C-Forum

Here are some images of me paddling Yoav's W boat. Review Below...:

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).

I'd take the W Boat in up to class II (mild class II) water (Ok, I'd personally take it into mild class III water (this boat could be fun on the Sac ), but I wouldn't recommend it in general. 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 (e.g. instead of an Old Town Loon or something like it), 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).

So, for a boat to kick around on the lake or slow-moving water (and for kids in these conditions) it's defintely worth checking out. I'm going to paddle it again when it warms up a bit around here to really have some fun with it

Does it Turn?
Would you lean to the inside or the outside while turning?
Could you catch eddies in easy class II?

Tommy

I would say it turns like a Rec kayak of about the same length...slowly (I am used to squirt boats...), but it does turn. Therefore, if the eddy was big enough you should be able to catch it. I suspect it would bob around a bit upon entering the eddy though, due to the twin hulls. You wouldn't be able to lean the boat as you normally would in and out of eddy's, but I don't think you'd have to....but I haven't tried yet. Sometime this summer .

A couple more questions.
How easy is it for one person to carry?
What would you guess it drafts?

Dunno if you can answer this but ..
How easily would you say that it turns compared to a tandem canoe like say a MR Explorer or an OT Camper?

Thanks,

Tommy

Tommy T wrote:A couple more questions.
How easy is it for one person to carry?
What would you guess it drafts?

Dunno if you can answer this but ..
How easily would you say that it turns compared to a tandem canoe like say a MR Explorer or an OT Camper?

Thanks,

Tommy

Hi Adam and Tommy,
First I'd like to thank Adam for his "Fair and Balanced" review - the first ever for a W! (Makes it a historical document? )

You can see a complete chart of draft per weight in the bottom of the "products" page on wavewalk.com - The draft with a 200 lb paddler on board is 5".
Yesterday I paddled this thing together with another guy who weighs over 200 lb. Wasn't a great paddling experience but this little boat moved and turned on flat water with almost 420 lb of payload (about 10" draft). I won't recommend doing this unless it's for rescue purpose or if the boat is used as a tender for short distances.
The maximum angle of heeling I measured is 30 degrees (Good? Bad?) It takes a little exercise to learn how to lean into the turn but it's not rocket science - then the boat maneuvers quite well.

One comment about speed:
Most kayakers who've tried the W1 would compare its speed to that of a 12'-14' recreational kayak, while some say 11'-12'.
Usually the more you paddle the better the assessment.

You're welcome to take a demo boat for a weekend- I'm very interested in what you'd have to say about it after testing it in a ww context.

Yoav