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Finally went out in our kayaks today on the river at Cuckmere. What was meant to be a gentle pootle ended up with me spinning round in circles.
The front would start to veer left so would give it 3 strokes with my left paddle to straighten it up. It would either keep going left or suddenly go right. Either way I would end up spinning on my axis.
We used to kayak on the Thames as kids and never had a problem .
What am I doing wrong? My brother had the same problem.
It wasn't particularly windy.
It's all in the hips, assuming it's a proper closed cockpit kayak. They arnt designed to go in a straight line as such. Just takes practice.
Try ukrgb for a proper answer.
I have exactly the same problem even after 20 years paddling.
The best solution is to give up flat water paddling and just do whitewater. You'll spend most of your time paddling backwards then so it won't matter.
Failing that, get used to only ever paddling at 70% and become ultra attuned to the first hint of the boat turning - then put in a big sweep stroke to counteract in before it happens. The problem is that it's so easy to overcompensate and end up turning in the other way, which is infuriating.
You always need to keep some power in reserve to correct the stroke otherwise you can't rectify it quickly enough
What kind of boats?
A lot of modern boats will turn an awful lot more readily so need an adapted technique to keep straight. They'll still turn though.
If I paddle my creekboat along then freewheel, it'll generally start to turn in quickly.
Older boats tended to be longer and track better generally speaking.
It's all just practise though.
You don't want sweep strokes really as they'll always turn you. Keep your paddle as vertical and as close to the boat as possible to keep you straighter. Learn to trail your paddle using it as a rudder with subtle pushes and pulls towards and away from the boat.
It's harder on flat water, but stick with it.
Current is one contender.
Some sit on/inflatable kayaks are particularly prone to nosing off in a quite modest breeze (our bigger boat does this horribly in a cross wind). You learn to bias your stroke to compensate when it's light.
If you're a right hander chances are you'll also have a slightly stronger right arm.
What do you regard as not particularly windy?
Are the footrest if any adjusted to suit?
As you’re paddling should be peddling as well adds power and helps directional control
Impossible to say without seeing you. It may be the style of kayak is very different to the one you had as a child.
I used to coach beginners to paddle in a straight line by doing ‘sweep strokes’ on alternate sides. The kayak would turn one way, then the other, but move forwards along a vaguely zig zag path.
Once you’ve got this nailed, reduce the width of your ‘sweeps’ until you’re paddling along the edge of the boat. At this point you can use a single ‘sweep’ to correct yourself back into line if you feel you’re losing it.
Good luck
It is all practice. I found reaching forward and doing most of the paddling further forward helped rather than to the side helped me, and using hips and feet to push boat forward and oppose the undesirable turning. It just takes practice really. When it all goes wrong using the paddle as a stern rudder rather than doing lots of massively powerful sweep strokes seemed to be a better way of getting things straight again.
Probably a combination of the boat shape and stroke - if you're just using your arms and have a narrow paddle grip, your stroke will be quite circular. Correct stroke will involve pivoting forward on your hips, reaching forward with straight arm and rotating your upper body with near straight arms whilst driving the other arm forward and the paddle exiting by your hip. Lots of videos on Youtube.
This is one of our freebie kayaks and using my niece's hair as a windometer you can see it's quite still.
The most common mistake I see people do is paddling hard. If you go to your muscular limit you will always have an imbalance. Try using about 1/3 effort, should feel similar to soft pedalling.
The sudden turn is a common beginner problem.
You can do 5 day courses just for forward paddling...it’s not an exact science!
Are you sitting upright, possibly even leaning forwards a smidge?
Are your knees touching the sides of the boat? Ideally so your knees are bent at about 90 degrees.
As you pull on the paddle tense your legs to provide a solid link from body to boat.
Aim get your paddle vertical so the blade runs along the side of the boat. Only sweep to steer.
Can you upload a video? There are SOOO many factors. It’s a steep learning curve and you’ll suddenly get it though.
I would hazard a guess that you're leaning the boat unintentionally - Once things go awry, it becomes self-perpetuating. Paddling into any current makes matters worse. Try concentrating on keeping the boat level while you paddle to start with.
Ahh! A vintage Prijon T-Slalom. A skeg would help.
Make sure you're doing proper sweep strokes. Just doing extra paddle strokes on one side in that won't correct it once it's started veering off to one side.
Without seeing you it's difficult to give hints but make sure you're foot pegs are adjusted so you can push your feet against them, aim at something in the distance (don't look at the front of the kayak- it's the same as looking at the front wheel of your bike), paddle into the water about where your ankles are and out as your hips go past the paddle, paddle should be vertical so your top hand needs to be in line with the opposite shoulder(ish) and rotate your torso as you go through the stroke pushing the paddle away from you with your top hand. Make sure you're not bending your lower elbow too much (you can try paddling with both elbows locked completely straight as an exercise)
Pretty sure there's a club at cuckmere - try going out with them and get some pointers from their coaches.
A skeg?
All useful tips , we shall practice more.
You need to be seen in the boat.
Everything from leaning body back, edging the boat, different paddle position on each side, different muscle size each side, foot peg and knee contact with boat, just being slow to predict the boat turning etc.
Invest in a days coaching or canoe club membership for a year.
T-slalom's are ok, it's not the boat that is the problem... 😋
Go along the road to Brighton and join Martlet kayak club on Madeira drive arches. Nice lot there. There's a club at Cuckmere though if I recall. I bet they have coaching sessions.
Leaving the paddle in too long will do it. You end to creating an unintentional rudder at the end of the stroke.
Kayaking has a steep initial learning curve unfortunately. Most general purpose kayak designs turn well and hold a straight line less so.
Long term solution? Try your local club for courses, lessons and training.
Short term? Add a "tail" to the rear grab handle. About a meter of rope or climbing tape should do. It'll have a similar effect to a skeg and slow the rotation of the stern. The drag will slow you down though and turning will require more input...
+1 for inadvertent leaning. The underwater hull shape will cause the boat to turn when heeled over, even slightly. Practice will help you get a feel for this. Also +1 for not putting too much oomph into each stroke. Long boats with a V shaped hull go in straight lines better than slalom boats with flat bottom, but they are less manoevrable.
Is a short boat with a v shaped the solution to bring the river alive?
I can echo what wwpaddler said about foot pegs, your legs do more than you realise when you're paddling and if there is nothing for them to push off then your boat can turn even if your body doesn't want to. It's the same for having some padding next to your hips, you should be nice and snug in the boat.
Is a short boat with a v shaped the solution to bring the river alive?
Long and low boats are back in though now...
You should be reasonably snug in the boat, back rest and footrests adjusted so you can brace your knees under the deck. Also simple things like make sure you're holding the paddles an equal distance on each side from the paddle blade, and also don't look at the nose of the boat while you're paddling! Same as on a mtb, look where you want to go.
Like a few others have mentioned, proper coaching from a local club or coach will also make a massive difference.
"Is a short boat with a v shaped the solution to bring the river alive?"
An acrobat 270?
Went out in the sea (which was excellent) this evening and still doing doughnuts. Tried leaning back, forwards all positions.
It felt like the seat wanted to go forward or have a cushion behind my back.
Will go for a lesson on our local lake.
Really got the bug and I envy my brother living on the coast.
You want to be leaning forward, not back - it's a common mistake with beginners who sit like they're on a sun lounger! If you're leaning back and pulling the paddle back further that the middle of the boat you're turning the boat, not moving it forward. Definitely join a club or watch videos to see what a good paddle stroke looks like.
Get someone to film you paddling. Cause might be obvious watching it back, or if not post it up and maybe somebody can figure it out.
One thing I recall is that having the paddles too flat as they enter the water can cause excessive turning. I assume because it puts the paddles further out which acts like a lever. The paddle should be 50-60 degree angle across your chest as it enters the water, and it should enter near the kayak.
eta: look at the little vids on this, breaks it down quite nicely
https://www.kayakpaddling.net/2-2
On my last rotation I could feel the front going to the left so gave it full power with the left paddle . This just made it go left even more. I guess if the paddle is going in the water behind the centre point of the kayak it would make it pivot it to the left.
Which would make my feeling of being too far back correct.
What are the thoughts of an Islander Fiesta? Would be used for calm waters just exploring rocks and stuff.
We used sit on kayaks on holiday and had no issues with that .
What are the thoughts of an Islander Fiesta?
Just googled - I think you'd probably be better off with the Islander Jive from that brand or a Dagger Katana. Both with a little skeg and longer waterline making tracking easier. Touring kayaks would be even more so but then they are getting a good bit longer.
Some things to try:
- Don't think of it as pulling the paddle backwards, think of it as pulling the boat forwards. Reach forward, plant the paddle in the water and pull yourself forwards. Thinking about it that way helps the realisation that you can't pull effectively once your elbow is behind your hip.
- Get a feel for using your legs to turn the boat. You should have good contact with the boat, feet on the footbraces and knees in contact with the deck. Sit in the boat somewhere where a helper can stand beside the boat, ie, next to a jetty or in shallow water. Hold your paddle horizontally in front of you, as if paddling, and get your helper to hold the blade - so the paddle is like a bar across the boat. Push & pull on the paddle shaft to turn the boat on the spot. Get used to how that feels. If the boat is turning left, don't just paddle on the left, actively turn the boat with your legs while you're pulling on the left paddle blade.
- Turning strokes have more effect near the ends of the boat. Either reach forward, put the paddle close to the boat and sweep it outwards, or (for steering only, not propulsion) take it right to the back of the boat and trail it like a rudder.
Paddling a kayak straight is like driving a car, when you start you think steering, changing gear, braking, etc, all at the same time is difficult - but when you can do it, you don't even need to think about it. Muscle memory only comes with practice.
Go paddle a packraft for a while.
After that, going straight in a kayak is easy. 😉