How to Paddle in a Kayak

Video Transcript

The first kayak that we're going to look at is the sit-on-top kayak. Sit-on-top kayaks are one of the recreational kayaks. The great thing about sit-on-top kayaks is they're easy to get in and out of. If you flip them over, they're easy to get back in on top of the water. So, looking at a sit-on-top kayak, they're all basically the same. Most of them have a chicken line that runs around the outside that's to help you get back in the boat or to hold on to. They have some type of foot wells or foot pedals in them depending if they do or don't have a rudder. If you're lucky, they'll have a nice comfortable seat with a backrest. Some don't but it's a lot more comfortable if you grab one with a backrest. But like I said, the best thing about a sit-on-top kayak is the ease of getting in and out. Basically, you can just go ahead, sit down in the boat put your feet in it like this and you're ready to go. So, sit-on-top kayaks are great if you want to be out on a day like to today where it's nice and sunny. You're going to get wet. There are holes in the boat, which allow water when it gets in the boat to drain out of the boat. So, the one thing about sit-on-top kayaks, you will get a little wetter than sit-inside kayaks. The next kayak we're going to look at will be the sit-inside kayak. This is a recreational model. If you can see how large the cockpit is. It'll be different from a touring kayak with a smaller cockpit. The reason for this style of cockpit is it's easier to get in and out of. So these are usually made for just day touring around the lakes things like that. Notice the width on this boat from here to here, that's going to make the boat a lot more stable than other kayaks. The wider the boat is, the more stable it'll be. The flatter the bottom also will bring up the stability. One problem though, is if you look, there's no keel on the bottom of this boat. That means it'll turn very easily, whether you want it to turn or not. So, a boat like this isn't going to track well, which means going straight as well as the next boat we'll see. But again, the reason they make a recreational cockpit like this, which is about 54 inches is just for ease of getting in and out. So all you have to do is put your feet in it like this and get in. Usually there'll be some foot braces inside the boat, which are adjustable for the length of your legs. The next boat we're going to look at will be a touring kayak. The first two boats we looked at were about 10 feet long, this one's about 14 feet long. It has a hatch, which is watertight; you can put some things in it. Usually they have a front and back hatch depending on what model you have. The difference with this boat is the length of the cockpit. If you notice, the length on this cockpit is about 30 inches long, it's a lot narrower. This boat's going to be harder to get in and out, but it's possible if you flip in this boat, if you're wearing a skirt to actually roll it back up. So, when we look at the bottom of this boat, see how narrow this boat is? It's about 25 inches wide, where the first two boats we looked at were about 38 inches wide. It's going to make this boat a lot less stable but also faster. This is boat's 14 feet long, which will also make it faster. And if you look at the front and back of these boats, notice how they have V-hull on them, this will make going straight a lot easier for you. The only problem is it'll make turning a lot harder. So, what you give up in going straight in the other boats, you gain in this boat but turning this one will be a lot harder.

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