U.S. Patent #6871608 |
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January 2008: Read about the W Kayak Combat Position For Fighting a Big Fish Catching Big Fish From a Kayak - Problems and Solutions This article examines the issue of catching big and strong fish from a kayak, and possible, new solutions available today. What's The Problem?
In essence, some fish are heavy and powerful enough to capsize your kayak, but sometime it's precisely those fish you'd very much like to catch… Modern sit-in fishing kayaks evolved from native, traditional kayak designs, and are generally much wider for a number of reasons: 1. Native kayaks' main application was hunting, not fishing. This is why those boats had to sacrifice stability for speed and be very narrow. 2. Native Arctic Circle kayakers were smaller in size and much lighter than present day North American kayak fishermen are. 3. Native kayakers were generally in better physical shape than most modern, recreational kayak fishermen are, and had much better kayaking skills. Therefore, today's ordinary fishing kayaks are designed to offer increased lateral stability by being very wide. However, most fishing kayak models available today are not sit-ins but sit-on-top kayaks that are relatively less stable than sit-in kayaks of the same width. This is because although kayakers sit in the same traditional L kayaking position in both types of kayak, they sit higher on top of a SOT. Consequently, SOT kayaks who have a higher center of gravity than sit-in kayaks offer less leverage to their users in their balancing efforts. In other words, the SOT kayak fisherman has to balance a small and rather unstable craft while not being able to do much with his legs, which are the natural, best suitable and most powerful part of his body for balancing applications. While the SOT kayak fisherman's upper body supports his arms in their combat against the heavy and powerful fish his upper body also has to provide most of the balancing effort, which is a poor biomechanical solution. Although less acute in sit-in kayaks this problem is still difficult for most kayak fishermen to overcome.
The W Fishing Kayak Solution
In essence, balancing a W kayak is done differently than balancing an ordinary SIK or SOT is: W kayak fishermen shift their weight from one leg to another using the pelvis, thighs, legs, and feet. The weight is applied through the feet directly at the bottom of the hulls - below waterline level, where its action is most useful as 'dynamic ballast'. The craft's buoyancy is distributed along its sides where it offers maximal lateral support for the kayak fisherman's weight. Additionally, the W kayak's two straight hulls increase lateral stability, similarly to way hard chines act in monohull kayaks. Consequently, the combination of W kayak and fisherman can generate a higher level of lateral stability and control, and better support the fishing effort. This is especially true once the W kayak fisherman has learned to use his/her legs as active support in the struggle against the big catch. New: Read about the W Kayak Combat Position For Fighting a Big Fish For additional information on the different paddling and fishing positions offered by W fishing kayaks go to this website's Ergonomics and Biomechanics section. Watch W Fishing Kayak demo movies Question? Comments? Email us: WaveWalk |
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