Yesterday, in Key Largo, the wind was ripping about 20-25 kts. out of the East. We had a friend from NYC who was facing her last vacation day in the Keys. My wife had promised her a snorkel trip on the reef and it was my job to make it happen.
Despite the gusty wind and skirting a large squall, I knew the conditions would afford a calm pocket of water behind Grecian Rocks on dead low tide.
After a rather tumultuous ride offshore, we tied to one of the mooring balls behind the reef. Due to shifting wind, the mooring lines have to be far away enough from the coral rocks to allow boats to swing 360 degrees and not hit the shallow reef. This means snorkelers have to swim the distance of about half a football field of grass and sand to get to the edge of the reef where most of the fish reside.
This is a long way for many people to swim against the wind surge but it beats trying to snorkel in 4-5 foot seas which was the norm everywhere else..
I launched my W700 with a bow mounted Minnkota Rip Tide electric trolling motor from the mother ship. A line tied to a ring buoy trailed as a stern line to tow my two masked grand matrons to snorkeling nirvana. Of course, I waited at the edge of the reef to provide a place of rest and a leisurely ride home.
In addition to fishing, duck hunting, exploring, stand up joystick water skimming or laid back paddle yakking, the W700 makes a fine yacht tender as well as a snorkeler shuttle service to the reef.
Saddled aboard his trusty Wavewalk steed, indeed, Larry, The Stable Guy, got ‘er done.
Over the weekend, I bow mounted a 30 lb. thrust Minnkota Endura electric trolling motor to my W700. This $99 motor is over 20 years old. Though it is labeled for freshwater use, it works fine in saltwater if it is hosed off after usage
Though I’d like to use a lithium battery, the price is still too high. So, I have an extra marine lead acid battery that slips easily into the forward hull.
With the motor locked in forward, it is easy to steer with a long handled canoe paddle from the stern while standing and even perform some slightly impressive maneuvers. This is wonderfully enjoyable but not too strenuous exercise.
It was too rough on the ocean for the bikini clad paddle boarders to be able to manage the wind and chop but the lone powered paddle cat-a-yakker was able to “Get ‘er done” despite conditions that kept the other yaks and paddle boards on shore.
My other brother, Larry, may be the Cable Guy. With the W700, a little extra thrust, and the plaid sleeveless cotton shirt, I have a new moniker: Larry, The Stable Guy
P.S. – The Wavewalk ball cap and motor bracket are available to purchase on the website.
I started my W700 rigging project with lots of thought and brainstorming. From the start, my goal was to design as good of a 2 person, all water fishing vessel as I could while still being able to car top it.
One of the accessories I decided I wanted was a downrigger. Luckily, I found a good deal on a used pair of Scotty 1080 downriggers and bought them. At this point I started test placing them on the 700 and was worried about how much the hull flexed. To alleviate that, I chose to plate the top of the hull with aluminum.
Being that I’m a guy and like cool looking gear, I went out and bought a sheet of 1/8″ diamond plate aluminum from my local welding supply store. From there I made lots of measurements and multiple cardboard templates in order to get it right. During the templating, I thought it would be an added good measure of support to have a 4″ connecting strip integrated in the plating to keep the front hulls from even thinking about splaying out. This worked out perfectly as a mounting point in front of the cockpit for my Scotty triple rod mount. The plating is bolted down on the 4 corners with 1/4-20 stainless bolts, washers, and nylocked nuts. Then I used marine rubberized aluminum rivets spaced out along the edges of the plate to keep it well attached to the hull. All holes were sealed using marine GOOP.
After the plating was done, I started on the motor mount for my Honda 2.3 hp air cooled outboard. I searched everywhere I could for ideas on the motor mount and found a few pictures to base my design off of and improve upon. The finished motor mount is 1/4″ 4×4 aluminum angle, 24″ wide, welded to 2 legs made out of 3″ C channel aluminum split in half.
During final fit up of the motor mount on the kayak, I ran into the issue of having the motor clamp screws too close to edge of the cockpit, making it impossible to install and remove at will. Luckily I had some thick, very dense rubber on hand and cut strips to fit under the legs of the motor mount. This brought the height of the clamp screws up enough to clear the rear cockpit edge. The motor clamps also clamp into a bolted on block of that same rubber to keep it from shifting or loosening during use.
To ensure I stay legal on my outings, in Washington, any motorized vessel operating on federally patrolled water must be registered, hence the registration numbers on the sides. And while I was putting stickers on, I added the strip of fluorescent orange tape to the sides to aid safety by ensuring other boaters see me.
As for accessories I’ve added, here is the incomplete list:
Scotty Triple Rod Mount
Scotty Gear Head Extender Arms X3
Scotty Baitcaster Rod Holders X2
Scotty Rocket Launchers X2
Scotty Crab Pot Davit
Scotty 360 degree Downrigger Pedestal X2
Scotty Bait Board
Scotty Track Gear Head Mount (to mount the Garmin on the bait board)
Garmin echoMap 44dv with DownVu and CHIRP
Complete battery box package
My transponder is mounted the tried and true way as shown to me by Chris Henderson, using a duct seal boat with a thin layer of water inside, mounted in the front right hull just in front of the forward edge of the cockpit.
I will post updates as I get more use in the upcoming months.
My first outing in the Puget Sound while motorized will be for crab and to search and jig for herring.
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Update:
I had the opportunity to take the 700 out on a test run at a local lake. The 700 handles awesome but had some motor hiccups. The lake was windy and therefore had some light chop. There was some splashing into the 700 from the front and sides but it was light and not much of a bother. I may add a piece of plexiglass between the hulls in the front but have not decided yet. Unfortunately the ground wire came out of the marine plug so I didn’t get to test out the Garmin yet. But I shall be taking more trips over the weekend and we’ll see how it goes.
I added bridles to the front and rear of each boat to ease launching.
I bring the Wavewalk to the ladder, hold the rope around the ladder and climb down. The boat is so stable that it’s very easy for me to get in and out without any fear of tipping.
I had my son and son in law in the boat, both close to 240lbs each.
Attached are photos of how I set up my dock.
I purchased the roller which is about 5′ long from a dock roller company called Ryano. The hardware is all galvanized and the roller is 6″ diameter. I got 20′ long Python locks (made by Master Lock) and screwed a stainless eye hook into each pole which are 8′ on center apart.
The cable lock secures the Wavewalk so it can’t move in the wind and is theft resistant.
My friend David Hernandez took another fisherman on board this Wavewalk 700. He was driving the boat standing up, and after a flawless turn he came back, and that’s when the other guy decided to stand up and keep fishing standing. This boat is so stable that none of them experienced any problem.
