Water Master Kickboats :: Kodiak & Grizzly

Ahh, when I re-read my post I should have been more clear.

I have no interest in doing class 4 water in one of those ... class 2 water, yeah, maybe.

The float I was thinking on the JD is class 2 water typically and doesn't have sweepers that I know of. I also have no problems getting out and not floating anything I wasn't comfortable with. But the JD's too skinny most years during peak fishing for a drift boat, which is why I'd be interested in the alternative.

I personally can't imagine doing anything more than class 2 wearing fins, I mean ?!?! Which is why I was asking the question... it kinds of makes me leery of the rest of the review but maybe they were thinking of Western class, or fell into the category you described so well ... and I'm about 15 years past that category myself.

Me and gear for a three-five day float can be well under 250 pounds, and that does sound within a reasonable safe limit based on the reviews so far.



Rolland

I think I may have spotted the boats today! I was on my back from the Yak and saw two of these in the little lake off to the north just out of town, looked like the wind was coming up =), hopethey performed well.

Hey Guys,

Just a question for you WaterMaster owners. I just purchased a Grizzly and want to buy the fins. Who do you guys deal with in Washington that stocks the fins with felt bottoms?

TIA,

Doublespey

Just checking - but you are aware that the primary tools for moving water on the watermasters are the oars, right? I've only used the fins a few times while lake fishing. Mostly I just found the got in the way. Never used on the rivers at all.

Well, I haven't trout fished. I only did steelhead and and salmon. If you hook up with a big fish in the watermaster while there is any kind of current - nothing good can happen... Now if you can rig an anchor system up, that'd be different.

But the point is, if you are heading to any kind of rapid, you simply pull up your feet and get on the stix...

A buddy and I used the Watermasters this weekend to float the upper Yak, actually a very long float. Wet Wade can chime in with his thoughts, but mine are generally good. Details below.

We started at about 10AM and had the boats set up pretty quickly, probably about 10-15 minutes max, and we were taking our sweet time. We didn't really have a need to load up the cargo decks with a bunch of gear, but we each had a second rod, a dry bag and a few more miscellaneous items strapped down back there. All did very well for the entire float.

I started out on the Grizzly and my buddy on the larger Kodiak. First impression, the boats are VERY mobile and packable; every component of the boat was thought out to be broken down and portable. If I took even a few trips to hike- or fly-in waters, this would be my boat.

We got in the water and spent the first mile or so just feeling the boats out -- immediately I noticed that even without a frame, the boat felt stable when rowing -- I was initially concerned that the raft, after losing a little air, would cave and the rowing would get mushy. This didn't happen at all. I tried the fins early on for a short time, but felt very awkward using them in the moving water, so strapped them down to the cargo deck and went with the oars for the rest of the day. I did get uncomfortable at times sitting upright with my feet up on the foot strap, but it's nice to be able to hang your feet down in slower deeper water. Another thing about the foot strap -- it appears the D-rings are coming loose, not sure of another way to attach the foot strap, but my guess would be that this is the first failure many experience with their WM's. Also, the foot strap is a fixed, unadjustable length. It would be nice if they were adjustable somehow, although I'm sure they thought of that and went with the fixed length to avoid the irritating unintentional lengthening of the strap.

The boat's seat puts you at water level, not above, which is a bit of a disadvantage to a pontoon when trying to read the water ahead of you, or just having a better view. The seats themselves are collapsible fabric seats, and were pretty comfortable. They also have a handy pocket in the back. I'd probably get the rigid seat they sell on their website and use it the 99% of the time I was setting it up out of the back of my car and walking it 10 feet to the river. Also, the rod holders are simple and work great.

The boat seemed to handle pretty well in not-too-rough water. I would NOT want to take this boat on the bigger OP rivers or anything described as Class IV, no matter how comfortable I got with it. On the other side of the coin, there's more drag than you have with a pontoon boat, which is a little bit tedious if you're trying to kick it in the ass.

We had to pick the boats up a few times to get around obstructions; these boats make that task very easy -- more easy with the lighter and more compact Grizzly, but definitely doable with both. We traded boats for a section of the float and the Kodiak certainly feels more stable to me than the Grizzly. It also has more cargo room and puts you up a tad (~2") higher than does the Grizzly, but of course it's heavier.

Lastly, maybe it's just me, but fishing out of these in moving water is pretty much a no-go. They're easy enough to pull over in, and stand up almost in place. Get caught by one bit of rougher water you weren't expecting and you're spinning like a top. I suppose that paying attention goes with any craft you're floating in down the river.

Overall, I'd say that a Watermaster has to get serious consideration from someone looking at a pontoon-or-WM decision, including me. I think it comes down to the portability -- how much water do you fish that includes a 2 mile hike or a float plane ride, etc. and the size of water you're taking on. For typical fishing (mostly easier rivers and lakes) I don't think you will be limited by much if you went with a Watermaster over a pontoon.

+1 to everything Dylan said. I'd like to add a few thinks as well.

First off I was very nervous and weary about taking a small, one-person raft that doesn't use any type of frame for rigidity down the section of river that we did. I was blown away, the boats were very stable and predictable. I was concerned about the oarlocks flexing too much because they are just glued to the raft itself, no flex at all.

Now for my dislikes. I have a sensitive back due to a x-c skiing accident about 6 years ago, at the end of the day my back was toast. We spent almost 8 hours on the river, most of it floating, and my lower back really hurt at the end of the day.

Another thing that scared me about the boats was entering and exiting hydraulics. Because these boats are so small and for their size there is a lot of boat/person in the water, they get pushed around in hydraulics really bad. Dylan got stuck in one and went for a little ride, nothing super scary but it definitely got my attention. I also think the short oar = less leverage makes a huge difference when trying to power through the sketchy stuff.

I also forgot a PFD. Did I feel safe floating in these boats without one? No, absolutely not. If you take one of these boats out for the day, bring a life jacket.

Lastly, like every other post here, the footrest strap thingy sucks. Too much of an after thought, needs to be a first thought.

P.S. Dylan, you need to e-mail me those pics so I can resize them for you.

Bad news on the boats; sorry to hear your outing got effected by it.

what is the status of the boats?????

I have been a fan of the WM for many years. The first one I bought had a serial number of 000013. There have been massive improvements in design, weight, oar locks and option add-ons. Adding a backrest sold for kayaks works for me on my soft seat models. I have several under a different lable made in New Zealand with blow up seats but they are vulnerable to over inflation or punctures. For my uses these boats are perfect for modest sized lakes and rivers, pack easily on airplanes, work wonders in low water streams and are safe and portabel. I find few downside issues. I take them comfortably down the Sauk and Skagit but don't use them much on the Thompson. Any of the streams on the Olymic Peninsula can be floates safely in these boats. Sweepers can be a problem if the user is inexperienced or careless. When fishing the Yac it is easy to drop through the bottom and stand up to fish the small slots that most boats blow past - a simple matter to jump back up and row off (don't try this in water too deep or fast and don't hang a fin under a rock). I own seven of them and am not a dealer or a guide. Just have them located in places I want to fish. No boat is perfect but having had (and still having) drift boats, large inflatables and float tubes - these are my favorite all purpose water craft. Power to the WM!

Does anyone know what's going on with Watermaster? I need some new oar locks and all their phone lines have been disconnected...

Is water Master broke and out of business? In June I sent them $1500+ for a boat and accessories. I've tried to contact them, but their phone has been disconnected. I've not received the boat, any communication, or my money back. Does anyone know if I have been cheated?

I would like to take a look at one of these. Does anyone know where I can find one?