Author: boat designer

We see a lot in common between small boats and beach cats, canoes, kayaks and other personal water crafts and toys including jet skis, surf boards and sailing boards. It is not just their small size, but also the fact that their passengers’ physical attributes (E.G. size, athletic skills, disabilities, etc.) and behavior determine their performance.
We call this field of design ‘Micronautics’, which is part Naval Design but has much to do with Ergonomics, Bio Mechanics, and to some extent even with Behavioral Sciences.

To understand the difficulty that micronautical designers fac,e it’s enough to realize that while a supertanker can cross the Pacific Ocean on autopilot, there is no computerized system that can successfully control a kayak in the surf.

Traditional catamarans of all sizes are wider, stabler and faster than mono-hull boats of comparable size.  The W invention and concept is applicable to small, personal boats of various types and uses, and it offers to increase their stability without decreasing their speed or increasing their width.
In essence, the W invention offers increased stability by width, without paying a price in speed terms.

The W invention also offers to eliminate back pain, leg pain, leg numbness and all other unwanted sensations and injuries related to the L position that’s typical to all kayaks belonging to the sit-in, sit-on-top, and hybrid (hybrid canoe-kayak) types.

There are far more possibilities offered by the W boat concept than shown in this website. Some of these possibilities are presented on the W fishing kayaks website

The W technology is proprietary, and protected by U.S. utility patent number 6,871,608 ‘Twin Hull Personal Watercraft’, which the US Patent and Trademark Office website makes available online.

Hundreds of articles have been written about kayak related injuries, and we’d like to recommend the latest one, called Common Kayak Injuries, which is more comprehensive as well as methodical in covering these painful subjects, and in offering practical solutions, whether you’re into kayak fishing, or just kayaking.

Pedal propulsion for small watercraft has been in use since the 19th century, and it’s still commonly found in small recreational boats, often in a combination of rotating pedals with paddle wheel type propellers. Other types of pedal driven propulsion systems for small craft include rotating propellers,  hydraulic pumps, sideways moving flaps, add-on systems, and more.  Interestingly, the world speed record for a human powered watercraft is held by a catamaran equipped with a rotational air propeller.

This article examines pedal drive propulsion for common (mono hull, sit-in and SOT) kayaks from several technical angles, which are: Ergonomics – How does it feel to operate a pedal driven kayak, and what are the potential physiological drawbacks in this type of propulsion. Mechanics -How efficient are pedal drives’ pedaling systems. Hydrodynamics -How efficient are pedal drives’ propellers, and how effective is pedaling kayaks compared to paddling them. Real World Performance – How effective are pedal driven kayaks in applications such as fishing trips, stand up fishing, fishing in moving water, fishing in shallow water, launching, beaching, etc.

Read all about Paddle VS. Pedal Drive in Fishing Kayaks >>

This article does not compare the performance of sit-in and SOT kayaks, whether paddled or pedaled, with the performance of W kayaks.

The Barge Yak: How Heavy, Clumsy, Slow, and Dysfunctional Can You Go In Fishing Kayak Design?

This new fishing kayak design article about the typical SOT, SIK and Hybrid fishing kayak design has the answers.

Think twice before getting into one of these ultra wide yaks, because you might have a problem when the time comes to get back from your fishing trip…

What Role Do Aesthetics Play When Fishing Kayaks Are Concerned?

We recommend reading this article that analyzes an important design related question, which is the question of Aesthetics, when choosing a fishing kayak is concerned. Whether you think that your kayak should be a ‘lean mean machine’, or the ‘best of breed’ of fishing kayaks, beauty is a notion that helps you arrange your thoughts and aspirations, as well as technical requirements in one phrase or one image.
However, the bottom line is that a fishing kayak is both a vehicle and a working environment, and whether it does a good job counts the most.
When choosing a fishing kayak, the notion of ‘doing a good job’ should determine whether a fishing kayak is beautiful or not.