Inflatable Kayak Blog

I have a couple more terms about river kayaking that I thought might be of interest to beginner kayakers that I wanted to share. Personally, I don’t want to be anywhere near either of these on the river, but at least I would know what to call it if I did see them some place. The first is a part of a fast moving river that is called a “Chute”. When a river becomes constricted either naturally or from the presence of obstacles, it creates a section of fast moving water. At the end of this stretch of water a chute is formed. I would think that white water kayakers would enjoy the thrill of going through one of these.

The other term is often found along with a “Chute”. It’s called a “Haystack”. “Haystacks” are large standing waves that can be found at the end of certain types of chutes or other narrow passages of water. They usually indicate the water is deep and likely rock free. This would be another challenge for white water kayakers that I certainly am not ready for.

In my last blog I mentioned some river kayaking terms. I thought I would add a few more that might be of interest to other beginning kayakers. Though you will find these river terms on faster moving rivers, it is good to know what to look for if that is the type water you will be paddling in.
Of course you know what a kitchen strainer does in your sink? It collects “stuff”. A “Strainer” on the river does the same thing. This is a part of a river where wood, usually downed trees have collected. Strainers catch floating objects and even boats. You wouldn’t want to find yourself mixed up in that mess, so be aware of strainer locations and avoid them.
A “Roostertail” is a part of a river where a spray of water launches off a slightly submerged rock. This creates the roostertail. Much like a roostertail off of a high-powered speedboat. As you may realize these should also be avoided because they indicate the presence of a shallow rock, and you wouldn’t want to bang your inflatable kayak into that. Though inflatables are durable, there is no reason to put it to the test if you can avoid that in the first place.
Personally, I don’t know that I am ready for swift moving water like this and think the slower paced rivers and streams are more my liking at this point of my paddling experience.

At a time when larger vehicles are becoming less popular because of the high price of gas, the new Sea Eagle 440 FoldCat is an exception. The boat was introduced this month (July 2008) and it’s the largest folding/inflatable pontoon on the market. It holds up to four people with a capacity of 1300 pounds. Although it might be too large and cumbersome for many who enjoy the small one and two person inflatable pontoons, this boat can be an economical replacement for traditional gas-guzzling bass boats. Both versions of the Sea Eagle FoldCat, the two person 375 and the new 4 person 440, have a full floor so you have far more useable space than ordinary pontoon fishing boats – and it’s a “safety net” that catches gear you may drop. This allows you to carry more fishing tackle and supplies than ordinary pontoon boats. And it will travel up to 8 to 10 miles per hour with an economical 4 hp gas engine. Four fishermen or women can fish from 360 degree swivel seats using up to six rod holders. You can’t do that on a small bass boat. Check it out if you’re looking for something more economical and functional for your fishing expeditions.

After our quick paddle on the Indian Creek at the beginning of the month I was thinking how quiet and relaxing it was paddling along this shallow water. That got me thinking of all the exciting rivers there are to paddle and a couple of the kayaking terms dealing with river kayaking.

 “Eddies” can be a paddler’s best friend. Eddies are currents of water behind obstacles where the water is calm and can be paddled into. Eddies provide paddlers with a place to rest, check gear, drain boats or scout upcoming rapids.

 Another term that’s used on a river excursion is when you’re thinking about how neat it would be to just see what was around the next “River Bend”. Did you know that the water on the outside of the river bend is usually deeper and moving faster than the inside? The outside bend is also a more dangerous area of the river because this is where the debris can pile up, creating very dangerous obstacles that you might not be able to see when moving along at a fast pace. If you were to flip over in such an area you could get your life jacket or paddling vest caught on the debris and end up trapped.

We are looking forward to a chance to get out and explore a small part of the Ohio River soon. This should be an exciting change from the little river we had just been on. Will write more about that after the trip. If anyone would like to share a river adventure we would enjoy hearing about it here.

Inflatable and Folding Kayaks are both excellent choices if you’re looking for a kayak that’s easy to store and transport. Neither needs an expensive rack for your car or truck and both can be stored in compact areas in your home or garage.

There are some differences. Folding kayaks are a throwback to the original kayaks built by the Indians and Eskimos with skins over sticks or bones. Their frames are light metal and skins are modern flexible polymers. A folding kayak tracks in the water much more like a hard shell kayak. The slightly more flexible skin and frame structure, though, absorbs more wave energy and often makes the boat feel steadier in the water. Inflatable kayaks track a little higher in the water and can be affected more by the wind and waves. Some paddlers feel more comfortable in an inflatable, rather than a ‘sit-in’ kayak, because of it’s buoyancy and ‘self rescue’ potential. Finally, folding kayaks can take up to 20 minutes to assemble (faster with practice). An inflatable kayak takes about half that time to pump up with only a foot pump.

Inflatable and folding kayaks are designed for all types of paddlers from novice to expert and all types of water from calm lakes and streams to raging whitewater. Quality inflatable kayaks range from under $300 and up. Quality folding kayaks range from under $700 and up. These portable watercraft are part of the fastest growing market in outdoor recreation.

Over the July 4th weekend we had a chance to try out a Sea Eagle 370 inflatable kayak. We had planned to take the boat to a very small lake in a park near where we live but when we got there we noticed a sign “No Boats Allowed in the Lake”. Luckily for us there was a small river right behind the park. So instead of traveling further away from home to put the boat in the water we just inflated the boat and carried it to a flat spot on the riverbank. The water wasn’t very deep, but surprisingly it was fine for a quick paddle to try out the boat.

As expected, it inflated quickly and the extra length didn’t seem to matter with the inflation time or the weight of it as we carried it. I liked the extra legroom a lot. Our SE-330 is fine for what we need, but having some extra space is always nice. The river was so peaceful as we made our way down stream. This was our first time on a river and it made for a completely different experience paddling. We could see the fish darting from rock to rock as we paddled, and there were several ducks that we shared the river with. I certainly want to go back to this spot for a longer paddle and enjoy the peacefulness of a day on the river.

Placing kayak paddles in the water and performing a good stroke is a great method of stress relief.  Watching your boat move through the water by your own effort is very satisfying. Spending a few hours under the sky, on the water, watching the colors of the blues, the greens, the grays, and the browns is enjoyable.  A couple of times a week for a few hours, getting this kind of exercise is going to make anybody feel better!

As a whitewater kayak adventure enthusiast, I am always on the lookout for great deals in all kinds of kayaks and accessories. That’s why, when I discovered PortableKayaks.com, I was amazed with their huge line of products at incredibly reasonable prices.

Their wide inventory includes brands such as Clear Blue Hawaii and Sea Eagle Kayaks, as well as easy to assemble folding kayaks from Pakboats. These are just few of their top-quality products that are worth checking out.

A kayak is a small human-powered boat. It typically has a covered deck, and a cockpit covered by a spraydeck. It is propelled by a double-bladed paddle in the hands of a sitting paddler.

The kayak was used by the native Ainu, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions of northeastern Asia, North America and Greenland. Modern kayaks come in a wide variety of designs and materials for specialized purposes, such as portable kayaks. Kayaks are in some parts of the world referred to as canoes.

Whether it’s a menu at a restaurant, picking a movie at the theatre or numerous other choice based decisions we face everyday, we like to have a wide selection and we really like to have options.

When you purchase an inflatable kayak, most manufacturers offer you only one choice, either a one-person or a two-person model. The great thing about Sea Eagle inflatable kayaks is that you can use them both ways. Since the seats are not built-in, you are able to slide them into the position you prefer for one or two-person use. On the 330 and 370 models, the seats don’t even have attachment rings, however they are held solidly in place by the inflated sides of the boat. The Sea Eagle Explorer models (340x, 380x, and 420x) do have attachment rings as well as the solo or tandem option. So if you’re looking for an inflatable kayak with options, be sure to check out the Sea Eagle’s.

It was time to check out and head home from our trip to Fairfield Glade, but it was such a nice morning and we really didn’t have to be back home at any certain time so we decided to take one more paddle before we left. Lake Dartmoor was close by so, even though we had been there before, we decided to go there again. It was a little windy and the lake was a bit rougher than it was the time before. There were small white caps in places, but we seemed to get through them without any problems. Going into the wind we could paddle right where we wanted to go. But when we had the wind at our backs it was harder to paddle straight. We figured that since the inflatable kayak sits a little higher in the water, the wind probably affected our ability to paddle in a straight line. We also thought about getting a Sea Eagle Quiver Sail for situations like this to add a little ‘sailing’ to our ‘paddling’. The Quiver Sail is a hand held sail that can be used with almost any type of kayak, or light watercraft, even hard shells.

We weren’t the only ones out enjoying the day; there were two other kayakers out there too. We were paddling in the same area as one of them and got to chat for a bit as we paddled along. She lived on the lake and got out paddling quite often. We paddled on the far side of the lake this time checking out more of the beautiful, big houses. Seeing we still had to get things packed up to head home, we only stayed out for about a half hour. We got the boat all packed up, checked out of the room and got on the road before noon. The nice thing about the inflatable kayak is that you can carry it with you when you travel. And every time we passed a nice river or a scenic lake on our trip home, we would make a mental note of more places we’d like to kayak.