By Captain Larry Jarboe

Yesterday, the sun came out and the wind died down enough to try the 2 cycle 2.5 Mercury short shaft outboard (an old rebranded Tohatsu) that I picked up for a hundred bucks. It now has a new carb and an aluminum prop. Essentially, with some minor changes, it is souped up to become the 3.3 hp Merc motor that is still marketed around the world where 2 cycle outboards are not discriminated against.

Notice, I mounted it on my vessel using the smartly designed W700 transom bracket that allows for long or short shaft outboards. Also, I put a concrete block in the bow to help balance the load.

Turning the bracket upside down for the short shaft also means the motor is another 6 inches aft. This is necessary to tighten the motor clamp bolts which are down between the two hulls.

That extra distance aft requires a level of dexterity to reach. After some personally challenging contortions to face astern, I started the motor. Then there were equally challenging physical maneuvers to spin around while underway. That nice lightweight motor (28 lbs.) has no neutral, only forward.

The motor does turn up sufficient torque to make the boat plane smoothly. But, the lowered transom digs into the water during the transition thus throwing water into the face of the engine. That is not good, at all.

Putt putting around was fine. Planing the W700 with the short shaft motor is presently unacceptable. Maybe, a joystick option or more weight in the bow might alleviate the lowered transom grabbing water. Or, a spray shield installed in front of and under the transom bracket. I, personally, want a daily driver with minimal maintenance issues. And, easier reach to start and service the motor.

Yoav, has consistently been recommending the log shaft outboards. I thoroughly concur. The short shaft Mercury would make a good display engine for sales but it runs so well I am putting it up for sale and looking for a 3 hp long shaft as the most ideal power source for my application.

Also, Yoav’s recommendation for Tohatsu small outboards is right on. The Tohatsu engines are probably the most affordable and dependable small outboards on the marine market, today. Mercury, Nissan, and Mariner use the Tohatsu power head and drive that they rebrand with their own logos. If you remember to 1) always use non-ethanol fuel and 2) after each use, flush with freshwater, while 3) running the carburetor dry, and 4) store upright, your engine will last a lifetime.

However, until my short shaft outboard sells, a transom well will not be too difficult to construct. And, some yoga exercises prior to getting underway might not be too terrible. Easier than a Zumba class…

Larry J.

Read much more and see pictures and video in the comments below ⇓

Read much more and see pictures and video in the comments below ⇓

More fishing adventures and outfitting tips with Capn’ Larry »

Some coincidences are fun –
A couple of days ago, we shipped a Combat W700 and two paddles to a couple in Virginia. The husband, who’s 81 years old, doesn’t plan to motorize his Wavewalk, at least not for now. “Maybe in the future”, he explained.
And while this tandem kayak is in transit, Captain Larry Jarboe delivered a white W500 to an 11 year old client in Key West. The client’s dad told Larry that his son is an avid kayak fisherman, and plans to outfit his new Wavewalk fishing kayak with an electric trolling motor.

I’m thrilled by both sales. Both are heartwarming, and we’ve just broken our records both for the youngest and for the oldest client to become a Wavewalk owner 🙂

Yoav

By Sid Perry

 

I took my Wavewalk 500 on a similar fishing trip last year. This time we already had snow in the mountains.

 

More from Sid »

You may have an outfitting project in mind, such as attaching a rod holder to your kayak, or you may just wonder how strong are Wavewalk kayaks and boats built.
More generally, how well do aluminum rivets work when used in kayaks?

Before going further, we need to explain that nearly all modern kayaks are made from Polyethylene, a polymer (plastic resin) softer than steel and aluminum, and even softer than fiberglass, which is why it requires the use of special rivets that split in three and provide a better grip over a broader surface.
These rivets go under commercial names such as Tri-Fold, Tribex, etc.

Alumium rivets are used for attaching kayak parts together, such as the 14 rivets that attach the W700 Saddle part to the Twinhull part.
They are also used for attaching accessories such as handles, pad-eyes (eyelets), etc.

Here is a little experiment we did –

We riveted together two pieces of Polyethylene that we cut from a part of a Wavewalk kayak. We used just one rivet for this.
We hung one end of the joint pieces of plastic from a basketball pole, and on the other end we hung a fish scale.
We hung a travel bag from the fish scale, and filled the bag with bricks.
We stopped after ten bricks, because the dial on the fish scale had ran full circle, and stopped at 50 lbs.
At this point, neither the plastic pieces nor the rivet showed any sign of stress.

Needless to say that the effectiveness of a rivet depends on more than just the force applied on it in lbs, and additional factors are very important, such as the angle of the force (vector), leverage (a critical factor), the temperature of the plastic (hot plastic is softer), etc.
If we had attached the parts in this experiment differently, we would have seen different results.

Do you have any questions for us?