"Ozark River Company"

"Picking out a recreational kayak for your use."

Recreational Kayaking:

Recreational Kayak by definition in the industry is a very user friendly design, typically found in lengths from 9' to 16 foot, give or take a foot, that have a easy float trip style recreational purpose.  They can be the sit on top style, (typically a wet ride), or a sit in side.  Typically the recreational style boat, although not all of them, do not have the thigh braces for rolling a kayak, or the Eskimo roll.  The Eskimo roll is a self rescue method used in the more extreme cases such as way out in big lakes or bays, or in heavy class whitewater, places opposed to having to "do a swim".

Sit On Tops: 

Sit on tops are great for open waters, very easy to paddle, and are very stable and fun style of boat. We do recommend you stay a safe distance from shore in an open water environment. If you do venture out far, we highly recommend you learn to get back on your kayak in more shallow areas. This improves safety when you are in a situation with a measurable, (possibly non-swim-able) distance to shore.  For safety sake, think about the situation if you spill. A sit inside kayak can not be turned over and emptied unless dragged to shore, and have the ability to climb back in!  This sit on top is more likely to be able to flip back over if you have any physical ability to do so, then climb back on with a jump out swim on to the end, sliding on the boat.  Try this first when you are close to shore, and if you can not get back on your boat without touching bottom, do not head "way out there"!  If you are not a good swimmer, do not, "head way out there!"  Contouring is a method where one stays relatively close to shore, and is much safer in case of spill!  Many times you will see sit on tops near the coastal areas and because of waves, or distance from shore, a capsized sit on top is much easier to use as a rescue buoy rather than a sit inside that is finally righting itself, but 3/4 full of water! Sit on tops are fun boats!

Whitewater Kayaking:

Whitewater Kayak, the little boats that roll and do whitewater is in this different category, very technical and take physical as well as the technique ability to roll.   For the purpose of this write up, we are going to skip these for now.  If you would like to get into whitewater kayaking, find a local club and do it right.  Get the right gear, learn a roll, and know rescue tecniques! 

Touring Kayaking:

Touring Kayak, the long boats on the other hand, 14' and up, long and narrow, are touring boats for bigger waters, and are too, technical by design for speed, tippy, and a roll is required.  Again we will pass on this style for now as our focus is picking a recreational kayak.

Self Rescue:

Reasons for rolling is the conditions are such that dragging the boat out is not the preferred way to evacuate the situation of difficulty.  In big water, you may be a long distance from shore, and dragging the touring kayak full of water is not an option.  Whitewater is a heavy rapid, another area you would want a kayak roll recovery method, rather than swimming the rapid and trying to rescue your boat.  The recreational category is one that includes:  Ponds, Small Lakes, Coves, Bayous, Marshes, easier float trip type rivers including some class one rapids, (easier rapids that you would feel comfortable swimming to the pool below), or your local neighborhood lake.  Many things are enjoyed with recreational kayaking such as: fishing, floating around, rapid playing, group float trips, camp out overnights and trips, GPS games, Waterfowl Hunting, even just an escape for a little mental adjustment, definitely a great purpose.

Kayaks By Design:

Recreational kayaks are all similar, with variations that include: size, length, width, cockpit size, volume for capacity, rocker for ease of turning, rigging, hatches, seat variations, and foot rests.  Here is where we start, to evaluate your fit.

Kayak Fit:

Size of paddler.  We have a recommendation to be under 2/3rds of capacity.  Sure, you can squeeze more weight in, but imagine a buoy in an ocean.  Now put a heavy weight on it.  It doesn't respond well to waves, therefore spends more time and depth in the water.  Now a buoy with a correct weight, would respond very technically well!  A small boat with someone pushing the capacity might actually float fine, but a few current pushes, or even turning around and looking backwards, or having something distract you like a ball thrown at you, one will spill easy.  If a rapid requires concentration and good balance, it will be more difficult for this big guy in the little boat.  Just make sure the kayak is large enough for you, especially as a beginner.  As you get advanced, you might want more than one kayak, and your ability will surely get better to handle less stable boats and utilize technique, as well as handle smaller boats much better.

Kayak Use:

What kind of water will you be paddling?  If you are not trying to use it for class 3 bigger rapids, or out in the middle of a lake channel, and uses are easy waters with shore close by?  Then the recreational category is excellent for your use.  We shall then talk about length, packing, and rocker.  

Kayak Sizing:

Length.  What length are your friends' boats, assuming you have more than one friend?  Long boats are faster, and short boats are slow.  Do you have to keep up?  Similar in length is good, mainly if there is testosterone in the group that makes it a macho accomplishment.  A good man and woman paddling team should pace themselves to the slower shorter boat, and realize the length will slow the other person down.  Not racing, not a problem! If someone is having a hard time keeping up, you might note the length of their boat, and see they are working harder to keep up.

Packing Kayaks:

Do you have a desire to pack gear?  For one day, or one week?  You would want to step up a size or two, based on what you want to take.  It now starts to be a hauler.  See our pack a kayak section for our suggestions on packing a boat.  We backpack, and can live a week like a turtle, our home on our backs.  To us a kayak is a huge advantage, and easy to pack if you take gear that is small like a backpacker.

Kayak Hull Length:

being the first shape discussed, have a feel and response to your efforts.  Length:  Long boat glides through the water easier, faster, less effort, but...  Turns slower!  Long boats have a wide turning radius and takes more effort, and in flat water, that may not make a difference.  In narrow Bayous, one would want a shorter kayak to turn around, even though the water might be flat.  This would include tight fishing areas too.  In rapids, we prefer shorter, and easy steering kayaks.  If you need length to keep up yet want to steer easier, pick a longer kayak with some rocker to it for ease in steering, yet some speed too.

Kayak Width and Height: 

The wider designs are more forgiving, but do not make a huge difference.  The flatter cross sections will be more stable, having the harder corners at the bottom edges of the boat beside the seat.  The variances for the width are only just a couple of inches on each side.  The narrower the boat, it is considered slightly more technical, or responsive when your see your accomplishments improve.  A shorter side height might help for small folks.  Some boats are better for short arms and torso, so that your arms are held so high to clear the boat sides. 

Kayak Rocker: 

Imagine a rocking horse, noting the rocking rails.  This rocking chair curve is also seen in recreational kayaks, the curve from front to back.  Some models have more rocker, and this makes all boats easier to turn.  In tight places, and in rapids, this is a huge advantage.  Some models have a drop skeg, a non steer-able drop blade in the back, (stern), that will make it track better when down.  Tracking is improved with less of a rocker, but steer-ability declines.  Imagine the slight to no rocker boat, it will be faster, turn less easy.  Now imagine a highly rockered boat.  It will wander more so, and be easy to turn.  For lakes or more still water section type rivers, we recommend less rocker.  For faster currents, we highly recommend more rocker curve, making turning easy to "power slide" around that rapid bend, or to quickly avoid obstacles in the river.  You can have rocker in the front and not in the back, or both in the front and in the back.  kayak rocker in the front will make the boat seem shorter and easier to steer, yet having no rocker in the back will allow it to track well.  This is a commonly applied rocker to many kayaks.  If the boat is sitting on the floor and you see daylight under the front and back of the boat, or can get your toes under it, you will see that boat steer easy, and indeed takes energy to steer too!

Shopping for a Kayak:

To leave you with some advise that will help you; find what apparently appeals to you at your local kayak store, or kayak department store (as is in many cases).  Set the boat you like on the floor, then stick your toes under the front and back, to see if there is any rocker in the boat for the reasons described above.  Before commenting to your sales person, ask them if this boat has rocker and what type water would it be good for?  If you feel space with your toes under the front and or back of the boat, (rocker can be front only), ask your sales person the above referred questions, and see if he or she is in tune.  If not, you might be getting bad advise!  If they are in tune and know what they are talking about, then you can collect additional information, but use your judgment in what you hear!  Talk to your friends, match what they use in hull shapes, and you will get the best advise to be with your buddies on your kayak float trip.  This is not meant to be a full dissertation on the subject, but commonly asked questions in our store, where we start folks in their decision making process.  A good salesperson will ask, what kind of water, what are your friends paddling, explain ease of steering versus tracking and speed, so be looking for these things as acceptable and knowledgeable advise.  If you know many of these things already, they should be able to skip forward (with you) to your knowledge level.  Bad advise from a non paddler is not a good thing.  There are technical as well as physics differences between models, and will make a difference in your experience.  By the way, more than one boat (for different purposes) is a good thing!  Don't get a boat for every purpose.  That is a lot to ask for off your kayak.

Good luck:

Be careful out there, wear your life jacket, don't get too far from shore in a recreational kayak as a general rule, and learn about throw bags!  Safety first!  You can drown in a kayak, yet you can die doing anything, so be safety conscious as a first rule.  Practice where it is easy and you are safe, and work your way up to that "kayak trip".  Be "super conscious" in cautious situations.  We paddle our Ozark streams in cold water and weather as an example, but don't take risks, do not goof off, and know we have dry clothes in a dry bag and are prepared in case something does happen.  By the way, have fun!!! 

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Simply, thanks! Ozark River Company