Inflatable Kayak Blog

It’s pretty obvious that when you’re paddling a kayak, canoe or any other watercraft that to turn toward the right, you paddle harder on the left side and vice versa. That said, paddling “harder” is a relative term. Often, when you’re paddling, there’s somewhat of a delayed reaction to aggressive paddling on one side or the other, especially in calmer water. Think of it as a change in momentum. Correcting the course of your kayak is not necessarily an immediate reaction and two or three hard paddle strokes may be more than you need to correct your heading. You’re then faced with paddling “harder” on the other side to correct your original “correction”. It can turn into more work than necessary. So … temper those paddle strokes and try to smoothly correct your course. Unless you really want that additional exercise, ‘over-paddling’ is just not the way to go.

This concept also applies when trying to paddle hard to add speed. Most of the time smooth consistent strokes will develop more speed than the harder, deeper strokes that tend to throw the kayak slightly sideways as they dig into the water. This can be especially true with inflatable kayaks that ride slightly higher in the water. Keeping the kayak moving in a steady straight line will help a lot when you’re trying to generate some speed.