the shape of the top part of the S4, and the second mold will have the shape of the bottom part.
These two parts will be used to make the aluminum mold (tooling) for molding the S4’s twin-hull part.
That aluminum mold will be polished and coated with Teflon, and the mold makers will encase it in a steel frame they will build around it.
The steel frame will enable attaching the rotational mold to a large size rotational molding machine that will rotate it in a rotational molding oven big enough to allow for this truck-size object to move freely in all directions.

By Joe Stauder

HBBCO – Stand Up Fishing Kayaks

Come visit our Wavewalk booth at The Early Bird Sports Expo, Bloomsburg Fair Grounds, Bloomsburg PA.

Dates: Jan. 26th to 29th

The Wavewalk® Series 4 incorporates a number of design innovations, including the way its bow is bridged by a structure that can serve as a stand up casting platform.

The S4 bow structure features a pair of molded-in carry handles in its front tip, and four molded-in vertical walls that support the platform on which the angler stands.

This video offers an external view of this bow structure from the top, as well as from below:

But what would we see if we looked inside the bow? –
The following image shows the space that’s inside the bow, between the top ‘ceiling’ and the bottom ‘floor’ – The angle of view is that of a person who’s inside the cockpit, and sticks their head in the entrance to the right hull at the bow –

At the right end of the image, we can perceive the inside of the tip of the bow, with one of the molded-in carry handles.

From there and looking to the left, we can see the four vertical walls that support the top of the stand-up casting platform. When standing next to the boat and looking over the bow, these walls’ top parts look like elongated pits (as seen in the video).
The vertical wall that’s the closest to the cockpit’s front end serves as support to a wooden (MDO) wall that’s not seen here. This wooden wall is the top part of a structural element whose lower part is a front saddle bracket. The wooden wall’s top end is inserted into the coaming (spray deflector), and it is attached to the molded-in wall by means of extra-long aluminum rivets. Thus, the wooden wall adds its own support to the stand-up casting platform.

The top surface of the bow’s standing platform features grooves, and the above image shows these grooves as they would look to someone who was in the front end of the cockpit and peeked inside the right hull at the bow.

Readers who are familiar with the W700 saddle’s round ‘holes’, which are molded-in support columns for the saddle’s top, will recognize this function in the elongated ‘walls’ at the bow of the S4.

More about the S4 »

By Chris Henderson

Well for the last month I have suffered through a horrible pinched nerve in my neck. This has prevented me from being out in the Wavewalk where I try and get at least 3-4 times a month during the fishing and hunting seasons. Basically every month but Feb. and the beginning of March which is effectively known as remodel season. After working diligently on rehab I was able to return to duck hunting this last week. The Wavewalks are our go to boat when it comes to hunting. We can put 3 dozen deeks, shotgun, camo net, hunting box, thermos and our selves in a W700 and paddle it anywhere we need to go. Then it not only serves as transportation but also as the boat for retrieving. That is where the stability is so important. You sometimes have to dispatch cripples (shoot them) from the kayak. As the video shows this can sometimes get a bit sporty. Wavewalk handles it fine.

The video is a bit of fun we had with a GoPro. If you don’t like hunting you won’t want to watch it. We enjoy the sport of duck hunting and the wonderful food it provides.

Good to be back in the saddle again.

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