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BOAT SELECTION
“What kind of boat should I get?” When selecting a kayak
for yourself, it’s a good idea to first figure out where you are going to be
using the boat the most. Put simply, if you live on a lake and have no rivers in
your area, then it‘s probably a safe bet that you’ll end up using an “open water
boat” or touring kayak more often than a riverboat. However, if you live in
Michigan but you know you’ll be driving down to Virginia a lot this year, your
ideal choice may be a whitewater boat. Whatever the case may be, this “practical
usage” selection method is a good way to narrow an ever-growing field of boat
designs. Email the OUTDOORSMAN if you have any
questions.
Rodeo & Freestyle Boats -
Very short (under 8'5"). Designed to park & play on the smallest features of the
river, including holes, waves, eddylines, green waves, etc. Low volume ends
allow for great spin moves, vertical bow/stern moves. Tumbling to your heart’s
desire. The rage on the river!
All Around Play Boats - A bit longer (8'-9'6") than the Rodeo boats for
more speed for primary river running. Still short enough to learn many of the
Rodeo/Freestyle boat moves. Great boats to buy as first boats and/or pushing
your paddling limits on more difficult water.
River Runners - The longest whitewater boats (over 9') on the market.
Great for down river runs, eddy hopping slalom type moves. Very good at front
surfing, big water runs, and overnight tripping.
Creekers - Usually high volume with blunt ends to run narrow creeks and
waterfalls. Increased rocker to help in fast turning, boofing, and quick
resurfacing after a steep drop. Usually room for overnight gear.
Sit-on-Tops - Class 1-3 open cockpit river running boats. No need to
learn how to roll. Great for folks coming over from inflatable kayaks and rafts.
Not as nimble as their cousins with cockpits.
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PADDLE GEAR
“How much stuff am I going to need and how much is it
going to cost?” Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a ton of gear to
compliment your boat and RockAndPaddle is all about helping you save money on
what little gear you do need to keep yourself paddling safely and in style.
Paddling: Rescue Equipment: The Essentials
Basics:
 The first ingredient in every rescue
kit is common sense; the second is training. Know how to use the tools and
materials you carry well before you need them. Double up on each piece of
equipment--you don't want all your rescue gear to be on the boat in trouble.
What you should have in your boat anyway:
A basic first aid kit, space blanket,
large plastic garbage sack (doubles as a poncho and bivy sack), energy bar/food,
drinking water, appropriate instructions/tools to find your way to the nearest
road, emergency telephone and a spare paddle.
What you should have in your PFD:
A good-quality knife (a Swiss Army
type for its assorted tools), reflective mirror and loud whistle. You can't
shout over the river or wind.
Rescue gear (duplicated in at least two boats):
A throw bag, several carabiners for
rigging lines, two Prusik slings, and a towline. The throw bag should hold a
bright-colored floating line. A stretchable line absorbs the shocks when
rescuing a swimmer, while a non-stretching line is better when retrieving a
pinned or jammed boat. The carabiners can be used as a fairlead or as a
makeshift block. The Prusik slings can be moved one way along a line but will
not slip back. A river towline should be short, for control, while a touring
towline should be long enough to keep the boats from running over each other. A
towline can be as simple as a length of quarter-inch line, or as sophisticated
as a deck-mounted bag or a quick-release waist or PFD attachment.
Touring kayaks should have paddle floats or sponsons for deep-water reboarding.
Repair items:
Good-quality duct tape can repair
just about anything on fiberglass, plastic or wood. A small roll of baling or
snare wire to clamp broken parts together. An assortment of nuts, bolts, screws
and nails in a small plastic bottle. Epoxy (resin and hardener) or contact
cement. A foot-square piece of heavy vinyl or swimming pool liner patches bigger
holes. A multi-tool includes a wire cutter, needle-nose pliers, knife,
screwdrivers and a file. Include a small flashlight, extra batteries and a spare
bulb.
Essentials
What Is a feather
paddle?
Feathered paddles are more ergonomic and provide better forward speed
because of it. Kayakers who will be paddling a lot should buy a feathered
paddle, especially those who think they might worry about boat speed. If someone
wants to make learning to paddle a kayak easy, and won't worry much about how
fast they're going, unfeathered is fine. No-feather is okay even if you plan
paddling more than a little bit, just don't plan on making miles as effectively.
Though unfeathered seems easier, it's not quite as efficient as feathered in
many ways.
Feather refers to the blade plane configuration
of a kayak paddle. When the two blades of a paddle are in the same plane as
indicated by being able to lay it with both blades flat on the floor at the same
time, it is unfeathered, or no-feather or zero feather. A feathered paddle is
indicated when the blades are at any angle away from the same plane, and only
one blade will lay flat on the floor at a time.
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Techniques
Flat Spinning
Does the kayak plane easily on a good wave? Does
it spin just as easily from bow to stern as from stern to bow?
In general, the wider, and longer the flat area
on a hull, the more apt the kayak will be to plane and to spin. The reason for
this is that the body's weight is distributed over a greater area. With this in
mind, it is safe to say that a lighter paddler will be able to get away with a
slightly smaller planning surface, while still having great spinning potential.
Cartwheeling
Can you engage both ends with ease in a hole or a
pourover? One test for this is your ability to get the ends underwater in
flatwater. Getting the bow several inches underwater on flatwater is about the
same as initiating the bow when in a hole.
The thinner the ends of a kayak, the more easily
they will slice through the water. Bigger paddlers may need more foot room,
hence, a kayak with bigger volume ends. Though these kayaks will be less apt to
slice through the water, the larger paddler's added weight will usually
compensate for this. A smaller paddler's feet lie closer to the center of the
kayak where there is ample foot room. Added volume in the ends of the kayak
might be helpful when running rivers, but won't help for most playboating
maneuvers. Without a doubt, the kayak is your biggest whitewater investment.
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Six Exercises to Increase Flexibility
Draw. Nope, this isn't that basic stroke.
While in your kayak, turn to the left until your shoulders are parallel with the
keel line and your paddle is in front of you with the shaft parallel to the
gunwale. Using power first to one blade and then the other, pull your kayak
sideways toward your paddle. Be careful, it's awfully easy to overbalance and
swim. After doing it on the left, turn the other way and draw to the right.
Push. Start in the same position as the
draw exercise, but insert your paddle blades right at the gunwale and push away
from the blade. Practice this on the left, and then switch to the right. You'll
probably feel the effort in your stomach muscles, as well as suffering a bit
from torquing your torso around.
Head Back. Lean back until you can put
your head on your rear deck. Your thighs and stomach will likely complain, and
your butt will probably be off the seat. If you have a high-back band/support,
you might want to loosen or remove it. With the back of your head on the rear
deck, paddle forward. It's easier to sight over the stern at a prominent point,
to keep yourself going in a straight line. Have a buddy watch you, to prevent
harpooning another boat with your bow. And if there are strangers in the area,
brace yourself for laughter.
Head Down. Lean forward until your face
is on your spray deck, keeping your feet on the pegs and your thighs up against
the braces. If you paddle C-1, touch the deck. Keeping your face in touch with
the spray deck, paddle in a straight line forward. Since your visibility will be
limited, have a buddy stand by to prevent collisions.
Offside Paddling. Sit in your kayak. Now,
rotate your paddle and twist so that you can insert your LEFT paddle blade into
the water on the RIGHT side of your boat without changing your normal paddle
grip. Plant the blade as far forward as you can, and pull the blade parallel to
the keel line in a "normal" forward paddling stroke. Don't let the blade "C" out
into an arc, but attempt to move your boat forward in a straight line. The
easiest way to recover the blade at the end of the stroke is to feather it while
lifting. When you can move forward, try a reverse stroke. Then try forward and
reverse strokes with your RIGHT paddle blade on the LEFT side of your boat.
Aside from the fact you'll feel all twisted up, you'll be unstable, so take
care.
Round the Boat. While in a normal
paddling position, insert one blade in the water. Using a Sweep Stroke motion,
attempt to spin your boat through 360 degrees while keeping the paddle blade in
the water. You'll have to lean well forward and backward, and you'll be
seriously out of balance at times. When you succeed in a complete circle with
one blade, switch to the other blade and sweep in the opposite direction.
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Where to go paddling
New River Gorge, WV
The New River Gorge area is one of America's
great paddling destinations. A rugged, whitewater river, flowing north through
deep canyons, the New River manages to transect every ridge of the Alleghenies.
The free-flowing New River falls 750 feet in 50 miles from Bluestone Dam to
Gauley Bridge creating one of the finest whitewater rivers in the eastern United
States. By comparison the Mississippi falls 1,428 feet from Minnesota to the
Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 2,300 miles.
Within the park, the New has two very
different characters. The upper (southern) part of the river consists
primarily of long pools, and relatively easy rapids up to Class III. It is a big
powerful river, but very beautiful, always runnable, and provides excellent
fishing and camping. There are a number of different river access points.
The lower (northern) section
of the river is often referred to as "the Lower Gorge." In a state that is
justifiably renowned for colossal rapids, the Lower Gorge has some of the
biggest of the big with raids ranging in difficulty from Class III to Class V.
The rapids are imposing and forceful, many of them obstructed by large boulders
which necessitate maneuvering in very powerful currents, cross-current, and
hydraulics. Some rapids contain hazardous undercut rocks. The gradient is a
modest 20 feet/mile, but the rapids are a full-grown variety: big, brawny, and
bodacious.
The section from Hinton to Thurmond offers
challenging Class I, II and III rapids suitable for intermediate canoeing—not
recommended for beginners. Downstream of Thurmond, the river narrows and
includes technical Class V rapids (commercial outfitters offer guided tours.)
River users can check river level information by calling the Hinton Visitor
Center or Canyon Rim Visitor Center.
Camping is permitted along the river unless
otherwise posted.
Know of a great place to go kayaking. . . e-mail us.
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