Kayaking is a great way to spend the day on the water. The kayak can be used for fishing, exploring, and just enjoying nature. But kayaks come with some risks that you need to be aware of if you want to have a safe kayaking experience. In this blog post we will discuss how kayakers can prevent injuries while kayaking by following these simple tips!
Tips to Prevent Boating Injuries
If you fall in, make sure to stay on your kayak and use a paddle as a rudder so that you can steer yourself back into shallow water or shoreline.
Keep an eye out for objects that might cause injury if they are dragged across your kayak, such as rope lines from kayaks or buoys that are not tethered to a kayak.
Check the kayak for any sharp spots, such as screws sticking up from the seat and remove them with sandpaper if necessary so that you don’t accidentally cut yourself on your kayaking adventure.
Avoid wearing clothing that is too loose fitting around water because it can get caught in paddle blades causing injury as well as drag you backwards when they catch on underwater debris like logs or rocks. Instead opt for close fitting clothes made of lightweight materials like lycra nylon or spandex which will provide less resistance when paddling through the water while also providing sun protection against harmful UV rays!
Always wear shoes during kayaking because what’s lurking below the kayak might be too sharp or abrasive for bare feet.
Keep an eye out for other kayakers and boats to prevent collisions by paddling in a zigzag pattern, turning your kayak perpendicular when passing another boat so that the kayaks just touch one another with their bow waves before heading off on opposite directions, signaling with hand signals if you are going straight ahead while kayaking past someone else’s path of travel, and always staying at least 100 yards away from any motorized propeller boats such as jet skis.
Take care not to exhaust yourself because exhaustion can lead to accidents like slipping overboard which will most likely result in injury! It is important to keep hydrated during journeys through cold water so we recommend adding a kayak water bottle to your kayaking kit.
Properly secure all items in the kayak so they don’t come loose and cause injury if you do capsize! We recommend using bungees or lashings to hold everything down securely, as well as including an appropriate amount of padding for fragile objects like electronics that might need protection from bumps and scrapes while kayaking.
Employ correct techniques while kayaking to avoid injury such as using your kayak paddle like a rudder and steering from the center of the kayak, practicing good posture for landings on shore or kayaks so that you don’t injure yourself during falls when coming in contact with rocks, sand or other obstacles.
Avoid drinking alcohol and eating greasy food while kayaking as these will only make you more prone to accidents, and it is important that your stomach remains empty when kayaking because what goes down must come up!
Arthur G. Moore is a veteran paddler. He has over 10 years of whitewater kayaking experience in his kitty. When he was young, he used to love kayaking in rapid III and rapid IV but as time went on, he decided to concentrate mainly on covering long distances on a standard touring kayak. He is currently working as a senior editor for Kayak Manual.
