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Testing The W Kayak
By Ed Wesley
Photography: Topher Reynolds
I don't know if it is the paddling business, but I am active with boats and paddling in most facets of my life. I am "Grand Admiral" of one paddling club and lead trips for two others. I paddle 12 months a year, usually ranging between Florida in the winter, the Carolinas in spring, Maine or the Adirondacks in summer and the mid-Atlantic region in the fall.
Last year was a fairly typical paddling year – I lead a total of 49 trips (including 6 dawn trips and 7 night paddles), paddled with 147 different people and got out on 11 new-to-me waterways. I also tinker with boats. I currently have 3 canoes in progress in my shop, including a vintage Independence that I'm sprucing up, a Shenendoah that will be my 40th or 41st complete rebuild and a rare Curtis Ladybug that I'm outfitting for a friend.
I race a little, pal around with guides and outfitters a little, wilderness trip a little, rebuild and outfit boats a little – I am, at heart, a boater.
After we had our first test paddle outing in the W boat I realized the W is different from any hull I've paddled before; the secondary stability is astounding – We planned to try flipping it some warm day, but we thought it'll take some effort. Different enough that it will take some time, patience and experimentation to learn just how to paddle it in various positions and what it can do.
We had the W out twice more. There is definitely a learning process in paddling the Wavewalk, or perhaps an unlearning process where the paddler slowly realizes that routine canoe or kayak technique isn't entirely applicable to paddling the W; leaned turns are different, trim for condition is essential and easily altered, switching from sitting to standing to riding all come into play in different conditions, and all positions are easily and comfortably achieved. We found that we could whip a turn by shifting weight forward and heeling the boat simultaneously. Even on flatwater that maneuver, burying the bow of the inside hull and leaning, will snap off what feels much like a hard eddy turn, but without any eddy present.
The more confident we became in the W the more possibilities opened up, and that was part of the fun.
The ability to easily shift positions on the fly, to sit, stand or kneel anywhere along the bench seat provided comfort over the course of a long day on the water. When we wanted to stretch your legs or gain a higher perspective of what's ahead we simply stood up. Shifting positions, whether sitting or standing is outstanding for dealing with changes in wind direction and/or trim desires.
When we needed to adjust the trim for varying wind and water conditions we simply slid forward or backward along the bench saddle.
Easily shifting weight and position is especially important in turning the Wavewalk. Shift a hip of thigh, or offset 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.
I liked the generous open cockpit that makes it exceptionally easy to enter and exit. Dry foot launches and landing are simplified; just slide the bow into the water, step in from the back and walk forward until the stern floats free. When landing shift sternwards, power the bow onto the beach and walk out. The tough high-density polyethylene hull can take a licking.
One of the joys of paddling is
experimentation, discovering a boat's capabilities and performance
characteristics. I like the Zen approach of letting the boat and water teach;
Just playing around with the Wavewalk on different water, seeing what happens.
Finding out that there are things you can make happen with a twin hulled craft
that just aren't the same when done in a monohull. I wonder if some of the W
paddling techniques would be more intuitive for someone who had not spent much
time in canoe and kayaks before.
Learning a new style of paddling has made me more aware of the physics
of paddling hulls of all sorts, whereas before I just did it and didn't much
think about why it worked the way it did.
The
Wavewalk takes outside the box thinking to a whole new level. I think the
videos on the website do a good job in terms of demonstrating some of the
unique possibilities with it.
Copyright (C) Ed Wesley, 2006-7
Editor's note: Paddler Magazine and other paddling publications periodically publish boat and gear reviews by Ed Wesley.
'My 16 year old son (who is one of my better test paddlers, having literally grown up in both canoes and kayaks) suggested and proved that the dual hull chambers are perfect for storage of long items, just the stuff that's awkward in a small car.
Gear storage space is a premium, even more so for paddlers.'
'I liked the generous open cockpit...'
'The secondary stability is astounding'
'The more confident we became in the W the more possibilities opened up...'
Topher performing yet another 'test'...