If you are a whitewater paddler living in North Georgia then you’re lucky enough to have several excellent spots for kayaking that are close by. Chattooga River has a variety of rapids for the intermediate and expert kayakers while Cartecay River in Ellijay offers great practice for the novice or intermediate paddler. Whether this is your first time in a kayak or you’re an expert paddler, there are plenty of opportunities in North Georgia. Chattooga River Running along the border of South Carolina and Georgia, the Chattooga River offers up some excellent class III and class IV rapids. Consider putting…
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Most serious kayakers don’t have just one boat. Different boats fit different paddling styles, and your mood may dictate a different boating experience. Once you own multiple boats, you need a way to store them. Anyone with basic carpentry skills and a few tools can build a kayak rack, and the project takes only a few hours. Difficulty: Moderately Easy Things You’ll Need: Instructions Step 1 Measure the lengths of 4-by-4 needed for the frame of your rack. Racks for whitewater boats will be shorter than those for touring kayaks. If you have many boats, the width will be greater. Height…
Kayaks take up lots of space, and when they’re on the floor they make it inconvenient to move around in your garage. Making your own kayak rack is an easy and inexpensive project that will get your kayak off the ground, out of the way and make room for other toys. Instructions Difficulty: Moderate Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Measure the distance between your kayak’s bulkheads. The stiffest part of a kayak’s hull is where the bulkheads are attached, and this is where the kayak should rest while being stored. Failure to rest the kayak on or near the bulkheads could…
Properly adjusted kayak foot braces help increase the power of your paddle strokes and your control over the boat. Foot braces also increase cockpit comfort. Most commercial kayaks ship with built-in adjustable foot braces, but these usually provide minimal contact for your feet. You can easily make kayak foot braces out of closed cell foam. Closed cell foam provides a larger surface for your feet and a custom fit for more power and control. Instructions Difficulty: Moderately Easy Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Make a tracing of your kayak’s forward bulkhead. Use a large piece of paper and pencil to trace…
A rudder isn’t necessary for kayaking, but it can be handy while angling, in windy conditions and for long trips. Fewer paddling corrections need to be made in a kayak with a rudder, but it can be an expensive add-on. If you decide to put a rudder on your kayak yourself, installation is dependent on the model of kayak and kit you use, but some features of rudder kits and kayaks tend to be similar. Instructions Difficulty: Moderately Challenging Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Read over the instruction manual that came with your rudder kit. Lay out parts on a clean,…
Cleaning stained sails can be frustrating. No stain remover, whatever the claims, will take out every stain. Household bleach will remove mildew stains from heavy, durable Dacron sails, but don’t use it on nylon sails. It is not good enough, in any case, for the chemical bonding that takes place with rust (iron oxide.) Instructions Difficulty: Moderately Easy Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Buy oxalic acid powder at a drug store. This colorless, toxic chemical occurs in nature in vegetable matter like rhubarb root and leaves. It can also be found in certain commercial preparations like Zud cleanser and Whink rust…
Whitewater kayaking is an adrenaline-packed sport requiring skill and patience and a steely nerve. The sport is enhanced by learning new tricks, techniques and rodeostyle maneuvers. Tricks include eddy surfing, “boofing”, deliberately keeping the bow of your kayak underwater, and running waterfalls. To learn these tricks, a pedagogy needs to be followed to build the skills and techniques to execute them safely and efficiently. When practicing and learning new whitewater tricks, for safety always have a partner with you at the river. Instructions Difficulty: Challenging Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Decide what new trick you wish to learn by watching more…
Sea kayaks come in a variety of styles, designs and hull dimensions. Some sea kayaks come with rudders, some with skegs (rudders housed internally on the inside bottom of the kayak). Many sit-on-top sea kayaks or hard shell touring kayaks do not come with rudders, but have attachment points to install after-market rudder systems, making a rudder installation a quick add-on to the boat. Adding the rudder makes the sea kayak more stable and easier to maneuver. Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Set the kayak on top of a work bench, positioned with the cockpit facing up. Look at the…
Whitewater rafting on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona can be a life-altering experience that raises the bar for wilderness travel adventures. Commercial operators offer tours that range from quick to leisurely, rugged to plush. Time, type of travel, and degree of physical exertion play a part in each adventurer’s idea of what is the best tour. Orientation Rafting in the Grand Canyon is controlled by the National Park Service to preserve the river’s ecosystem and to ensure the safety of visitors. Private permits for floating through the gorge are available but usually are booked years…
Building you own kayak out of cedar strips is a rewarding and moderately challenging project. The end result is a beautiful wood kayak that is as stiff and as light as a modern composite kayak. Cedar strip kayaks, often called strippers, take between 80 and 150 hours to build and typically cost a fraction of the price of a new composite kayak. Many designs are on the market, so finding a plan to suit your needs should be easy. Instructions Difficulty: Moderately Challenging Things You’ll Need: Step 1 Build a strongback based on your kit’s plans. The strongback is a level,…