W Kayak Reviews and Articles

U.S. Pat #6871608

Professional W Kayak Reviews
and Media Coverage

June 2007: 'OFF THE WALL' - Article by Mike McCrea
PADDLER MAGAZINE
Official Magazine of the ACA (American Canoe Association)
Volume 27, Issue No. 4 (July/August) - Gear Review

"W KAYAK, WAVEWALK
The Wavewalk takes outside-the-box thinking to a whole new level.
A twin-hulled catamaran kayak with a large open cockpit and longitudinal bench-style seat, the design in unique and necessitates some paddling experimentation and a bit of a learning process.
Or perhaps an unlearning process, as the paddler realizes that routine and long-accustomed-to canoe or kayak technique isn't entirely applicable to paddling the Wavewalk; leaned turns are different, trim for condition is essential and easily altered. Switching from sitting to standing to crouching all come into play in varying conditions, and all positions are easily achieved.
It is simple to shift positions on the fly and sit, stand, or kneel anywhere along the 54-inch-long bench seat. This ability to easily shift weight and position is especially important in turning the Wavewalk. Shift a hip or thigh, or offset a foot pressure to push down on one hull, and the Wavewalk will curve into the turn. Even a standing turn can be performed with solid stability.
The Wavewalk is a design unlike any we've paddled before. The more confident we became in the Wavewalk, the more possibilities opened up. We're still exploring and still learning. And that's part of the fun."

May 2007: ‘Wavewalk Fishing Kayaks’ in the 'New Products' section of Texas Fish & Game Magazine, Coastal Edition: "New, patented twinhull kayaks offering extreme stability that enables paddling and fishing standing in freshwater as well as saltwater, easy launching and beaching, high performance in the surf and enhanced capabilities in shallow water. The catamaran design guarantees good tracking, and the hulls’ lateral buoyancy is high enough to allow leaning into the turn for easy, rudderless steering. W kayaks feature a 14” high longitudinal saddle, which establishes new standards in ergonomics and comfort in the four basic positions, which are sitting, riding, kneeling and standing, as well as numerous intermediary positions: The passengers can switch anytime between any of these positions and reduce fatigue, leg numbness and back pain. W Kayaks offer a big, dry and accessible storage space within their hulls and spacious cockpit …They fit and carrack – no special kayak rack is required…"

April 2007: "Wavewalk W Kayak" in 'Beach gear with pizzazz' - a section of 'Executive Living', Central Florida's Lifestyle Magazine, from the Orlando Business Journal: "This patented twin hull kayak allows you to actually surf your kayak on the waves standing up. It is easy for both adults and children to launch, paddle and control in the surf. Its stability makes it great for novices and fishermen..."

March 2007: Jo Mares from Key West Florida is a boat manufacturer. His company Multihull Technologies produces a wide range of boats from skiffs and power boats to racing sailboats and world class yachts. Jo is also an avid saltwater kayak fisherman and an owner of an F2 W Fishing Kayak, who says:
"I'm still thrilled with the W and not have been able to improve the basic concept without detracting from it in some other way."
Read full story and review + photos

September 2006: The Denver Museum of Nature & Science chose to exhibit a W Kayak to represent innovations in boat design and engineering at the 'Enginner It!' exhibition (09/29/2006 - 01/01/2007). View the exhibition's layout: http://www.dmns.org/video/eiFinal.mov (file opens with QuickTime)

September 2006: "WaveWalk Kayaks" in 'Casting Off - Latest in Boats & Power' - Florida Sportsman Magazine:
"The WaveWalk kayak enables fishing and paddling in several positions, including standing, which improves comfort and reduces fatigue... It offers a big and dry storage space within the cockpit..."

February 2006: "WaveWalk W Kayaks"- New boat review in the Feb/Mar issue of Shallow Water Angler Magazine, The Magazine of Inshore Saltwater Fishing:
"...Twin-hulled W Kayaks allow anglers to stand while searching for fish or casting. The boat tracks like a catamaran, and turns without a rudder when the pilot leans into a turn. You can paddle while standing, kneeling or sitting..."

October 2005: The W Kayak on the cover of the inaugural issue of the MIT Sloan Magazine Photo by John Earle - Read production notes :
"...Our solution came in the form of a uniquely designed kayak called the Wavewalk..."

September 2005: "A Personal Catamaran" - A boat design article by Yoav Rosen in Multihulls Magazine

July 29, 2005: "WaveWalk" Article and boat review by Adam Bolonsky in
WaveLenghth Magazine Download Article
"...Meanwhile I was standing in my WaveWalk—every kid’s dream, to stand on water. Finally I got the hang of it. A Greenland-style sliding stroke was the best way, I discovered, to get the paddle blades deep enough into the water to generate torque...
...I straightened my right knee, flexed up my left, and felt the increase in pressure on the starboard hull of the WaveWalk force the hull’s outside chine deep into the water. The WaveWalk carved a left turn as neatly as an edged ski, yet without loss of balance. Then I reversed the move. An S-curve. This was fun. I tried it again...
...As a kayak fisherman, I have long lamented the traditional sea kayak’s limitations. In a sea kayak all you do is sit, and you do that a lot. My most comfortable trips have always been those to sand flats where I have walked and stalked fish, or those with multiple-stop destinations, if only because I could step out of my cockpit frequently. With the WaveWalk, you can stand when you want and it’s no party trick. And more important—when you stand you don’t lose propulsion. What a fun and useful craft this would be, I thought, on places like Cape Cod’s Monomoy or Billingsgate sandbars, or for fly fishermen who want to stand, with a stripping basket, and to float flies towards deadheads and logs in search of largemouth. As for kids, well, this boat would be perfect. It’s easy to paddle, it’s stable, it’s car-toppable (two will fit on the roof of my Corolla wagon), and two or three kids could fit in one.
...A true double-ender, you simply swivel on its bench if you want to reverse direction. To stand, you do just that. To land, you paddle hard, scoot back on the bench to lift the bows up, then slide onto land over roots, rocks or stumps. Launching is the reverse: scootch down the bench like a rider urging his horse forward, and feel your momentum slide your craft down the beach.
...What’s most refreshing about the WaveWalk is its lack of pretension. This is a boat designed and constructed to liberate a paddler from concerns about paddling form, good technique, expeditions, navigation, rescue ops or one’s rank in the pecking order of local paddling hotshots. Though you can use such frills as J-strokes, bow and stern rudders, sweep turns and so on, it’s just so much easier to stand and crimp the boat around with alternated degrees of foot pressure...
...it’s fun to paddle and well constructed. It will appeal to the camp and family market, and to kayak fishermen and photographers."

June 13, 2005: "To walk on the Water" - Article by Wu Mei in
China Business News, Shanghai, China

May 27, 2005: Article about WaveWalk by Walter Ying in City Express, Hang Zhou - Zhe Jiang province, China Article
PDF version 1 PDF version 2

February 2005: Short documentary by Sebastian Basco- Wildmind Productions for Italian TV show for teenagers

November 29 2004: Article by Kaede Seville in the Nikkei Marketing Journal Click for the article (in Japanese): ARTICLE

September 26 2004: "The Dreamer" Article by Stephen Jermanok
The Boston Globe - Sunday Magazine / Profile
"I am startled by the ease of navigating and the quickness of the boat. Then I bolt upright..."

August 2 2004: "Inventing a Way to Walk on Water" Article by Teresa Riordan The New York Times - Business / Patents Section
This article was reprinted by America Online (AOL) and The International Herald Tribune (IHT), and echoed by electronic and printed media worldwide

April 12, 2004: Boat review by Adam Pearsall, whitewater canoeist and canoe designer, founder of www.cboats.net
"...Two weeks or so ago I had the chance to paddle Yoav's W Boat. Here are my impressions:
1) It is MUCH narrower in person than it looks in the images (this is a good thing)
2) It is VERY stable
3) It is as easy to paddle standing as sitting, and is very stable fore and aft as well.
4) You CAN paddle it with a single blade, but I admittedly found it a bit easier with a double-blade (I probably needed a longer paddle, though...I had one of my C1 sticks).
...The boat is VERY stable, you can bounce up and down in it (it's quite fun, actually), and the plastic is good stuff (hard enough not to get scratched too badly be dragging it over the ground or "penguin leaps", but suprisingly light for it's size). For a rec. boat it would be great ... or any type of boating where you want a durable, stable platform.
Yes, it's still quite fast (not sea-kayak fast, of course, but I'd guess faster than your average rec boat)..."

March 2002: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT Entrepreneurship Competition -Team WaveWalk makes it to the semi finals with its business plan for innovative water sports equipment.

Note: This page offers select information.
Text and images in those websites may be subject to copyright.

Two all terrain vehicles. Photo: Jo Mares, FL

MIT Sloan magazine -cover page

August 2004 - Developing W kayak surfing