| FISHING KAYAKS |  |
| Fishing
kayaks are no longer just
sit-on-top, or sit-in kayaks rigged with a couple of rod holders and a
milk crate. That primordial notion has been replaced in recent years
by a multitude of new fishing kayak designs, aimed at solving a variety
of problems that kayak fishermen face while fishing from their
kayaks. To name of
few
of these problems, let's start with the most basic ones - Stability From the beginning, designers and manufacturers of fishing kayaks have been facing the challenge of providing the fisherman with a reliable fishing platform that inspires confidence and enables fishing standing in safety and confidence, without compromising performance in other areas. Neither offering increasingly wider fishing kayaks nor kayaks equipped with outriggers proved to be adequate or even sufficient, and so far only one fishing kayak concept emerges as a true and full solution, and that is the Wavewalk kayak. Ergonomics - Pain Free Kayak Fishing While stability is already recognized as a major problem, Comfort (ergonomics) is still not fully understood, and often neglected - not because it is not important, but rather because designers and manufacturers of old style kayaks (I.E. sit-in and SOT) have simply failed to come up with any noticeable improvement to this problem that's in fact the most critical to people who fish from their kayaks, especially those who go on long fishing trips, and those who don't benefit from excellent fitness and athletic capabilities... In other words, most kayak fishermen and kayak fisher women suffer from long hours of discomfort and pain while practicing kayak fishing, and here again, the only full solution is offered by Wavewalk's fishing kayaks. The causes of discomfort and pain in kayak fishing vary from one person to another, but they are all related to the basic sitting posture in old style kayaks, and to the fact that such kayaks offer just one position for paddling and fishing, and no alternative positions to switch to. For more information on pain caused by paddling kayaks and fishing from them we recommend visiting the Painless Kayak Fishing blog. Storage Old style fishing kayaks offer insufficient storage space. Hatches are impractical in may ways, and on-deck storage isn't adequate. In contrast, the new generation W kayaks feature a deep, spacious, full size cockpit and offer additional storage in their hull tips as well. Tracking and Steering Old style fishing kayaks suffer from serious tracking problems because they are made wider, in order to improve their stability. To compensate for their poor tracking capability, most fishing kayaks are equipped with a rudder system the user has to operate by hand. This not only adds drag and impedes the boat, but it also increases complexity and difficulty to the user. In comparison, W kayaks track very well, and never require to be outfitted with a rudder, even for paddling under strong wind. Mobility Old style fishing kayaks have a limited range of mobility: They need to be accessed form the side, and can be launched from a relatively narrow range of location types. The same is true for beaching, and for the same reason. As far as going over obstacles, these designs are limited by the fact their users are restricted to sitting in one place, in the middle of the boat. Here again, the difference with W kayaks is striking: W kayaks can be entered and exited both from their front and back, as well as from the side. This makes it not only easier for the passengers, but it also opens more spots for launching and beaching. Furthermore, a kayak fisherman who paddles his W kayak can move fore and aft along the kayak's saddle, and by that raise or lower its bow, and make it go over obstacles, as well as beach easily. |
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