If you’re paddling in the summer heat, you may need to get wet to keep cool. When the water and air temperatures are cooler, though, knowing how to paddle a kayak without getting wet comes in handy. A dry kayaking experience depends on your paddling style, clothing choices, equipment, and how much attention you pay to the weather.
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1: Ensure that the drip guard is properly installed
They wrap over the paddle shaft to keep water from dripping down the shaft onto your hands and into your kayak’s cockpit. These leak guards, on the other hand, are normally constructed of rubber and can stretch and expand over time.
When renting a kayak from a local provider, it’s not uncommon to receive a paddle that is missing its drip protectors entirely. However, if you want to paddle without getting wet, your paddle must have two drip guards that are properly positioned.
Drip guards should be moved outwards and away from the middle of the paddle shaft, as close to the blades as practicable. The blade that was just in the water will rise up as you paddle, and any water on it will trickle towards the middle of the paddle shaft.
2: Paddle While Wearing A Spray Skirt
These skirts come in a variety of styles, but they normally have a neoprene seal around your waist and a bungee or rope that secures around the cockpit lip of your kayak. Some spray skirts include straps that cross over your shoulders in an ‘overall’ design. These skirts are easiest to use if you put them on before getting into your kayak and secure the bottom edge around the cockpit lip.
3: Put on a Drysuit
If you know there will be a lot of rain or splashing water, you can also wear a dry suit when kayaking. Even in the harshest weather, the best drysuits for kayaking will keep you dry and comfortable. Drysuits have the advantage of allowing you to wear more regular clothing layers below them.
These suits have a tight seal around your neck, wrists, and ankles to keep water out. This allows you to layer underneath to stay as warm as possible, which is why year-round paddlers almost always have a kayaking drysuit on hand.
4: Pick a good time and a good location
Another issue that many new kayakers overlook is the timing and location of their paddles. Going out on the water in the middle of the day on a busy holiday weekend, for example, will expose you to greater motorized boat traffic. Unfortunately, more boat traffic increases the likelihood of encountering dangerous boaters. Many kayakers have done everything else correctly but ended up taking an unexpected swim as a result of the irresponsible behavior of others on the lake.
FAQs:
What’s the best way to keep water from running down my kayak paddle?
Drip rings for kayak paddles are cupped rubber rings that go on both ends of the shaft near the blade. Drip rings keep water from flowing down the shaft to your arm, armpits, and torso, as well as soaking on your legs, in the cockpit, and on the deck.
When you kayak, do you always get wet?
Even if it’s just a small splash from the water’s surface, you’ll become soaked. Even if the air feels warm, the water could be really chilly. If there’s a danger you’ll fall in, dress appropriately for the water temperature.
Is kayaking more difficult than stand-up paddleboarding?
In most situations, kayaks are easier to paddle than SUPs.