This episode of PaddleTV is brought to you by the ACA
Improving the paddle sports experience for over a century.
Learn more and become a member today at americancanoe.org
In this video, we're going to reveal 5 kayaking tips that will make you a better paddler,
or at least, save you from having to learn important lessons the hard way.
First off, you might find it hard to believe, but the main purpose of a rudder isn't to help turn your kayak.
A rudder's primary role is actually to keep your kayak going straight.
In particular, a rudder keeps your kayak traveling straight when you're paddling in windy conditions,
because all kayaks naturally want to turn into the wind - something that's called weathercocking.
The rudder is used to counteract your kayak's desire to weathercock.
If you don't have a rudder, you can find yourself struggling to keep your kayak moving straight,
especially if the wind is coming directly from the side.
And so if you're going to be paddling in big, exposed bodies of water that see a lot of
wind, you'll probably want a kayak with a rudder.
The Second key tip is to have a clear understanding of the limitations of where you can take your kayak.
As a general rule, if you venture into water that isn't protected from wind and waves,
and/or if you travel further from shore than you can comfortably swim, you're entering
a new world - a world in which you'll need to protect yourself and the people you're
paddling with by taking a sea kayaking course, and developing, among other things, valuable rescue skills.
One good thing you can do to better understand your limitations is to practice re-entering
your kayak from the water - before you ever need to do it for real.
One thing that I can tell you, is that reentering a sit on top kayak is a LOT easier than reentering
a sit inside kayak, because it won't swamp.
In fact, just getting the water out of a sit-inside kayak while on the water is a major ordeal,
especially if your kayak doesn't have a bulkhead behind the seat.
A bulkhead separates the kayak into two different sections, so that in the event of a capsize,
the whole kayak won't swamp.
Whatever type of kayak that you're using, if you can't get confidently re-enter your
kayak from the water, then it only makes sense that you stay close enough to shore that you
can comfortably swim if for some reason you end up flipping.
The Third big kayaking tip, is to invest in a decent set of roof racks for your vehicle,
so that you avoid the nightmare scenario of having your boat or your whole rack system
fly off your vehicle while you're driving down the road.
And when I talk about a good set of roof racks, I'm generally not talking about the factory
installed racks that come with many vehicles.
The best systems by far, come from specialty rack manufacturers, who have racks to fit
virtually any vehicle, as well as unique systems that do a great job of protecting your boat
and make loading and tying the kayaks safer and easier.
The fourth kayaking tip is use the power of torso rotation for all your strokes, which
means engaging your whole upper body for your strokes, and not just using the muscles in your arms.
To do this, you need to twist at the waist when you take a stroke rather than just pulling with your arms.
For example, when taking a forward stroke, your reach forward shouldn't just involve your arms.
It should involve your whole upper body.
This means that if I'm reaching forward to take a stroke with my left blade, I'll push
my left shoulder forward and rotate my upper body to the right.
Now when I plant my blade in the water and pull on it, I'm not just pulling with my arms,
but with my whole upper body.
The last of the top 5 kayaking tips is to always keep safety in mind.
Overall, kayaking is a remarkably safe activity, but it's important to understand
the fact that you're on the water means that when things do come up, situations can become
very serious, very fast.
This is why you need to assume a conservative and safety conscious attitude when making
decisions on the water, and follow a few simple safety rules.
#1 - don't drink alcohol and kayak - the two just don't go together.
#2 - Always wear a PFD on the water, and there are many great paddling specific PFD's on
the market, that are designed to be comfortable and unrestricting, and so there's no reason
to want to take them off.
#3 - Dress for the conditions, and understand that when you're paddling in cooler water,
you need to be even more conservative with your decisions.
So there you have it, the Top 5 Kayaking Tips.
I hope you enjoyed this video, If you did enjoy it, please subscribe to our PaddleTV
YouTube channel and stay tuned for lots more kayaking tips and tricks.