Increase your multisport kayak speed and safety
Steve Gurney shares technique tips on using your rudder and hull design for more race speed, while also improving your safety on the river.
It’s not what you do with your paddle.
It’s not how fit and strong you are.
It’s not whether you can roll either.
THE most important and fundamental skill for kayaking is to use the kayak hull as your tool.
The hull has different angles, curves and edges in its design, designed to interact with the various elements of the moving water surrounding your kayak.
A good paddler will “be at one” with their kayak or feel like the kayak is an extension of their body positioning the hull exactly where they want it to be, carving, slicing, lifting and railing.
A beginner multisporter in a river likely feels none of this warm, kindly, connection.
Understandably they’ll feel unfamiliar and disconnected, that their boat is a terrifying, unpredictable beast ready to toss them out to the taniwha, whirlpools, and bluffs.
Summary:
In this article, I’ll explain the how, why and when to use the hull shape to aid turning, positioning, safety and overall speed.
Beginners often assume that fitness, grunt and muscle power are the basis of a river kayaker’s prowess. But I stress that this is not the case, the basis of good river paddling is the art of kayaking, the skill rather than the grunt, how to use the hull efficiently. It may seem subtle, but this skill is what will give consistently fast river speed, it will make river paddling fun and satisfying, and is the difference between a beginner and a confident paddler.
- these skills will help a kayaker harness the best speed from the river water that is already moving in their direction. Ie positioning their kayak in the fastest water.
- having these skills enables the paddler to put 100% of their effort into going forward instead of nervously hesitating and support stroking.
- having the foundation of good skills, is then a good platform to build fitness and grunt.
