Inflatable Kayak Blog

By Sheryl Brennan

It’s four o’clock on Friday and a sly smile spreads across my face. Don’t wake me from my daydream, man! I’m lost in the soundless glide of my kayak across the lake.

My paddle softly dips into the cerulean water, stirring tiny minnows in its current. The heron nods at my passing as it would a log loosened from the banks after a storm. Turtles warming themselves on sun-bleached branches merely wink when I glide in for a closer inspection.

On some afternoons, I remember my sea coast excursions, where seals, sea lions, whales, and dolphins happily joined me for a swim.

As a business owner and parent to five teenagers (yes, I said five), my soul yearns for a retreat that doesn’t require high level thought or action; where silence rules the day. My kayaking adventures provide the perfect respite to my over-stimulated senses. I am one with nature, communing with the chilled water slapping against my boat and the azure sky streaked with wisps of ivory.

Slipping through the water in my kayak allows the natural world to see me as a contributing member of the eco-community instead of a threat to their existence. They do not run to their dens or retreat to deeper depths. They welcome me into their environment and beckon me to join in their sanctuary.

The clock signals the end of the work day and I rush to get home and plan my weekend adventure. For the duration of my commute, my thoughts drift to the many local waterways I could explore and the wildlife I could observe.

I may not be an adrenaline junkie, but silence, wildlife, and my folding kayak are a trifecta of adventure for me.

Sheryl Brennan is the author of Celtic Sacrifice and a multi-published blog writer.

It’s been a very hot summer and, hopefully, you’ve managed to avoid the heat related maladies that accompany this time of year, heat stress, dehydration and sunburn on your paddling adventures.

There are some other things to keep in mind to avoid injuries that can occur with the repetitive motion used to paddle a kayak. Often when it’s hot and your body seems to feel loose and ready to go, you’re tempted to just jump in the kayak and paddle away. Not a good idea! Even at this time of year, you should do some stretching before paddling. Get those muscles loosened up and ready to work. You can still get tightened up in your kayak, especially on a longer paddle trip, where you’re in the same position for quite awhile. Even though I use an inflatable kayak, which has no deck or cover over my legs to restrict movement, and I can move my legs around a little, I still find that when I stretch first, I don’t get nearly as tight as when I don’t. In a hard shell or folding kayak with a deck, it’s much more confining and the need to stretch out ahead of time is even more crucial.

Kayaking should be fun and not add to your aches and pains or cause you any unnecessary injuries.

Even though this has been one of the hottest Summers in history around here, my wife and I have still been able to get out and do some paddling in our inflatable kayak.

But along with the hot weather, as always, comes “bugs”. If they’re not whizzing around our faces, they’re crawling on us, or worst of all, biting us.

My wife is especially harassed by insects. Not sure if it’s something in her body chemistry or what, but she’s a real taste treat for the little buggers. She’s always getting bit, even when she’s not outside very long. Repellants sometimes work for her and she doesn’t use scented soaps or perfume when were paddling. Maybe we’ll figure out the solution someday.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about pesky outdoor pests, there’s an article on PaddleTheWorld.com about “Insect Bites and Stings” that has some tips on how to prevent bites and stings, as well as some treatment procedures if you get bit or stung. Check it out.

A few weeks back, I posted a link to a video about safety gear for kayaking. The same guy who did that video, Matt Preye, also has a video that explains some of the basics of paddling a kayak. His tips on where and how to hold a kayak paddle and, of course, how to use it to advance and to stop a kayak are explained in an easy to understand manner.

Although I’ve been paddling for over two years, I found the explanation of the basics refreshed some things for me. It’s like participating in any sport. It never hurts to review the fundamentals, no matter how experienced you may be.

Matt Preye is a kayaking expert and instructor with fifteen years of experience as a recreational and a whitewater kayaker. Even though he’s talking about paddling hard shell kayaks, remember that all these paddling tips apply to folding kayaks and inflatable kayaks as well.

By Sam Wright

A wise man once told me, “Everything you need to know you learn from the water.”  Honestly I thought that was his excuse to go fishing more often but lately after my many excursions out on the lake, I am beginning to see what he meant.

I love traveling and finding new areas to kayak, but time and money for travel away from my hometown isn’t always available. I have been to the same water over and over. When you see the same place, you start to notice things. You see when the water line is rising and falling. You see how the water changes by pollution or climate or temperature.

Just like the television show “Cheers” you start to feel comfortable and you have that feeling that the critters and the place is somewhere where they know your name. The other boaters or kayakers and residents of the area become familiar. If they aren’t around, you wonder about them, and when they are, you pass with a friendly wave and sometimes a quick hello. This serene water world is your world. You learn to relax, you learn to think, you learn to help out as needed and you learn to smile once again.

After a day kayaking on the water, you return home at peace and ready to share your joy and serenity with your loved ones. You too want them to experience this world so you plan, you work a little harder, and you save a little more money. Your focus is clearer and you know you want to share this experience. You want them to feel that everything they need to know they can learn out here on the water.

by Guest Author, Carole Ann Moleti

Leisure time is crucial for building bonds between family members. Doing things with their parents allows kids to see values in action and learn important lessons about teamwork, cooperation, and sticking together. For couples, freedom from everyday chores and distractions can trigger a spark of romance and allow time for reconnection.

Traditional family activities like movie going, sporting events, and amusement parks bear an onerous price tag. Economic conditions have cut deep into entertainment and travel budgets. Many are planning “staycations”–day or overnight trips to destinations close to home.

With summer in full swing, kids have no homework, the college set is home, and there is no better time to enjoy being out in nature. Spending it in air conditioned malls, or in the house watching television or on the computer is a waste of one of our greatest natural resources: the outdoors.

Being physically active keeps both the body and mind in tip-top condition. Tranquil natural environments soothe jangled, over stimulated nerves and instill respect and reverence for the flora and fauna. If we are to save our ecosystems from degradation, this is a lesson young people must learn from those closest to them.

Some of our most memorable family bonding experiences have occurred when we’ve needed to seek shelter during an unexpected storm, found and helped an injured or lost animal, given aid and assistance to someone stranded, or just enjoyed quiet time exploring new places.

Blending the interests and abilities of all family members can be a challenge. Some outdoor activities are too physically strenuous for younger children (such as mountain biking and hiking). Teenagers really do not want to be anywhere near their parents. Mom and Dad crave couple time.

About.com’s US Parks page is a great source of information about state and national parks in the US and Canada, including discount passes, entry fees, and attractions. There are oodles of public access waterways, either free or low cost, where one can pull in, inflate a kayak, and sit and watch the older ones paddle around. When they’re tired, parents can take it out for a spin, with the younger ones tucked in between them.

In my own family of five, the boys always seem to be able to amuse themselves walking along the shore, flying a kite, fishing, catching and releasing frogs and turtles, and bird watching. They entertain their younger sister, or she comes along with my husband and me for a ride.

My investment in an inflatable Sea Eagle 370 is paying off big time. For the first time in years, the teens are excited about our planned vacations, and they’re asking to take it out on our local New York waterways as well as the kettle ponds and salt marshes (see picture) of Cape Cod.

All I have to pack is a cooler with snacks and drinks, first aid supplies, sunscreen, and insect repellent. My husband loves the fact there is no fiddling with roof racks and tie downs, and we’re hoping to get some time aboard for just the two of us. I’m delighted that we seem to have once again found some common interests and enthusiasm for being outdoors as a family. There are sure to be a lot of laughs, pictures, and happy memories.

I’ll be sharing my experiences here and would love to hear about yours.

Guest Author, Carole Ann Moleti lives in New York City and juggles a full-time job, freelancing, a house, husband, garden, three kids, a big dog, and a very mean cat. She is looking forward to the summer and some quiet time for family bonding.

Most of the time, kayakers paddle along quiet, passive streams, small rivers and lakes. Occasionally, though, we paddle in areas where there is more marine traffic and there, you may see some channel markers.

Channel markers are a standardized system that has been installed and maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers to regulate boat traffic, especially large boats. Unlike highway signs, which usually have information printed on them, channel markers are “read” by their shape and color, which are easy characteristics to distinguish in low light or foggy conditions compared to trying to make out words or symbols on signs.

Also called buoys, channel markers can be found floating, mounted on posts in the water or on land or sometimes on natural rocks or trees. There are basically two colors and two shapes. Red markers are always triangular shaped with the pointed end up, and Green markers are rectangular in shape. If the markers are numbered to correspond to navigational charts, the red markers will be even numbers and the green markers will have odd numbers on them. At night, lighted markers will display the red or green color and may also emit a sound to better locate them.

From a larger body of water to a smaller body of water, the red markers are on the right. From a small body of water to a larger body of water, the green markers are on the right.

You may also see a combination of red and green markers. That indicates an intersection or junction with the top color indicating the preferred set of markers to have on your starboard or ‘right’ side.

You will see an occasional yellow marker which indicates a wide range of specific water uses such as dredging, fish trap areas, spoils areas or military exercises, among others. Be aware and use caution when you see a yellow channel marker.

There’s also regulatory white markers and, or, buoys with an orange border, diamond, circle, or square that are often used to provide information or regulations such as a no wake zone or a shoal area.

If you’d like to read more, there’s a more detailed article on channel markers at PaddleTheWorld.com.

Contributed by Victoria Adams

Alligators can be found in the Southern portions of the United States such as Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Mississippi, Eastern Texas, Virginia, and the southern tip of Oklahoma. Avid Kayakers need to be aware of proper safety measures and what one should do if they encounter an alligator while kayaking in these areas. Alligators have the capability to kill a human, but are naturally wary of people and will only attack when provoked.

In some states there are laws that protect alligators from harassment and molestation by tourists. So by all means kayak and enjoy the water, but be cautious and respectful of Alligators and their environment.

Be prepared and contact your local fish and wildlife organization for information about Alligator mating season, behavioral patterns, and the times that predators feed.

What do you do if you encounter an Alligator on your trip?

1. Do not panic! Just leave them alone! And Don’t Feed Them! It is against the law to feed Alligators. The reason is because if humans feed alligators then alligators will become desensitized and more prone to attack.
2. A must for kayaking in dangerous waters is a PDF whistle. PDF stands for personal flotation device. The whistle is typically plastic and without a pea in it to prevent corrosion and to facilitate using it if it gets wet and is attached to your life jacket so you don’t lose it. If you encounter an alligator you can use the noise from your PDF whistle to scare it off.
3. If you are in an area where you see signs of Alligator activity (for example a muddy wallow where they like to roll, a slide for them to slip into the lake or river, and/or Alligator eggs), leave the area as quickly and as calmly as you can. Gators are naturally territorial and will defend their eggs aggressively.

More than likely if you encounter a gator and it is your first time seeing one you are going to panic. You may feel threatened, and you may want to run or paddle wildly. If possible, try to have someone who has experience in gator encounters with you when paddling in potential gator areas. The buddy system works wonders in helping you overcome your fears. If you see gator activity in an area, make a notation and call the fish and wildlife organization and notify them of your sighting.

This might make you feel a little safer if you are kayaking in an inflatable kayak or a folding kayak. Most of the material components in these type kayaks are designed to keep you afloat even if the hull of your boat is punctured. For example, even the smallest Sea Eagle 330 inflatable kayak has three separate air chambers for the floor and each side of the kayak. Most importantly be safe, do your research about the area you choose to kayak, and have respect for the alligator populations leave them alone.

If you’d like to read more, here are a collection of links to a variety of additional information about alligators in general and kayaking around alligators.

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/NatureIssues/sharks.htm#ali

http://www.clubkayak.com/greenwave/showpage.asp?page=070609_Alligators

http://www.topkayaker.net/Articles/Instruction/SignalDevices.html

http://members.tripod.com/lauras_house/alligator.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Alligator

Kayaking is an outdoor sport, so we all should be thinking about using sunscreen, wearing hats and trying overall not to get too much sun. We know the negative effects … too much sun can cause skin cancer. But there is another side to the story … sunshine is probably our bodies best source of vitamin D.

In order for our bodies to stay healthy and operate correctly, we need vitamins. We get these vitamins mostly from the food and drink we ingest. Vitamin D can come from various types of fish, including salmon, as well as from fortified milk. It also is absorbed into the body from the sun, a truly unique method of vitamin nourishment. In fact, the chemical reaction which allows the skin to absorb vitamin D from the sun’s rays, has a built in shut down system that keeps the body from overdosing on the vitamin. That’s something that doesn’t occur when eating a vitamin. The best part of all is that recent studies show that Vitamin D may prevent and even fight the development of cancer.

This is where it gets a little confusing. You want to get the best form of vitamin D from the sun, yet you don’t want to get too much sun and get skin cancer. Sunscreen blocks the body from converting the sun’s vitamin D.

Here are some recommendations for compromise that I read recently …
·    Most studies show that people are not getting enough vitamin D. Researchers recommend 1000 IU (international units), which is higher than the current government’s recommend 200 to 400 IU. This may change in the near future.

·    There is a way to get a good supply of vitamin D from the sun as well as supplements. A researcher recommends you check out how long it takes for your skin to become red or react to the sun and then spend one quarter of that time in the sun without sunscreen, (except for your face). An estimate would be about 10 to 15 minutes in the midday sun exposing at least 50 percent of your body. When that time is up, then put on the sunscreen as recommended.

So with a little caution, we can get the best of both sources of vitamin D. You can read a more detailed article about the Health Benefits of Vitamin D from the Sun at PaddleTheWorld.com.

By Guest Author: Dee Owens

Taking the family pet kayaking is becoming a more and more popular family sport. What is your dog if not a part of your family? Before you load up your inflatable kayak and head to the water there are a few things that you need to do first.

Your first thought is probably whether ‘Fido’s’ toenails will damage your inflatable. It should be a concern but unless they are super sharp, most of the higher quality kayaks made today will stand up to the challenge. Putting down an old piece of carpet can help ease your mind as well.

One really nice thing about inflatable kayaks is that, unlike hard shell enclosed style kayaks (where your pet would not be able to join you) or hard shell sit-on-top kayaks which have no sides, the side chambers of an inflatable kayak make like walls, similar to how a canoe is designed. It’s a perfect setup for both of you.

Most inflatable kayaks will be able to hold the weight of you and your dog, but your should check to be sure. Two person inflatable kayaks shouldn’t be an issue, however those that are made for solo use may.  If the kayak is too small then you can run into complications such as capsizing the kayak. That can be avoided by a “cargo canoe”, a small craft that will attach to the back of the kayak.

Next on the list is to make sure that you and your pet have a Portable Flotation Device, also known as a Life Jacket. Buying the right life jacket for your pet is extremely important, it can be the difference between a fun filled day on the water or not. Also be sure to have a harness for your pet. This will allow you to get your pet back into the water easier if he or she jumps out.

Take your time and chose a location where the water is calm and the weather favorable. Choppy waters are not the best idea for taking your dog with you at any time. Once you know where you are going, it is time to take the pet out onto the water. Take it slowly with your dog the first time and practice commands before going out. You want to know that if you tell him or her to sit they will without delay. Spend time allowing your pet to get used to riding in the kayak as well, remember this is their first trip out with you and they might be a wee bit apprehensive or slightly over excited.

When you feel comfortable with your pet in the kayak, then it’s time to plan your day trip. Take some of their favorite treats with you so you can reward them throughout the day for their good behavior. Always remember to not over tire yourself or your dog, kayaking with your pet is meant to be a fun, relaxing day for you both.

The Author, Dee Owens has published two novels and a variety of articles online.