Paddling Terms

Paddling Terms

Publication Date: December 2000

Ok, you're thinking about getting into paddling, but what do all those terms mean. Well here is a starting place so you can be cool at your next party with other boaters.

Atomic Launch - Launching from a ledge above a river by sliding down the bank and droping into the water.

Boof - Driving your boat for a mini-launch over a shallow ledge or rock.

Brace - Paddling technique using downward and sweeping strokes to stabilize a tipping canoe or kayak.

Broach - Occurs when a canoe or kayak becomes caught in the current against an obstruction and turned sideways. Can result in severe damage as the current's force warps the boat around the obstruction.

Control Hand - "Fixed" hand, left or right, depending on the offset of the blades on a kayak paddle. Left hand paddles are more difficult to obtain.

Ender - A play maneuver enacted by nosing the boat's bow down and deep and the stern up, which results in the boat popping vertically upward. Good fun!!

Float Bag - The most common form of floatation in canoes and kayaks.

Grab Loop - Grab-handle threaded through bow/stern stems of a kayak or canoe. Useful as carry-handles and for catching swimmers.

Mystery Move - Usually a squirt boat move that is a lengthy disappearance under water, then reappearance to the surface downstream in an entirely different location. Fun, especially when intentional!

Pirouette - While popping vertical in a kayak during an "ender," the paddler reaches a paddle blade to the water, then effects a vertical boat-and-paddler spin with it.

Portage - Term for carrying boats and gear around a difficult rapid or from lake-to-lake.

Roll - A move requiring a paddle stroke and body snap to right oneself from a tip over while staying in the boat. Common techniques are the Sweep and the Eskimo rolls.

Side Surf - A play move in a hole in which a paddler uses counter balancing forces of downstream current and upstream hydraulic.

Spray Skirt or Spray Deck - A neoprene or nylon accessory that fits around the waist of the paddler and the cockpit lip of a canoe or kayak for a watertight closure.

Squirt Boat - Extremely low-volume (small, flat) kayak that uses the underwater river currents for playing.

Wrap - To wrap your boat around a rock or obstacle. Countered by leaning into the rock or highsiding a raft.