Kayaking Gear

So you've got your kayak and you're ready to drop into the rushing rapids. Not so fast. There are quite a few other things you're going to need first. The most vital piece of gear aside from your boat is your paddle. Without a paddle, you might as well buy an inner tube and float downstream. As far as paddles are concerned, there are variations in the blade's length and shape, the shaft's length and shape and what it's made from. To decide which combination of features is right for you, consider what kind of paddling you'll be doing, how big your kayak is and how big you are. If you're short and not so strong, you'll want a shorter and lighter paddle. Wider and taller kayaks might require longer paddles.

As for the blade, there are several options. Wider blades touch more water, giving you greater acceleration. They also have more resistance, which means more effort on your end. A narrower blade will require more strokes, but less effort per stroke. Some blades are parallel to each other -- these are unfeathered. Blades offset at an angle between 70 and 90 degrees are called feathered. The angle cuts down on wind resistance as the blade not in the water is flat against the breeze. Blades also come curved or flat. The curved blade will increase the power of the stroke, while the flat ones help direct water around them. Paddles can be made from aluminum, fiberglass, graphite, plastic, carbon Kevlar and wood. To decide what paddle is right for you, it's best to try one out. If you can't, ask someone at your local outfitter store -- they'll steer you in the right direction.

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Kayak paddle -- note the curve and offset angle of the blade. This is called a feathered blade.

Another important piece of equipment is the life vest, known to kayakers as the fancier-sounding personal flotation device (PFD). You should always wear a PFD, whether you're in the rapids or floating on a calm lake. PFDs for kayakers feature larger necks, narrow shoulder straps and wide arm holes for maximum range of motion.

Spray skirts are another thing you'll need. This is what keeps you in the boat and keeps the water out. They basically look like minikayaks made from nylon or neoprene. The paddler puts on the skirt, which fits tightly around the waist, and then slips into the boat. Then the skirt connects to the cockpit to form a watertight seal. One thing to look for in a spray skirt is how easy you can get out of it. You'll want something easy to remove in case you find yourself accidentally capsized. Skirts are typically used in surf and white-water kayaking.

White-water kayakers will also want a good helmet. This will protect your noggin from the river rocks you'll be sure to encounter. Additionally, there are all kinds of extra goodies you can get for your kayaking adventures. Water bags seal in your valuables. Dry tops and pants help to keep you warm and dry. Neoprene booties give you great traction on slippery rocks. Gloves aren't a bad idea to prevent blisters during long days on the water. Grab a small anchor for your touring kayak if you want to stay in one place. For transport, roof rack systems for your car are the way to go.

History of Kayaking

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Inuits continue the tradition of crafting boats from sealskin.

The Inuit and Aleut tribes of Arctic North America were the first people to build and use kayaks. There were two basic types of kayaks at this point: One was built with light driftwood, while the others were made by stretching animal skins over frames made of whalebone. The tribe members used whale fat to waterproof the vessels. To improve buoyancy, they'd fill seal bladders with air and tuck them into the fore and aft sections.

In addition to the single-person versions that look like modern kayaks, they also used umiaqs -- larger kayaks that could carry entire families and their possessions. Some umiaqs were as long as 60 feet (18.3 meters)javascript:void(0). The smaller kayaks were primarily used for hunting. The word kayak actually means "hunter's boat." Kayaks are ideal for hunting because of their stealth nature. Inuits could sneak up on unsuspecting animals on the shoreline or in the water.

The kayak found its way to Europe in the early to mid-1800s as a soft-sided frame boat, and German and French men soon began kayaking for sport. Kayaks also maintained their practical use in icy waters -- explorers of the North Pole and South Pole carried them in their expeditions. Soon after, kayakers got a little adventurous. In 1931, a man named Adolf Anderle became the first person to kayak down the Salzachofen Gorge. This may have been the birth of modern white-water kayaking. The International Scale of River Difficulty was established not long after to classify how dangerous a river's rapids were -- the same classification system used today.

In 1936, the Olympics included kayak races in the Berlin games. The United States began to get on board at this point, as did women -- two years after the Olympics, Genevieve De Colmont paddled the white-water of the Green and Colorado rivers. Fiberglass "rigid" kayaks came on the scene in the 1950s and were the standard until polyethylene plastic took over in the 1980s. Kayaking enjoyed modest participation as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s, when it began to move more to the mainstream. Now the Olympic Games feature more than 10 different white-water kayak events.

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Adi Ruswiono

Director and Founder
NOARS RAFTING

Planning a Whitewater Rafting Trip NOARS

Running a river on a whitewater rafting trip is one of the most exciting and demanding ways to experience nature up close as part of your vacation. Whether it’s your first time on a river or you’re a seasoned water rat, there’s a whitewater trip out there that suits your skill level, making whitewater rafting one of the most accessible adventure travel options (cross link).

Know Your Capabilities and Limitations

When you’re planning a whitewater rafting trip, where you choose to go will largely depend on your physical capabilities and limitations along with everyone else who may travel with you. If you’re having difficulty making that assessment, contact river guide outfitters who work the rivers you’re interested in for a skill level consultation. As a general rule, you want to cater the trip to the person in your party with the lowest skill levels.

You and your traveling companions should also be able to fit comfortably in life vest and be okay with the idea of being tossed out of the raft, which happens a lot more often than beginners may like. That being said, whitewater rafting isn’t just for adrenaline junkies—it’s a sport almost anyone can enjoy. However, as with most adventure sports, you should be reasonably fit before embarking on a whitewater rafting trip and understand that the more difficult the river is to navigate, the more energy you’ll need to expend to get to the end of the run.

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Features found in White Water Rafting

Features found in White Water Rafting

On any given rapid there can be a multitude of different features which arise from the interplay between the shape of the riverbed and the velocity of the water in the stream.

Strainers

Strainers are formed when an object blocks the passage of larger objects but allows the flow of water to continue - like a big food strainer or colander. These objects can be very dangerous, because the force of the water will pin an object or body against the strainer and then pile up, pushing it down under water. Strainers are formed by many different objects, like storm grates over tunnels, trees that have fallen into a river ("log jam"), bushes by the side of the river that are flooded during high water, or rebar from broken concrete structures in the water. In an emergency it is often best to try and climb on top of a strainer so as not to be pinned against the object under the water. If you are in a river, swimming aggressively away from the strainer and into the main channel is your best bet. If you cannot avoid the strainer, you should swim hard towards it and try to get as much of your body up and over it as possible.

Sweepers

Sweepers are trees fallen or heavily leaning over the river, still rooted on the shore and not fully submerged. Its trunk and branches may form an obstruction in the river like strainers. Since it is an obstruction from above, it often does not contribute to whitewater features but may create turbulence. In fast water sweepers can pose a serious hazard to paddlers.

Holes

Holes, or "hydraulics", (also known as "stoppers" or "souse-holes"), are formed when water pours over the top of a submerged object, causing the surface water to flow back upstream toward the object. Holes can be particularly dangerous—a boater may become stuck in the recirculating water—or entertaining playspots, where paddlers use the holes' features to perform various playboating moves. In high-volume water, holes dramatically aerate the water, possibly to the point where it may even lose the capacity to carry any water crafts.

Some of the most dangerous types of holes are formed by lowhead dams (weirs), underwater ledges, and similar types of obstruction. In lowhead dams, the hole has a very symmetrical character - there's no weak point - and where the sides of the hydraulic are often blocked by a man-made wall, making it impossible to slip off the side of the hydraulic. Lowhead dams are insidiously dangerous because their danger cannot be easily recognized by people who have not studied whitewater.

Waves

Waves are formed in a similar nature to hydraulics and are sometimes also considered hydraulics as well. Waves are noted by the large smooth face on the water rushing down. Sometimes a particularly large wave will also be followed by a "wave train", a long series of waves. These standing waves can be smooth or, particularly the larger ones, can be breaking waves (also called "whitecaps" or "haystacks").

Because of the rough and random pattern of a riverbed, waves are often not perpendicular to the river's current. This makes them challenging for boaters since a strong sideways or diagonal (also called " a lateral") wave can throw the craft off.

In fluid mechanics, waves are classified as laminar, but the whitewater world has also included waves with turbulence ("breaking waves") under the general heading of waves.

Pillows

Pillows are formed when a large flow of water runs into a large obstruction, causing water to "pile up" or "boil" against the face of the obstruction. Pillows can be dangerous because sometimes the object that forms the pillow is undercut and so paddlers can be swept underwater - possibly to be entrapped. Pillows are also known as "pressure waves".

Eddies

Eddies are formed, like hydraulics, on the downstream face of an obstruction. Unlike hydraulics, eddies swirl on the horizontal surface of the water. Typically, they are calm spots where the downward movement of water is partially or fully arrested - a nice place to rest or to make one's way upstream. However, in very powerful water, eddies can have powerful, swirling currents which can flip boats and from which escape can be very difficult.

Undercut rocks

Undercut rocks are rocks that have been worn down underneath the surface by the river. They can be extremely dangerous features of a rapid because a person can get trapped underneath them underwater. This is especially true of rocks that are undercut on the upstream side. Here, a boater may become pinned against the rock underwater. Many whitewater deaths have occurred in this fashion. Undercuts sometimes have pillows, but other times the water just flows smoothly under them, which can indicate that the rock is undercut. Undercuts are most common in rivers where the riverbed cuts through sedimentary rocks like limestone rather than igneous rock like granite. In a steep canyon, the side walls of the canyon can also be undercut.

A particularly notorious undercut rock is Dimple Rock, in Dimple Rapid on the Lower Youghiogheny River in Pennsylvania. Nine people have died here, including three in 2000.^[2]

Sieves

Another major whitewater feature is a sieve, which is a narrow empty space that water flows through between two obstructions, usually rocks. Similar to strainers, water is forced through the sieve, resulting in higher pressures which forces water up and creates turbulence.

Classes of White Water Rafting NOARS

Classes of White Water Rafting NOARS

Main article: International Scale of River Difficulty

Grade 1: Very small rough areas, might require slight maneuvering. (Skill Level: Very Basic)
Grade 2: Some rough water, maybe some rocks, might require some maneuvering.(Skill Level: Basic Paddling Skill)
Grade 3: Whitewater, small waves, maybe a small drop, but no considerable danger. May require significant maneuvering.(Skill Level: Experienced paddling skills)
Grade 4: Whitewater, medium waves, maybe rocks, maybe a considerable drop, sharp maneuvers may be needed. (Skill Level: Whitewater Experience)
Grade 5: Whitewater, large waves, possibility of large rocks and hazards, possibility of a large drop, requires precise maneuvering (Skill Level: Advanced Whitewater Experience)
Grade 6: Class 6 rapids are considered to be so dangerous as to be effectively unnavigable on a reliably safe basis. Rafters can expect to encounter substantial whitewater, huge waves, huge rocks and hazards, and/or substantial drops that will impart severe impacts beyond the structural capacities and impact ratings of almost all rafting equipment. Traversing a Class 6 rapid has a dramatically increased likelihood of ending in serious injury or death compared to lesser classes. (Skill Level: Successful completion of a Class 6 rapid without serious injury or death is widely considered to be a matter of great luck or extreme skill)