Kayak tips for beginner
Discussion
Any kayakers happy to help a newbie with getting started? I've bought a dirt cheap kayak to go out on the river when the kids go paddle boarding.
Took it out for the first time yesterday, and it went ok but it has left me with some questions.
I struggled to keep it going in a straight line. It kept lunging one way or the other. This improved a bit after an hour or so but I still had to make a lot of corrections to keep it going where I pointed it. Is that normal? Is it just a question of doing it more to improve?
Should there be some sort of footrest? Nothing in there, and not sure if I need it or not.
Water drops off the paddle into the cockpit. Over a few hours it added up to a cupful sloshing about, which is not a problem, but if it built up more how do you get it out?
Took it out for the first time yesterday, and it went ok but it has left me with some questions.
I struggled to keep it going in a straight line. It kept lunging one way or the other. This improved a bit after an hour or so but I still had to make a lot of corrections to keep it going where I pointed it. Is that normal? Is it just a question of doing it more to improve?
Should there be some sort of footrest? Nothing in there, and not sure if I need it or not.
Water drops off the paddle into the cockpit. Over a few hours it added up to a cupful sloshing about, which is not a problem, but if it built up more how do you get it out?
I only hire them from time to time but I have found that it's a lot to do with the way you paddle and hold the paddle.
I found I had a stronger side so would steer in that direction.
I'd get a bit of water running down the paddle but there are usually big rubber grommets on the pole that stop it running right down to you and into the cockpit.
I'm not sure how I would deal without foot rests. They help you with powering your stroke and keeping everything stable.
Also the ones I hire have a skeg at the back, like a small fixed rudder, that help keep the kayak in a straight line.
Might be worth looking up the model to see if these parts were originally on it, and maybe buy them to fit.
Happy paddling, I'd love to own one but then I'd need somewhere to store it and a way to carry it on the car.
That plus buying one along with the gear and it gets expensive if you rarely get the chance to take it out.
The place I rent from does charge £25 for a couple of hours but then there's free parking by the marina right next to their own jetty along with dry bags, floatation jacket etc.
I found I had a stronger side so would steer in that direction.
I'd get a bit of water running down the paddle but there are usually big rubber grommets on the pole that stop it running right down to you and into the cockpit.
I'm not sure how I would deal without foot rests. They help you with powering your stroke and keeping everything stable.
Also the ones I hire have a skeg at the back, like a small fixed rudder, that help keep the kayak in a straight line.
Might be worth looking up the model to see if these parts were originally on it, and maybe buy them to fit.
Happy paddling, I'd love to own one but then I'd need somewhere to store it and a way to carry it on the car.
That plus buying one along with the gear and it gets expensive if you rarely get the chance to take it out.
The place I rent from does charge £25 for a couple of hours but then there's free parking by the marina right next to their own jetty along with dry bags, floatation jacket etc.
What kayak did you get?
Basically the longer the boat the faster and straighter it will tend to travel. If you got a small white water playboat it'll be all over the place!
Also have a look on YouTube for how to paddle. You want the paddle pretty upright and running along the side of the boat. If it's flatter and out to the side (a sweep stroke) you'll turn.
Basically the longer the boat the faster and straighter it will tend to travel. If you got a small white water playboat it'll be all over the place!
Also have a look on YouTube for how to paddle. You want the paddle pretty upright and running along the side of the boat. If it's flatter and out to the side (a sweep stroke) you'll turn.
bigandclever said:
Inflatable kayaks are great.
I did have a nice day on a quiet canal paddling one of them with an old girlfriend. I think it was one of the £300 Decathlon jobs.
Wasn't fast and didn't slice through the water.
A mate got an inflatable that actually looks like a kayak. £1500 though, I think it was.
Shorter Kayaks will be much more back and forth, but a 15ft one should be reasonably straight. The usual reason for the kayak wandering about on the front, is the stroke (of the paddle) on either side is not the same distance from the boat (at least in my observation). If you vary the 'sweep' of the paddle, you will vary the amount the nose of the boat moves left or right. It's normally only sea kayaks that come with rudders, but with a bit of practice, you don't really need them, unless it's a bit windy. And the wind is only really a big problem on the sea.
The boat should have feet stays. It will be very hard to keep the boat stable without. Normally they clip into runners on the side, and since they can be removed, it sounds like they have. You'll need at get or make some.
For adjustment, you should be able to brace the tops of your legs on the underside of the top covering. This enables you to move your hips to rotate the boat. There's some debate in the kayaking community about this, but bracing you legs is the normal advice.
Finally, get yourself a spray deck. These boats are not self draining (like sit ons), and will fill with water, which will normally make you cold, and miserable. Don't worry too much about being able to roll the boat - if it capsizes you can pull the spray deck off easily - there's a little rope tag at the front you need to pull. You'll be free of the it quite easily. Might be a good idea to practice with someone near if you are not confident with this.
Kayaking is brilliant fun. We started off like you, and now regularly kayak in the med, esp the Greek islands, which is a superb family holiday. Have fun.
The boat should have feet stays. It will be very hard to keep the boat stable without. Normally they clip into runners on the side, and since they can be removed, it sounds like they have. You'll need at get or make some.
For adjustment, you should be able to brace the tops of your legs on the underside of the top covering. This enables you to move your hips to rotate the boat. There's some debate in the kayaking community about this, but bracing you legs is the normal advice.
Finally, get yourself a spray deck. These boats are not self draining (like sit ons), and will fill with water, which will normally make you cold, and miserable. Don't worry too much about being able to roll the boat - if it capsizes you can pull the spray deck off easily - there's a little rope tag at the front you need to pull. You'll be free of the it quite easily. Might be a good idea to practice with someone near if you are not confident with this.
Kayaking is brilliant fun. We started off like you, and now regularly kayak in the med, esp the Greek islands, which is a superb family holiday. Have fun.
boyse7en said:
I struggled to keep it going in a straight line. It kept lunging one way or the other. This improved a bit after an hour or so but I still had to make a lot of corrections to keep it going where I pointed it. Is that normal? Is it just a question of doing it more to improve?
Should there be some sort of footrest? Nothing in there, and not sure if I need it or not.
Footrests will help, you need to be paddling/pivoting from your core not through swinging the arms. If you paddle with arm movement alone this can cause the kayak to swing as your body weight shifts. A footrest will help with bracing you against the seat to achieve this.Should there be some sort of footrest? Nothing in there, and not sure if I need it or not.
Adjustable footrests will be the better option if you can fit them, you can just see the location of mine in the image below (dark horizontal strip just below the paddle).
Have a look on Amazon which seems to have a fair choice of options.
boyse7en said:
Water drops off the paddle into the cockpit. Over a few hours it added up to a cupful sloshing about, which is not a problem, but if it built up more how do you get it out?
I keep a big sponge wedged down the side of the seat to use if needed.Are we talking about something like these?
https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/ka...
In which case the easiest way to make a foot rest might be expanding foam in a bag as bonding anything else to the hull will be a pain. Or cutting blocks of insulation foam to shape so that it wedges in place.
Getting your feet braced will help, as others said, getting your hands wide enough apart and the same distance from the blades will also help with a straight line. If' you're not just spinning round you're doing better than many.
Boring suggestion, join a local kayak/canoe club, more people to paddle with for advice and a licence to use the rivers! British Canoeing should be able to point you in the right direction.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/boats-kayaks-jet-skis/ka...
In which case the easiest way to make a foot rest might be expanding foam in a bag as bonding anything else to the hull will be a pain. Or cutting blocks of insulation foam to shape so that it wedges in place.
Getting your feet braced will help, as others said, getting your hands wide enough apart and the same distance from the blades will also help with a straight line. If' you're not just spinning round you're doing better than many.
Boring suggestion, join a local kayak/canoe club, more people to paddle with for advice and a licence to use the rivers! British Canoeing should be able to point you in the right direction.
Get a buoyancy aid.
Make sure you can get out when it tips over! If it's like the red one pictured up there ^ you'll just fall out, but if it has a small cockpit you need to have practised - make sure there's someone with you who can help if you panic and can't get your legs out.
With a small cockpit, you put a spraydeck over it to keep the water out, the rings on the shafts help a bit but don't stop splashes.
Each stroke will turn you left then right, you just have to get used to pulling slightly more/less to keep it going in the right direction.
Eskimo rolling is a good thing to be able to do (no point without a spraydeck) but it's not an easy thing to learn - if you want to do it you'll need to join a club and they'll teach you in a pool, it needs someone standing next to you to help.
Make sure you can get out when it tips over! If it's like the red one pictured up there ^ you'll just fall out, but if it has a small cockpit you need to have practised - make sure there's someone with you who can help if you panic and can't get your legs out.
With a small cockpit, you put a spraydeck over it to keep the water out, the rings on the shafts help a bit but don't stop splashes.
Each stroke will turn you left then right, you just have to get used to pulling slightly more/less to keep it going in the right direction.
Eskimo rolling is a good thing to be able to do (no point without a spraydeck) but it's not an easy thing to learn - if you want to do it you'll need to join a club and they'll teach you in a pool, it needs someone standing next to you to help.
john2443 said:
Get a buoyancy aid.
Make sure you can get out when it tips over! If it's like the red one pictured up there ^ you'll just fall out, but if it has a small cockpit you need to have practised - make sure there's someone with you who can help if you panic and can't get your legs out.
With a small cockpit, you put a spraydeck over it to keep the water out, the rings on the shafts help a bit but don't stop splashes.
Each stroke will turn you left then right, you just have to get used to pulling slightly more/less to keep it going in the right direction.
Eskimo rolling is a good thing to be able to do (no point without a spraydeck) but it's not an easy thing to learn - if you want to do it you'll need to join a club and they'll teach you in a pool, it needs someone standing next to you to help.
This. I am no Safety Norman, but it doesn't take long before you're out of sight/reach of assistance, and you only get one chance.Make sure you can get out when it tips over! If it's like the red one pictured up there ^ you'll just fall out, but if it has a small cockpit you need to have practised - make sure there's someone with you who can help if you panic and can't get your legs out.
With a small cockpit, you put a spraydeck over it to keep the water out, the rings on the shafts help a bit but don't stop splashes.
Each stroke will turn you left then right, you just have to get used to pulling slightly more/less to keep it going in the right direction.
Eskimo rolling is a good thing to be able to do (no point without a spraydeck) but it's not an easy thing to learn - if you want to do it you'll need to join a club and they'll teach you in a pool, it needs someone standing next to you to help.
Capsize practice is:
Sit in, lean over (or get someone to roll you), then "do a forward roll" (whilst upside down) to efficiently get out. Don't hold your nose, you need to be able to do it with a sinus full of water!
Also, practice rolling a (crewed) capsized boat back over from the outside - approach the capsized boat from one side, reach over the boat (doesn't matter if you lean/half lay on it), grab the far side of the boat (anything you can grab hold of) and roll it back over towards you. Far easier and quicker than any other method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnGjPUfOyvc (2min 40 in, his is a sit-on, but it's the same for a sit-in)
Please practice, I have seen people who appear totally capable nearly drown (as in, I was passing by and had to jump in off a bridge to get him turned over).
And get a hat. Don't hugely need protective clothing, the exercise will have you warm in no time, but sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat are key.
But it's great fun, enjoy!
Edited by OpulentBob on Tuesday 4th August 13:35
croyde said:
Is the one pictured above a Perception? I like that more open cockpit.
Yes it is - Perception Sierra. Not been available for a while, but they do come up occasionally second hand. Similar models are available from other manufacturers.john2443 said:
Make sure you can get out when it tips over! If it's like the red one pictured up there ^ you'll just fall out...
and I can confirm that is indeed the case 
ETA: This is one of the reasons I went for it as I spend a lot of time out solo and so ease of extraction was a must. Eskimo rolls are great, but not if your in a shallow area where you get stuck two thirds of the way over.
Edited by Ledaig on Tuesday 4th August 13:48
As others have said, bracing your feet at the side of the kayak helps with keeping you on the straight and narrow.
As far as paddling goes, you probably have one arm that is slightly more dominant so you are just naturally inclined to pull harder on one side. Have a look on YouTube for some tips on paddling technique.
Spray decks help keep the water out, and although eskimo rolling is great, it takes a while to learn, you ideally need to do that in a pool with an experienced helper, which may not be possible at the moment. I kayaked for years without being able to roll, on the odd occasions I did capsize I just rolled our - your weight will generally force the spraydeck to undo, otherwise just pull at it. It's best to learn how to save a capsize by reaching out with your paddle, I very rarely came out, especially on calm water.
Unfortunately I don't have a kayak at the moment due to lack of storage space, but a friendly PH-er mate has offered me use of his Canadian canoe whenever I want, which I must take him up on (Cheers, ES!).
Incidentally due ot lack of storage I was looking at buying one of those inflatable jobbies they sell in Decathlon but they seem to have sold out nationally this summer, I expect as a reaction to Covid and staycations, most suppliers quoting Sping '21 for delivery and used ones going for above new price on eBay!
As far as paddling goes, you probably have one arm that is slightly more dominant so you are just naturally inclined to pull harder on one side. Have a look on YouTube for some tips on paddling technique.
Spray decks help keep the water out, and although eskimo rolling is great, it takes a while to learn, you ideally need to do that in a pool with an experienced helper, which may not be possible at the moment. I kayaked for years without being able to roll, on the odd occasions I did capsize I just rolled our - your weight will generally force the spraydeck to undo, otherwise just pull at it. It's best to learn how to save a capsize by reaching out with your paddle, I very rarely came out, especially on calm water.
Unfortunately I don't have a kayak at the moment due to lack of storage space, but a friendly PH-er mate has offered me use of his Canadian canoe whenever I want, which I must take him up on (Cheers, ES!).
Incidentally due ot lack of storage I was looking at buying one of those inflatable jobbies they sell in Decathlon but they seem to have sold out nationally this summer, I expect as a reaction to Covid and staycations, most suppliers quoting Sping '21 for delivery and used ones going for above new price on eBay!
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