Kayaking Log Book Session One Parts of the kayak

Emptying the kayak There are a few different ways to empty a kayak that is full of water. This howto addresses how to empty a whitewater kayak that has been water logged.
1.Get the Kayak to Shore The first step to empty a kayak that is full of water, of course, is to get the kayak to the shore. This can be done by swimming with it and pulling it to shore. If you have the aid of a fellow paddler, they can either push your kayak to shore with the nose of their kayak or they may clip a rope to your kayak and tow it to shore. 2.Roll the Kayak Into the Upright Position If the kayak is not upright already, flip it over. Grab the kayak's cockpit from underneath and pull up on it slowly so as to break the suction it has with the water. Once the seal between the cockpit and the water is broken begin to roll it over while allowing the water to partially drain out. 3.Place the Bow on Land Orient the kayak that is full of water so that the bow is on land or a rock. Climb onto land and pull the kayak using the grab loop if you must. Leave the stern of the kayak in the water. 4.Flip the Kayak Upside Down This may sound counter intuitive, but the kayak must be upside down in order to efficiently empty the kayak of the water. Flip the kayak over without being concerned if more water enters the kayak in the process. 5.Lift Up on the Stern of the Kayak With the kayak upside down and with the bow elevated on land or a rock, lift up on the stern of the kayak. Be sure to use the legs and not the back to lift the boat. This will begin to empty the kayak of the water that is in it. Repeat this motion like a teatertotter, allow the water to move from bow to stern thereby emptying out the kayak of the water. 6.Roll the Kayak Upright With as much water out of the kayak as Step 5 will allow, lift the stern up again and roll the kayak back upright. Whatever water is left in the kayak at this point can be removed through the drain plug if the boat has one or with a sponge.

Getting into the kayak

Every kayaker has at one time or other had difficulty while trying to get into a kayak. That small fact doesn't eliminate the embarrassment one feels when it happens to them. There are some steps you can take to reduce the risk of ending up soaked before you even get started. In the end it does require practice, balance, and a little bit of luck. 1.Decide Where You Will Get Into Your Kayak When you get to the place you will paddle you will need to decide where you will enter the water. Look for a calm area that is free from rocks and is in shallow water. 2.Decide How You Will Get Into Your Kayak If you are paddling a whitewater kayak or a short plastic sea or recreational kayak, you may want to get into your kayak while on land and push your way into the water by pushing off of the ground while in the kayak and sliding the boat into the water. If this is your preferred method of getting into your kayak then simply look for a level rock or spot on the ground to place your kayak, get in, and push your way into the water. Be sure to keep your paddle on your deck or in one hand while you do this. If you will get into your kayak while it is in the water go to step 2. 3.Place Your Kayak in the Water Go ahead and slide your kayak into the water bow (front) first. Be sure to keep your hand firmly on the stern (back ) grab loop. Position the kayak so that the cockpit area is in shallow enough water to stand in. It may be a good idea to position the kayak along side of the shore but it is not necessary. 4.Stand Next To Your Kayak Grab your paddle in one hand and walk along side of the kayak up to the cockpit area. It doesn't matter which side you get into. For the sake of these instructions let's say you are getting into the kayak from the left side of the kayak. Be sure to keep contact with your free hand (your right hand) and the boat at all times. 5.Secure the Boat Place the Paddle perpendicular to the boat and just behind the seat in the kayak and up against the cockpit rim. Then put your closest hand (right hand) across the kayak and on the paddle. The palm of your right hand should be on the paddle and your fingers should be holding onto the cockpit rim. Steady the kayak. 6.Begin to Get Into the Kayak Place your right leg into the kayak and into position. Shift your weight and rear end over the kayak while keeping your left foot on the ground. 7.Sit on the Kayak At this point you are holding the paddle with your right hand and your right leg is in the kayak. Your left foot is still on the ground. Grab the paddle with your left hand. The paddle should be behind your back. Place your but on the back of the kayak and sit down on the back of the cockpit. 8.Place Your Other Leg Into the Kayak Steady yourself with your but on the kayak, your two hands gripping the paddle on either side of your body, and with your right foot on the floor of the kayak. Go ahead and bring your other leg into the kayak. 9.Slide Into the Kayak

Make sure you have good balance. At this point you are sitting on the back of the kayak and your feet are in the kayak. Your hands are still on the back of the cockpit and firmly on the paddle. Slide into the kayak. 10. Put on Your Spray Skirt Make sure your kayak is steady, in calm water, and not drifting. It may be a good idea to position the kayak parallel to the shore so you can use the shore for support while putting on your spray skirt. Look for a future article on how to put on your spray skirt.

Session Two Moving the kayak with hands you use your hands to steer yourself around the pool. Capsizing (No spraydeck- include information on capsize procedures) We just capsized keep your body forward and use your house to pull yourself out. Session Three Parts of the paddle Parts There are three main parts to a kayak paddle: the grip, shaft and blade. The grips are usually rubberized and come in a variety of styles, allowing the paddler to choose the most comfortable for their personal use. The size of the shaft is determined by your height; if you are taller or shorter than average a specialized shaft might have to be used. The blade comes in a variety of shapes and styles, ranging from small to large as well as differing in shape. Moving forwards - The forward stroke is the first kayak stroke that paddler's should learn. While most people who pick up a kayak paddle assume they are doing the forward stroke correctly, they most likely are not. That is because, unless they take a lesson, beginning kayakers always move the paddle with their arms rather than by rotating their torso. The basis for all other kayak strokes is found in ones ability to be able to correctly do the kayaking forward stroke. Moving backwards - Some of you might be thinking why a person would want to learn how to kayak backwards. Well, it does happen in tight quarters or in finding the quickest method of getting to a flipped kayaker or simply when one has overshot their target that being able to kayak backwards is a necessary manuever to know.

Session Four Capsizing (Using a spray deck) When you capsize with the spray deck on you pall the handle and you will fall out the Kayak. Methods of turning (Sweep stroke and low brace turn) The same principles apply for the Reverse Sweep Stroke as for the Forward Sweep Stroke. With your lower (sweeping) arm extended, rotate your body and place your paddle in the water towards the rear of the kayak Immerse the blade so that it is just covered Using the back of the blade, sweep the paddle forward in a wide arc towards the bow of the boat Ensure your sweeping arm is flexed slightly, your paddle remains low and that you rotate your body during the stroke Practise this stroke several times on both sides of your kayak as with the Forward Sweep, to ensure proficiency. The Low Brace Turn is a wide turning stroke, which requires the boat to have forward momentum to be effective. It is particularly useful for eddy turns in white water. Accelerate the boat forward On the turning side, place the paddle blade almost flat on the water surface just behind your hips and out from the boat. Ensure that the leading edge of the paddle blade is slightly raised, so that the water can pass beneath it. Leaning on the flat paddle blade will provide support and cause a braking effect, therefore the boat will veer to the side that the stroke has been executed Keep your elbow at approximately 90 degrees above the paddle shaft Edge your boat into the turn by lifting your knee and thigh on the opposite side to your intended direction Methods of stopping- Put your paddle in the and push its like your doing a backstroke.

Session Five Eskimo Rescue (also known as the T rescue) 1. Flip Over and Wet-Exit the Kayak Of course, this is the cause of needing to do the T-Rescue in the first place. For the sake of practicing this maneuver, go ahead and safely flip over in your kayak. Knowing how to get out of the kayak while upside down is a prerequisite to practicing this technique. Be sure to safely wet-exit your kayak.

2. Flip the Kayak Back Over Depending on the type of kayak, this could be difficult or it could be easy. Kayaks with secure bulkhead compartments will generally be easier to flip back over. Go to the bow of the kayak and spin the kayak to flip it right-side up. If you need help, ask the spotter, still in his or her own kayak, to aid in flipping the kayak back over. Once the kayak is right-side up it will be full of a lot of water. 3. Pass the Kayak Over to the Spotter If you are not near the person who is going to help you with this rescue begin swimming with your boat to that person. The kayaker who is upright should already be paddling over to you also. Once the kayak is being in the control of the upright kayaker, the person in the water should grab onto the bow loop of the upright kayak and stay out of the way. 4. The Kayak T-Rescue: Pull the Kayak Up Onto the Deck The rescuer at this point should pull the submerged kayak up onto their kayak deck by the bow. This might be difficult, but the idea is to get the kayak across your lap and the deck of your boat as high up as you can. This is where the name of this maneuver comes from, as the two kayaks will form a T. 5. Tip the Kayak Over With the submerged kayak as high up on the rescuer kayaks deck as it can be, the rescuer should then begin to tip the kayak over. If there is a lot of water still in the kayak it will be difficult to tip it completely over at first. Just begin to let the water drain out and flip it all the way over as it becomes lighter. 6. Flip the Kayak Back Upright Rock the kayak back and forth, attempting to get as much water out as you can. Then flip the kayak back upright. 7. Position the Kayak Finally, you want to position the kayak in the easiest position for the person to reenter the boat. Bring the kayak parallel to your own kayak with the stern of the empty kayak next to the bow of your own kayak. Basically, the kayak will be facing the opposite direction from the kayak that the person helping is in. Sculling Draw - The Sculling Draw Stroke is another technique that you can do if you want to move sideways. This is similar to the Draw Stroke, only this

time, you need to place your Kayaking Paddle blade closer to the Kayak, and push and pull the blade to move the boat sideways. It is especially useful when moving laterally in limited spaces. In this section, learn how to do the Sculling Draw Stroke: 1. With the drive face (front side) towards the Kayak, place the Paddle blade in the water, less than one foot from the boat. Make sure that the shaft is vertical and the blade is completely submerged in the water. 2. Rotate your wrists so the drive face points slightly towards the bow. 3. More your blade as far forward as you can. Keep your body in an upright position and the shaft vertical. Make sure to keep the Paddle at the same distance from the side of the Kayak. 4. Rotate your wrists in such a way that the blade is slightly facing the stern. Quickly pull the blade as far back as you comfortably can without leaning back. 5. When the blade is behind you, rotate your wrists so the drive face points slightly towards the bow. 6. Move the blade forward. You should have moved sideways at this point. Sculling for support - Sculling for support will keep you upright if your kayak is at rest. Even though you will probably learn several other strokes and kayaking moves that will help you to maintain your upright posture in your kayak, the more support strokes you know, the better. Another method that you can use to support your kayak is called sculling for support. Essentially what this entails is using paddle movements on the surface of the water in order to prevent your kayak from capsizing. First, you should make sure that you are using the front side of the paddle. While this might not seem too important at first, keep in mind that the reason you want to use this side of the paddle is that it will definitely give you more support while you are sculling. You should also keep in mind that sculling for support is really only effective if the kayak is not in motion - if you are having trouble with support while your kayak is moving, then there are several other moves that you should learn as well. Put the paddle flat on the surface of the water, and then try sculling for support by moving it back and forth. This will give your kayak some support and is very useful if you're in a situation with a lot of wind or high waves. You should make sure that you are holding the paddle shaft as close to the water as possible so that you don't end up slicing into the water.

One thing to keep in mind is that even though it might seem like you need to scull quickly to make sure that you don't capsize, sculling for support does not require fast, uncontrolled movements. In fact, sculling for support is much more successful when it is done with slow sweeping strokes.