10 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Kayaking
6-minute read
Whether it’s to take on more challenging water or simply to have more confidence whenever you kayak, these ten tips by Aqua Bound Ambassador Ken Whiting will help you dramatically improve your kayaking.
Maybe you’ve been out kayaking a few times and found you love it, but aren’t sure how to improve. Or you've been paddling for a long time now, but want to take your kayaking to the next level.
In this video from Paddle TV, Ken lays out his top ten tips for building your skills and confidence on the water:
1. Practice Re-Entry from the Water
In case of a capsize, if you can’t re-enter your kayak from the water, you’re only other choice is to swim to shore.
That means that until you learn to re-enter your kayak—either alone or assisted by a fellow kayaker—you should paddle close enough to the shore to swim to it, preferably bringing your kayak with you.
Learning and practicing re-entry opens up your kayaking world by allowing you to comfortably and safely paddle further from shore. Capsizing is rare, but it’s always a possibility—one you want to prepare for.
Practice re-entering your capsized kayak on a nice, calm day until you master it. Then practice in rougher conditions. Try it alone and try it with the help of another kayaker. If you have trouble re-entering on your own, plan to stay close to shore or paddle with a friend.
2. Rotate Your Torso with Each Stroke
“Kayaking takes much more than just arm strength,” says Ken. Including all your core strength when paddling ensures you’ll be able to kayak longer and more powerfully.
Torso rotation means your whole upper body is engaged with each stroke, not just your arms and shoulders. Pivot from the hips and use your torso in addition to your arms and shoulders.
With each stroke, lead with your shoulder, and your torso will automatically rotate along with it. This technique works for forward strokes, back strokes, sweep strokes—really any stroke you’ll use.
Torso rotation is essential for comfortable, efficient kayaking (photo courtesy of @averyblisss and @kayaktrinidad)
Take advantage of the strength of your core muscles and you’ll experience less fatigue in your shoulders while achieving a more powerful stroke.
3. Learn the Sculling Draw Stroke
The sculling draw allows you to move your kayak laterally with ease and precision. You can use it to draw yourself alongside another kayaker or a dock, and not be limited to just going forward and backward.
Ken says, “On top of being just a cool stroke and a great way to maneuver in tighter spaces, it’s also a wonderful way to develop your paddle dexterity. And when you improve your paddle dexterity, you improve all of your paddling.”
(Ken links to another video in his description that’s all about this stroke.)
4. Learn to Roll Your Kayak
The key to learning a kayak roll is to take professional instruction. Go to a rolling clinic at a pool or lake near you. Many sea kayak symposiums include rolling in their instruction.
Rolling a kayak is all about technique, not power. So if you want to improve your confidence and be able to kayak in a variety of conditions, learn to roll from an expert.
It can also be a huge safety asset. While a roll isn’t absolutely necessary, knowing how to roll a kayak is the easiest way to recover from a capsize without having to wet exit and re-enter your boat.
5. Take an Introductory Whitewater Kayaking Course
The skills you learn in an introductory whitewater course (even on just Class I and II rapids) transfer over to every other kayaking environment.
An introductory whitewater course will teach you skills you can apply to other kayaking environments, too (photo courtesy of Oliver Dressel)
You’ll learn to handle current, rough water and unstable water. This will be especially valuable if you love the idea of river trips and/or kayaking on the ocean. But it can even help you out if a flatwater lake becomes a little crazy with high winds and large waves. It can go a long way in adding to your confidence as a kayaker.
“A whitewater kayaking course will open your eyes to what’s possible,” says Ken, “and you might find that you’ve discovered a whole new side of kayaking you want to pursue.”
6. Enroll in a Kayak Instructor Course
Surprisingly, you don’t have to be an expert kayaker to take a kayak instructor course. These courses are offered in levels, and you can work your way up as high as you’d like to go.
The first thing an instructor’s course will do for you is hone your own kayaking skills. In addition, you’ll learn how to introduce the world of safe kayaking to others. Even if you never teach kayaking formally, you can transfer all that experience and know-how to your friends, family, kids and others to give them the gift of kayaking, too.
It’s just another way to learn from experts in an immersive environment.
7. Keep Your Hips Loose
The key to staying upright in your kayak in rough conditions or when “edging” your kayak (moving on the edge of your boat in a turn—see #9 below) is to keep your head straight up and loosen your hips to move with the kayak.
You want to learn to allow your upper and lower body to move independently while still cooperating while you paddle. It’s normal for beginning and nervous kayakers to stiffen their bodies, which is a recipe for capsizing. Stay loose in the hips and you’re more likely to keep your boat upright, even in rough water.
8. Go on a Guided Kayak Camping Trip
A kayak camping trip through a licensed outfitter is a super way to enjoy a few days on the water in a great destination without having to do the planning or have all the necessary gear yourself.
A guided camping trip brings you to beautiful places and gives ample time for practicing new skills
More importantly, it’s an amazing way to learn all kinds of tips and tricks from an experienced (usually certified) paddler. A good guide loves to teach skills while showing group members a unique destination. Combine those tips with several days on the water and you’ll come away with loads of confidence.
9. Practice Paddling on your Kayak’s Edge
Ken says, “Developing the balance to hold your kayak on edge while you’re actively paddling is a key skill to know for paddling in current, open water, waves and rough water of any type.”
As with practicing re-entry, the best way to start is to do it repeatedly on a warm, calm day, so if you get wet, it won’t be a problem. Keep practicing until edging your kayak becomes second nature and you’ll be able to handle those more challenging conditions easily.
Developing edge control helps in many different situations (photo courtesy of @averyblisss)
10. Get Comfortable Paddling Backward
Gaining the ability to paddle backward easily as well as forward develops backward awareness. A small surf zone, a rock garden or a river eddy can spin you around so you find yourself backwards. Already being comfortable paddling backward means you won’t panic. You’ll paddle backward until you can turn yourself around safely to get where you want to go.
Beyond that, paddling backward for a while on every kayak trip ensures you’ll help balance out the load on your paddling muscles.
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Sign up for the right multi-day course or symposium, and you might be able to tackle several of these in one shot. In the meantime, take one at a time and get to work. You’ll be glad to gain confidence and enjoyment for your future kayaking adventures!
What paddling questions can our friendly Customer Service team help you with? Contact us at 715-755-3405 or sales@aquabound.com, or choose our online chat option.
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