About

Hello and welcome to my website. My name is Bryan Edwards and I am the author of this blog along with the ebook… “Kayaking: Tips On Starting A Fulfilling New Hobby!”

I have already told most of my story about how I got started in kayaking on my book page so I am not going to go over that stuff again, rather this ‘about page’ is going to be about the basics of kayaking. If you are brand new to this sport then this page will be a great starting point to get your feet wet…

An Introduction To Kayaking

Test your knowledge and check out some of these basic facts about kayaks:

  • Kayaks can be defined as boats that can be paddled from a seated position with two paddles.
  • A kayak is a decked boat in contrast to the canoe which is a non-decked boat and has to be paddle from a kneeling position with a single paddle.
  • Being human powered, the Kayak is covered by a spray deck. The paddles are double bladed.
  • Kayaking is using the Kayak to move on the water. The difference between the Kayak and the Canoe is the cockpit. While the kayak has a closed cockpit, the canoe has an open one.

A Little History of Kayaking

Here are a couple of things that you may not know about kayaking history:

  1. The actual meaning of the word kayak is “man’s boat” or the “hunter’s boat.” According to archaeological evidence, kayaks are as old as 4000 years. Building a kayak originally was a very personal affair. The person who wanted the kayak had to construct it on his own, only sometimes with the assistance of his family.
  2. The way the original kayaks were built is very interesting, the first kayaks were built according to the size and structure of the person using it. There was no particular set standard for the size of the kayak or the material used to build it.

Modern Kayak Designs

The three most important factors to take into account when constructing a modern kayak are:

  1. The maneuverability or the directional stability.
  2. Primary and secondary stability.
  3. The overall lateral stability and speed.

How to Choose a Kayak

These are just a couple of things that you should consider before buying a kayak:

  1. Apart from deciding to purchase a kayak, the type of kayaking you will be doing is also an important consideration. For example, kayaks which are designed for long distance touring are different from kayaks used for whitewater kayaking.
  2. There is no such thing as a multipurpose kayak. You will have to decide on what your type of kayaking activity is going to be, the paddling situations and carefully select the boat which will fulfill your requirements.

Common Kayaking Mistakes

Make sure that you watch out for some of these common kayaking mistakes:

  1. Beginners initially hold their paddles hugging their bodies. They try to propel their kayaks by bending their elbows.
  2. Rotate your torso – People who are learning how to paddle normally tend to lock their torso and their shoulders in a forward position. In order to use the torso muscles maximum to generate power, kayak enthusiasts need to keep their arms straight and perform a correct torso rotation.

And those aren’t the only mistakes! There are still more left AND there is still a lot more to learn.

So now it’s your turn… Choose now to point your kayak to the link below and paddle on over to discover all the rest of the great kayaking info I have for you now … Go for it!

We have much more info on kayaking than our short little guide here can provide… in our book called: “Kayaking: Tips On Starting A Fulfilling New Hobby”

So head on over to the docks now and go for it! All kayaking skill levels are invited and welcomed!