ESSENTIAL KAYAKING & CANOEING SKILLS

Whether you’re kayaking or canoeing on a mellow Class I or II river, playing in a challenging Class III rapid or pushing the limits on Class IV and above, the essential paddling skills you need to maneuver a kayak or canoe safely and confidently, are the same. 

Learning these skills is a matter of taking it one step at a time.  Our Zoar Outdoor kayaking and canoeing clinics progress from Novice to Class II to Class III and above, with each step along the way presenting its own challenges and rewards.

Our 2-day Novice Kayak clinics introduce you to the basics including:

• Choosing proper equipment and clothing
• Carrying a kayak
• Entering and exiting a kayak
• Essential flatwater strokes, braces and maneuvers
• Edging the kayak
• Proper body position
• River safety
• River reading and identifying hazards
• Self rescue
• Eddy turns, peel outs and ferries
• Surfing

Our 3-day Novice Kayak clinic spends more time on:

• Eddy turns, peel outs and ferries
• Wave surfing
• Depending on the group, we may also introduce rolling

Our 5-day Intensive Novice Kayak clinic gives you more practice time and by the end of the week, students are often:

• Running Class II rapids with confidence and finesse
• Playing on Class II surf waves and holes with confidence
• Rolling
• Scouting and running Class III rapids

Our 2-day and 3-day Class II Kayak clinic picks up where Novice leaves off by reviewing the basics and then focusing on:

• Improving students’ balance, posture and boat edging skills
• Applying solid flatwater technique to Class II whitewater paddling
• Gaining confidence with Class II eddy turns, peel outs and ferries
• Eddy hopping and boat scouting down Class II rapids
• Performing basic play moves such as wave and hole surfing on Class II whitewater and stern squirting on moving water
• Using waves to cross currents
• Depending on the group, we may also introduce rolling

In our 1-day Class III Zoar Gap Intensive, students learn:

• How to break a Class III rapid into smaller, less intimidating parts
• To plan and execute Class III moves consistently
• How to read the finer points of a rapid and execute precision maneuvers
• How to paddle aggressively in powerful current

Our 2-day Class III Kayak clinics also cover:

• Catching micro-eddies
• Rolling on Class II and III rapids
• Using waves to cross powerful currents
• Weighting and unweighting the bow and stern

If canoeing is your sport, you can start in either a solo or a tandem canoe. 

Our 2-day Solo Novice Playboat clinics introduce the sport of canoeing and cover:

• Choosing proper equipment and clothing
• Carrying a canoe
• Entering and exiting a canoe
• Essential flatwater strokes, braces and maneuvers
• Edging the canoe
• Proper body position
• River safety
• River reading and identifying hazards
• Self rescue
• Eddy turns, peel outs and ferries

Our 2-day Tandem River Canoeing clinics focus more on the maneuvers needed for running rivers in longer tandem canoes.  We cover the above skills as well as:

• Teamwork and communication in a tandem canoe
• Unique bow and stern skills and responsibilities
• Strategies for running rapids without taking on any more water than necessary

The next step in either solo or tandem canoeing is our 2-day Class III Canoeing clinic.  In this clinic, students learn to:

• Fine tune stroke skills and gain confidence on the off side
• Execute eddy turns, peel outs and ferries with confidence on Class II and III rapids
• Surf waves
• Break a Class III rapid into smaller, less intimidating parts
• Read the finer points of a rapid and execute precision maneuvers
• Paddle aggressively and pick up speed quickly in current

Find your level of comfort and fun with a Zoar Outdoor kayaking or canoeing class or adventure!