[Paddlewise] Wavewalk W1 kayak

From: Robert Livingston & Pam Martin <bearboat2_at_comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2005 10:24:56 -0800
http://www.wavewalk.com/

This guy has designed and is marketing a catamaran type recreational kayak.
Seems like a fairly eccentric fellow (not a pejorative)

Total Length:  10' 2" (310 cm)
 Total Width:   25" (63.5 cm)
 Total Height:  20" (51 cm)
 Total Weight:  56 lb (25.5 kg)



The web site has what would appear to be inflated claims for a 10' foot boat
which makes me nervous about the whole thing.

 _____ Cruising Speed with user up to 200 lb (90.7 kg) ____
 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h)- Inexperienced paddlers
 5.5 mph (8.85 km/h)- Experienced paddlers

And the discussion of speed/design issues seems off the mark for a small
kayak such as this.

But still I am intrigued. Not because I expect to be paddling at 4.5 mph but
because I am interested in a kayak that I can use for short (less than 1
mile) trips carrying things like groceries. I like the idea of a kayak that
is easy to get in and out of (for a 55 yo) and launches/lands easily on a
beach in a fairly calm water environment.

One thing that did seem plausible was that you might be able to launch off a
sloping beach relatively easily because the catamaran nature of the craft
means that you can walk to the cockpit with the boat pointed out to sea, hop
in,  and then slide toward the bow to "lift" the stern off the beach. The
stability might make it easy to get in and out onto a dock.

It is not available at any dealers on the west coast of USA so it would seem
to be exclusively an east coast phenomena at the moment. I would have to be
buying sight unseen which makes me uncomfortable.

Has anyone tried one of these out? Willing to share any "gotcha's"?

One inevitable fact because of its complex shape is that it is heavy for its
size. Looks like it might be awkward to carry for one person although
perhaps relatively easily for two because you could walk between the hulls
holding a bow toggle in each hand to symmetrically distribute the weight.
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Received on Fri Mar 18 2005 - 10:25:23 PST

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