When I started paddling, things were simple. Nowadays, there are so many choices of types and models of boats that it can be incredibly confusing—not only to beginner boaters, but also to paddlers who are many years and river miles into their paddling careers.
Remember—all of the following information is a general guide only, and is not a substitute for experimenting to find out what works best for you. Planing Hull vs. Displacement Hull. These are the two primary types of kayak hulls, although there are some boats that have characteristics of both on different parts of their hulls. Generally speaking, rounder hulls hold a line better and are more forgiving—often due to the fact that the rounder hull leads to a softer chine.
All else being equal, displacement hulls tend to be a little faster than planing ones in flat water, while planing hulls may have an advantage in whitewater due to easier turning. In general, boats with harder chines are more performance oriented, while boats with softer chines are more forgiving. Hard chines provide the ability to turn on a dime, and to steer the boat with your hip angle to carve where you want to go without as much need for paddle strokes. However, hard chines also interact with more currents, causing boats to be more squirrely if the paddler is not conscious of their hip angles.
Harder chines allow for more control in bigger water, but can occasionally be a liability when they catch on rocks in shallow water. Softer chines are more forgiving. Although soft chined boats can still be steered somewhat by hip angle, they are more prone to needing to be pointed in the desired direction and then paddled to get there. They excel in rocky water, but it can sometimes be more difficult to get them where you want to go in big or pushy water. Some boats will combine these features, putting harder chines on one end of the boat and softer chines on another to make some areas of the hull more performance oriented and others more forgiving.
Generally speaking, smaller amounts of rocker make boats faster by lengthening the waterline, while larger amounts make the boat more maneuverable by shortening it.
Rocker in the bow is going to affect how well the boat rides over more rocker or punches through less rocker features, and also how it transitions from vertical to horizontal when landing.
Boats with more bow rocker tend to be more forgiving in keeping the boat on the surface at a wide range of landing angles, while boats with less rocker tend to pencil in. In the stern, more rocker will make a boat release sooner when going off drops—leading to better boofs. Less rocker will make the boat track better and hold speed, but perhaps boof less well. Volume is the amount of water that the whole kayak would displace if it were submerged with the cockpit closed, or approximately the amount of water it would take to completely fill the kayak with no outfitting in it.
In general, larger volume boats will float higher and be more forgiving, while smaller volume boats will allow for more play and a sportier ride. Volume is one of the main stats that I hear paddlers using to judge which boat to get. In other words, sometimes a smaller volume boat can actually float the same paddler higher than a boat with more volume simply due to where the volume is located.
A planing hull kayak and displacement hull kayak with the same total volume will not float the same. Boats with similar lengths and volumes but different widths below the waterline will not float the same or be appropriate for the same people. Hearing from other paddlers about which boats work well for their weights is a far superior way to judge which boat might be appropriate for your weight than using the factory volume numbers which are often pulled from a pre-production CAD design instead of a finished boat or even made up entirely , and which tell you nothing about how much volume will be below the waterline when you sit in it.
Long Boats. Kayaking Step One — Paddling Style Where do you want to kayak and what will you be doing? Aerial Tricks — Designed to leave the surface of the water, use in freestyle moves. Acceleration — How quickly you can attain speed from a stopped position. Length — Overall length, generally better speed and tracking. Flat water kayaking is an easy sport to get into, but if you think the next step into the adrenaline-fuelled world of white water paddling is beyond you, think again.
At 14, the Slovak athlete was a promising flat-water kayaker, until she discovered the buzz of the rough stuff. Now she's one of the best white water kayakers in the business. What's so good about white water compared to flat? Flat water kayaking is really beautiful, but once you try paddling rapids, you experience a completely new dimension. There's always something new waiting for you on the river, some new kind of challenge. White water is never the same, and there are so many features you can play with: surfing a wave, playing in a roll, dropping into waterfall.
As you improve, there's always more new fun stuff you can learn. You'll never get bored. White water kayaking never gets boring and always represents a challenge. What flat skills do you need before even thinking of white water?
The key thing is to be totally comfortable in navigating the kayak in any direction. That's obviously important on the flat anyway, but when you get onto white water it's absolutely essential to be quick and skilful at moving your kayak around, because there are always so many obstacles in white water that you have to avoid. Nouria Newman's top 5 fitness tips for perfect kayaking The French kayaking champion shares her 5 fitness ….
Read Story. Whitewater kayaking trips and tours typically last from 2 hours up to a full day. You will travel roughly kilometres, and up to 30 kilometres.
Many tours are full-day, however this never the case for rafting or hydrospeed activities. This is because the river classes make the activity much more exhausting much quicker. These rides are usually up to a maximum of 15 kilometres long. Most kayaking and canoeing tours on class I-II rivers are unguided, unlike rafting and hydrospeed.
When you book an activity through a professional tour provider, the majority of equipment will be provided. For example, activity providers will supply you with the following:. Some providers will also offer rashguards and neoprene footwear and a wetsuit if necessary.
You will want to dress according to the water temperature, as opposed to the air. There are many places to go kayaking all over the world! Some prefer to go kayaking in places like the Sazava River near Prague, Czech Republic , where river waters flow through forests and waters are calm and tranquil. Others prefer a more adrenaline-filled adventure in places like France.
This kayaking excursion in the Verdon Gorge has sections of class 4 rapids. There are plenty more locations available, from Singapore to New Zealand, to Spain and all the way up to Norway and Iceland! You can also go whitewater kayaking in iconic regions and rivers in Canada, the Alps, Croatia, and Bali.
Want more ideas of where you can go kayaking? Also, be sure to discover all of our kayaking activities on our website , as well as other whitewater activities such as rafting.
Kayaking vs. Historic Kayaks History of kayaks Kayaks were first invented thousands of years ago by the Inuit — Eskimos who lived in the northern Arctic regions.
Common kayaking terms to know Eddies — Eddies are sections of a river that actually move upstream. They are considered great places for kayakers to stop and take a break, or to scout out the upcoming sections of the rapids.
0コメント