Paddling Tips
 
Personal Flotation Devices (PFD’s)

Personal Flotation Devices are like seat belts: they save lives. Anyone who gets into a canoe or kayak should wear one. A good PFD is the arguably the single most important boating equipment you can buy. So what are you looking for?
PFD’s must meet certain requirements as established by the US Coast Guard. They are categorized as Type I, II, III, IV &V. The type of PFD should be listed clearly on the item. They break down as the following.

Type I: Off Shore PFD
Usage: Best for open, rough or remote water, where rescue may be slow-coming.
Advantages: Floats you the best Turns most unconscious wearers face-up in water.
Disadvantage: Bulky
Type II: Near-shore Buoyant Vest
Usage: Good for calm or inland water, or where there is a good chance of fast rescue.
Advantages: Turns some unconscious wearers face-up in the water
Less bulky, more comfortable than Type I
Disadvantage: Not for long hours in rough water. Will not turn wearers face-up.
Type III: Flotation Aid
Usage: Good for conscious users in inland water and where there is good chance of fast rescue.
Advantages: Generally the most comfortable type for continuous wear Designed for general boating or the activity that is marked on the device
Disadvantages: Wearer may have to tilt head back to avoid going face down .Not for extended survival in rough water; a wearer's face may often be covered by waves
Type IV: Throw-able Device
Usage: Thrown at someone in the water
Advantages: Can be thrown to someone. Are good backup to wearable PFDs.
Disadvantages: Not for unconscious person, non-swimmers or children.
Type V: Special Use Device
Usage: More convenient or useful for specific activities.
Advantages: Continuous wear prevents being caught without protection. Most accidents happen suddenly and unexpectedly.
Disadvantages: Less safe than other Types if not used according to label conditions. Maybe better suited to cool climates or seasons. Some Type Vs are approved only when worn. If marked this way, they are required to be worn to be counted as a regulation PFD.

 

Getting into your Kayak

Canoe or kayak—one difference is immediately apparent. You step into a canoe, but you put a kayak on. If you try to enter one in the same way you'd got into a canoe, you can expect a swim.

So how do you get into your kayak?

First, recall the canoeists' two rules: stay centered and keep your weight low. Given the size of most kayak cockpits, you'd have to work hard not to stay centered. As for keeping your weight low—well, you're practically sitting on the floor!

Once you're in, you're in, at least until you blow a brace, meet a monster wave, or misjudge the location of a rock. It's the business of getting in that makes things interesting. Entering a kayak is a little like putting on a tight pair of jeans while you're still in your sleeping bag. It can be done, but it isn't exactly straightforward. And it takes a little planning.

The best way for beginners to approach the task—and this method works for old hands, too—is probably the "paddle-bridge" approach. Where; you float your boat out in shallow water, and rest one blade of your paddle flat on the shore. The paddle shaft goes across your rear deck, just behind (never on!) the cockpit coaming. Next, you squat beside your boat, grab the paddle shaft and coaming in one hand while gripping the shaft lower down with the other, and—supporting your weight more or less evenly on both hands—shove one leg forward into the cockpit. Then, as your butt slides over the seat, you pick the other leg up and tuck it in beside the first.

That's it. You're done! All that remains now is for you to balance your paddle on the front deck—or clip it into your paddle-park—while you fit your spray skirt.