Kayaking is a very exciting and thrilling water sport. It utilizes almost all of your body parts. Whether you are trying to cut it at the pro level, spending your summer kayaking or just doing it for the sheer adrenaline that it brings- kayaking is a really awesome outdoor sport. But learning how to kayak faster can be beneficial regardless of your reason to kayak. Before that check this step by step guide , "How to Get into A Kayak: Described in Just 5 Nice and Easy Steps"
So let’s take a look at the 11 effective tips about how to kayak faster:
Step-1:Purchase a longer and the fastest kayak. The longer the kayak the less drag it has because it displaces the water a lot more and reduces the pull the water has on the kayak ensuring a more streamlined paddling experience and lot less resistance.
Step-2:Purchase a thinner and speedy kayak. The thinner the nose of the kayak the less resistance it faces from the water it is pushing through. This will guide you to the path of least resistance.
Step-3:Get rid of unnecessary weight, paddle more often, and use a larger paddle because that’s going to help you withstand the huge power needed to paddle a two person kayak or longer kayak. Power is necessary regardless of the size and shape of your kayak if you want to kayak faster.
Step-4:Streamline your kayak as much as possible by removing all the dents or holes in the kayak. Dents in a kayak can increase a the amount drag your kayak experiences when it flows against the water. Use gel coat in the dings and dents in your kayak to make it a lot smoother and streamlined.
Step-5:Sitting correctly in the kayak is the very important first step in your kayaking adventure. For a cockpit style kayak, bend your knees in a diamond shape. If your kayak is sit-on-top style then face your knees and thighs up to the kayak. Sitting correctly decreases the chances of injury and also increases your maneuverability.
Step-6:Instead of just using raw muscle power like your arms, biceps or triceps, you should just rotate your torso. That will increase the effectiveness of your propelling and also lessen the chances of your arms to fatigue.
Step-7:When you paddle make sure that you push against the pegs using the balls of your feet. That is going to increase the torque of your paddling a lot more and increase your efficiency.
Step-8:Don’t keep the paddle for too long in the water because it only increases the drag and slows down your kayak. Just keep pushing and paddling your kayak.
Step-9:Whatever you do don’t decrease the angle of your paddle strokes. If you hold the paddle at a very low angle or less vertical to the water makes your kayak move really slow. So don’t make the mistake of decreasing the stroke angle.
Step-10:Don’t grip the paddle too tightly that will only fatigue your torso. Hold the paddle correctly by wrapping your fingers around the shaft of the paddle in a gentle manner. Then use your thumbs to hold the paddle in place. Pull using the pressure in your thumb and push using the palm of your hand.
Step-11:The last and final tip for know how to paddle your kayak is very simple and straightforward; you just have to go on and paddle as fast as you can and kayak as straight as possible.
So, as you can see knowing how to kayak faster is not rocket science. Just follow the aforementioned tips and steps and you will see that you are kayaking a lot faster than expected. Happy kayaking! 🙂
You may read this guide also: How to Fish in a Kayak: From an Angler’s Perspective
