Kayak Instruction

These days you can purchase a brand new kayak for nearly the price of a large cheese pizza. So why are some kayaks so much more expensive than others? And are the pricey ones worth it? Comfort, handling, and durability are the key differences between expensive and cheap kayaks. Feeling comfortable in a kayak basically comes down to three things: seats, foot braces, and stability. Kayak handling (for beginner kayaks) is about efficiency and how the boat performs in the wind. It’s difficult to tell how durable a kayak is by just looking at it. The main way to know is by going with a brand that’s been around awhile.  Seats: Many of the cheaper kayaks either don’t come with seats or the seats are an afterthought with little to no back support. The more

You’ve just purchased a kayak or paddle board. Congratulations! Now you need a way to get it on your car to get it home. So you go to Home Depot and buy ratchet straps. It seems like a great idea - a strap with a built-in tightening system. Crank it until you can crank it no more, and your new boat should be secure. But wait! While ratchet straps are much better than using bungee cords or twine for securing a kayak or paddle board to the roof of your vehicle, we still cringe when we see them. They work great for big jobs securing rigid, solid items such as lumber or pallets or a vehicle to a flatbed. But kayaks and paddle boards require a more delicate touch. With a ratchet strap you can

The essence of kayaking is simple: Just grab a paddle and go. But how you grab that paddle can be the difference between a journey that feels effortless, and one that ends in blisters, sore joints, and aching muscles. Here are the five most common grip mistakes I see and simple ways to fix them. Problem 1: Death Grip White knuckling the paddle causes several problems: 1) Your forearms tire quickly. Try grabbing a broom handle and squeezing it in one hand for 5 minutes. I guarantee your arm will get tired! 2) Using your weaker forearm and hand muscles prohibits you from using your larger, stronger core muscles that are essential for efficient paddling. 3) Blisters! Whenever someone says they are getting a blister, my first response is to tell them to relax their

Watch Mitch's information-packed Coast Day 2020 presentation about the pros and cons of different types of kayaks and the equipment you need to stay safe on the water!

If all other dimensions are equal, a sit-inside (open-cockpit) kayak is more stable than a sit-on-top kayak. In an open-cockpit kayak you're sitting lower in the boat. Your center of gravity (aka rear-end) is at or near the level of the water. For example, when you're sitting on the floor, unless you've had one too many margaritas, it's hard to get knocked-over. But if you're standing, anything unexpected can make you lose your balance. That's because your center of gravity is higher. Many times kayak manufacturers will mitigate the higher center of gravity of a sit-on-top kayak by making it wider or by changing the bottom shape. However, both of these changes will affect the performance of the kayak. A wider kayak will be slower. And changing the bottom shape will make a larger surface

Fishing, paddling with the dolphins, enjoying the serenity, getting a workout - there are many reasons that you might want to paddle in the ocean. Regardless of the reason though, the one thing that everyone must do in order to paddle in the ocean is launch from the beach - which means making it through the surf zone. In this short instructional tip I'm going to explain how to launch and land through the surf if you are paddling a sit-on-top kayak. First of all you need to recognize what the surf is doing in the area where you want to launch. If the surf is breaking on the beach (we call that shore break) our strategy will be different than if the waves are breaking out a ways. Due to beach replenishment it seems

In the past two articles we talked about wind - both the effects of fetch, as well as what effect wind has on our kayak. This time we are going to talk about how to tell what the wind or current is doing to our kayak (or paddle board). A lot of times, especially on stand up paddle boards, our renters go out and even thought they are pointed into the wind and paddling forwards, they are actually losing ground and going backwards. Another common scenario is that they are heading out to Point of Cedars Island and even though they think they are going straight towards it they are actually being pushed well to the side making their paddle much longer than expected. So how can you tell, once on the water, exactly what

In the first part of our wind article we talked about the effect fetch has on the wind and more importantly the water's surface. In this article we are going to talk about how the wind effects our kayak. I think it is easiest to look at what effect the wind has based on the direction (with regard to the wind) that our kayak is traveling. If we are paddling with the wind coming from our beam (90 degrees) most of the time the wind is going to cause our boat to turn. The question is which way? To understand we have to look at some simple boat dynamics. When a boat, any boat, be it a kayak or ship, is moving through the water the bow is knifing through the water and actually pushing

Of all of nature’s elements wind is probably the one that most often effects us as paddlers. Living in a coastal environment means lots of interaction between land, air, and water. The dramatic differences between the temperatures of the ocean, bay, and land leads to one constant - wind! On sunny days in the summer the land heats up much more quickly than the water. As that hot air rises, the cooler air over the ocean is sucked into the void left by the rising hot air. This is called a sea breeze, and in our area the predominant direction is from the south. This sea breeze can easily reach speeds of 25 - 30 mph over open areas of water on the bays. One of the most important elements with wind that effects us

What kayak should I buy? I get asked that question literally thousands of times over the course of the summer. Unfortunately there is no “one” perfect kayak. If there was, everyone would have one and this article would be about choosing the perfect color. What most people should be asking themselves is – what will I primarily be using my kayak for and where will I be using it? All kayak designs are a combination of tradeoffs. For example, a kayak that is stable and easy to maneuver (short and wide) is going to be shaped quite differently than one that is really fast (long and narrow). So maybe you want a kayak that is kinda stable and kinda fast. You have to determine your own set of compromises. Over the years I’ve heard of