Kayaking

Aging Crime Language Natural History Political Science Psychology USA Modern History

Disclaimer Links. Books read recently. Best books read. Harry Potter books.

Wind on the water: the Beaufort wind scale.

Good Kayaking material

• Sea Kayaking Safety and Rescue by John Lull.

• Kayaking: An Illustrated Guide to Equipment, Technique, Navigation, and Safety by Cecil Kuhne.
  Good book. Chapters:
  1. The Kayak
  2. Accessories
  3. Preparations
  4. Basic Strokes. e.g. the Forward Stroke broken into four steps:
     • Setup. Extend paddling arm forward by rotating shoulders, torsi, and abdomen. Flex up the same-side knee to help rotate the hips forward. Remain upright.
     • Catch or plant. Paddle enters the water vertically with no splash, pushed down by the pulling arm and forward by the pushing arm. Keep blade close to boat and almost completely in the water.
     • Power or propulsion. Apply force against the water, with most of the power from the untwisting of the torso, a little from the pull of the lower arm, and least from the push of the upper arm. Keep the paddle vertical.
     • Recovery. Start pulling the blade from the water (and outwardly) when lower hand reaches hip. And move to Setup for another stroke.
  5. Advanced Strokes
  6. The Eskimo Roll
  7. Reading Currents
  8. Tackling Hazards. Includes:
     • Ferries, both downstream and upstream.
     • Avoiding rocks.
     • Running rapids.
     • Low-water technique.
     • High-water technique.
     • Surfing waves.
     • Wind: head-wind; cross-wind; tailwind.
  9. Safety.

• Sea Kayaking by John Dowd.
  Excellent manual on choosing kayaks, making the right strokes, how to navigate, how to read the sea, and much more. Greatly recommended.

• Sea Kayaking Basics (Hearst Marine Books) by David Harrison.
  Good book, despite the authors' punctuation mistakes. Chapters:
  1. The Kayak and its Water. From 4" to 25,000 feet.

  2. Finding your Kayak. Factors include width (23"-wide is relatively stable) and hull shape (rounded bottoms and deeply V'd bottoms for performance); longitudinal shape (symmetrical, widest aft of midpoint (Swedish form), and widest ahead of midpoint (fish form)). Potential hull speed increases with length (corresponding to less of a bow wave with increasing length), up to 20 feet, when it begins to decrease with increasing length due to increased drag on the long hull; though recreational paddlers rarely exceed 3 knots.
     Concise and practical information on cockpits, spray skirts, foot pegs, rudders and retractable skegs, and materials (fiberglass, polyethylene, and fabric).

  3. What you'll Need (Besides a Boat). Roof rack, paddle, safety accessories.

  4. A Quick Start (On Quiet Water). Transferring kayak to the water; entry into the boat; grip; forward stroke; turning strokes; backward and sideways strokes; use of rudder; landing and exiting.
     Usefully the chapter ends with a section of drills that include: 360-degree spins clockwise and counter-clockwise; boat leans as you paddle straight; side-slipping; paddling backward; and a wet-exit practice (keeping hold of the kayak and the paddle as you exit and surface).

  5. Big Water. Evasive maneuvres outlined are: Running with the wind; Quartering:

     Sea kayaks tend to handle best when quartering upwind. Quartering refers to a course that is roughly half-way between a line directly into the waves and directly abeam of the waves.

     Also Evasive paddling; Entering and leaving eddies; Leans and braces (cocking the boat to tip it to the side; low brace, with elbows higher than the wrists; high brace, with elbows below the wrists); Sweeping brace; Rolls.

     Self-rescue using inflated paddle float on paddle blade as an outrigger.

     Assisted self-rescue lets a companion help you empty water from the kayak before righting and re-entering the kayak.

  6. Wind, Waves, and Weather.

     Beaufort wind scale.
     Effects of wind, waves:

     Roughly speaking, a wave breaks when its height reaches one seventh of its length (measured from crest-to-crest).

     Rip tides, swell, fog.

  7. Tides, currents, beaches, and bays.

  8. Elementary seamanship for kayakers.

     Reading charts; the compass rose; dead reckoning:

     The 'dead' is really 'ded' as in deduced. You deduce your position by observing the amount of time since you left a known point and guessing (or knowing) your speed. ... Most kayak tourists travel at 3 to 4 knots.

     Reverse azimuth or blind crossing; aiming off (making a planned error so you know which direction to paddle to be where you want to be).

  9. Surf landing.

  10. Trip planning and packing.

Not so good Kayaking material

• All Action Kayaking by Alan Fox. Lots of photos and enthusiasm, but no introduction to strokes. Not recommended.

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by David Allen Sibley. Natural History of Birds: student notes from 2007 UCSC class taught by Prof. W. Breck Taylor: Day 1: Wings; flight; field observations in redwood glades. Day 2: Avian origins and systematics. Day 3: Field Trip to Davenport and Waddell Creek. Day 4: Feeding. Day 5: Field Trip to Elkhorn Slough by kayak. Day 6: Seabird and shorebird ecology. Day 7: Migration and molt. Day 8: Field Trip to Big Sur Ornithological Laboratory and Andrew Molera State Park. Day 9: Communication and nesting. Day 10: Mating systems and social behavior. Day 11: Bird conservation, part One. Day 12: Bird conservation, part Two. Other Bird Books The Ecology Footprint quiz

Good Links: Our BLOG (web log) of Books to read, with recommendations and warnings On Buddhism. On How to Write Poetry. Poetry - Learn How to Write Your Own.

Check our disclaimer. Copyright © 2007 by J. Zimmerman.

[Thanks for visiting.]