Hands-on: DIY articles – MICRONAUTICAL BOAT DESIGN

Most people don’t design their own microskiff, or portable boat, but many love to outfit it, and build accessories for it –

Wavewalk recently published several articles on subjects related to Do It Yourself (DIY) projects.

Kurt Raimer’s from WA state outfitted his S4 microskiff for fishing salmon and trout:

Bill Seay’s report on his Easy-Load for his S4:

Terry Wilkison’s new white S4 is loaded with DIY upgrades:

Read full article: https://wavewalk.com/blog/2023/04/19/first-tandem-spearfishing-trip-in-my-white-s4-microskiff-guam/

How To Trim My S4 Microskiff For Speed? »

Design, including boat design, is about choosing the formula that would best answer the requirements of the user. In the case of the S4 Microskiff, the requirements for extreme portability (easy car topping) and versatility (ability to paddle) led to a limitation on engine power, mostly due to its weight.
Many boat owners care about being able to reach the maximum speed that their boat allows for, so they spend much time and money on trimming their boat, and this article offers S4 Microskiff owners information and hand-on advice on how to trim their boat for speed.

One of the fist questions that future S4 owners ask is about motorizing, and more specifically, what size motor would best fit their needs –

3.5 HP or 6 HP outboard motor for my S4 microskiff? »
Wavewalk and its dealers sell the S4 microskiff non-motorized, and it’s up to the boat owner to choose what type and size of motor they will use. Wavewalk offers plenty of info and good advice on these subjects, and this is the latest article in this series.

It’s worth mentioning here that Wavewalk’s website offers dozens of articles including on subjects related to boat design and DIY projects.
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Kayak Stability and Fishing Standing

A kayak's stability is key, especially if you want to fish standing in it in full confidence.
Many kayak manufacturers claim they designed their kayaks for stand up fishing, but other than pictures in glossy magazines and videos showing young and athletic fishermen who stand on their kayaks and fish in mirror flat water, how practical are these products for average anglers in everyday fishing trips? How well do those kayak perform in real world conditions?
Can a middle aged or elderly fisherman feel at ease getting up and standing on a SOT kayak, and could they ever feel confident fishing from it?
There is more to standing up and fishing from a kayak than just that - You need to do it comfortably and safely, have a plan B in case you lose balance, and be able to focus on what you're doing i.e. casting, reeling, and landing the fish, and not on maintaining your balance through constant micro-adjustments.
If you want to understand the physical and ergonomic principles that affect a kayak's performance in terms of stand up fishing, read about it in the article entitled Paddle and Fish Standing

More about kayak stability »