Paddle equipment on the river - Horydoly.cz - Outdoor Generation

A fast or nimble boat?

Canoes with a rounder bottom are easier to navigate in the twisting turns of the upper reaches of rivers. Various mutations of the Otter model are mainly produced in the Czech Republic. Conversely, a canoe with an external keel and a flat bottom is more stable and goes straight better. Suitable for large bodies of water. Large and long models are available from us, most often under the brand name Orlice or Samba. However, many of these types are also imported abroad under different brands and names. Watch out for the flat raised tips of the canoes like those from Vinnetou. If the wind leans into them on the lake, there will be difficulties with straight sailing.

There are four basic types of paddlers: vacation canoeists, year-round kayakers, wild rafters, and sea wolves. Each of them needs completely different things to enjoy their boating vacation.

Holiday Crew

The vast majority of open two-seater canoes sail on domestic rivers. Inflatable types predominate in private hands. Rental companies and travel agencies take plastic canoes for their clients. The first ones are storable and you can travel with them by train or bus. The advantage is stability and safe passage over waves and rollers. The latter are faster, more agile and have more fun. More often than not, crews accidentally swim on them. Classic laminates or even wooden ribs are rarely seen today.

A boater doesn't need much for a holiday weekend or even a whole week. He carries everything with him.

Barel (banda, bandaska). The plastic barrel for paddlers is precisely sized to fit two in the boat between the coxswain at the back and the hook at the front. The waterproof closure ensures that things inside do not get wet. That is, if you don't forget to screw it in well! Don't forget to put everything you have with you into it, and also tie the barrels to the ship. There's nothing worse than capsizing and a barrel floating down a river and never to be found again.

Clothing is never enough, but you should take as little as possible. What doesn't fit in the barrel gets soaked anyway according to the approval law. For the week, two short-sleeved T-shirts, one pair of shorts and one long pair for sitting around the campfire in the evening are enough. One comfortable t-shirt and underwear for sleeping. Two pairs of socks and underwear for every day. Even in the hottest summer, a sweatshirt or a fleece jacket and a waterproof jacket can be useful. Connoisseurs take a poncho instead of a jacket, in which they can paddle in the rain. Don't forget your swimsuit! Not everywhere you can bathe in Adam and Eve.

Hats! When it's raining and cold, it's not pleasant and you appreciate anything warm on your head. When the sun starts to burn and you have nowhere to hide in the shade on the river, you will know what boating hell is. In such harsh hours, you will appreciate what you thought was ridiculous on your head - a sailor's hat, a sailor's cap, a cowboy stetson, a straw hat, a sombrero...

Shoes. Two pairs of shoes are enough. Sandals or old tennis shoes are worn by paddlers during the voyage, as river navigation is not only about paddling, but also voluntary and involuntary disembarkation. Barefoot, it's hard to get a heavy boat onto a muddy bank, or stub your toe on hidden rocks while pulling a canoe over a weir. Not to mention the snapping of a full boat in the rapids, when every swimmer is more concerned with getting himself and his equipment to shore than dealing with injuries to his feet on the bottom. Second shoes are needed for camping, a trip to the city, to the pub, or even to the castle. Therefore, stronger closed shoes are better than just light sandals.

Glasses. Sunglasses are a real blessing for eyes on an opalescent surface. Not only does it see well even in backlight, but it also protects them from damage. Not to mention prescription glasses, every boater who wears glasses must take them automatically. Don't forget to always fasten your glasses on your head. The era of rubber bands from mason jars is long gone, but if we don't have anything else at our disposal, at least this way. However, special sports flexible grips are made to keep the goggles on your head even if you are swimming upside down under the boat.

Koňadra (rope). Basic equipment for every boater! During the voyage, a strong rope 7-10 meters long is used to hold the boat, lower the empty canoe through various sluices and weirs and tie it to the shore. Wet clothes, towels and washcloths are dried on a line at the campsite. Rock toughs can change their celt for the night over a taut line and don't need a tent.

Enthusiastic kayakers

Fast-flowing rivers, small streams and creeks are the domain of kayakers. Where a canoe won't fit, a small single-person kayak will. On the alpine rivers in Germany, Austria and Italy, you will meet far more kayaking groups than canoeists. Thanks to the equipment, they can be on the river all year round and don't mind the heat or the cold.

Kayaks are more fun than canoes after a short training session. The paddler is less stressed on them, they turn well with them, and you can play with every wave. More advanced kayakers can also do the Eskimo turn, so they don't mind if they topple over. With a practiced movement, they get out of the water to the surface again, without even having to leave their seat in the boat.

The disadvantage is that not much equipment can fit in a small boat, so it is not possible to travel several days on the river. The kayakers deal with this by going back over land every evening to get the car and take it to the next campsite. Or in a larger group, they just relax, spend the day on the river and drive alongside their paddling friends.

It follows that kayakers take only the most necessary things on the water. Everything else remains on the shore.

Ship bag (bag). A waterproof and durable bag with a wrap closure serves the same purposes for kayakers as a barrel for canoeists. It includes everything a boater might need during the day. Usually it is some money, documents, a knife, a snack, a first aid kit and a mobile phone. A dry t-shirt and socks will also fit. Nothing more.

Clothing for a cold flowing river is basically neoprene. In summer, the most common combination is a neoprene Long John suit (long pants and short sleeves or even no sleeves), functional sweatshirts and waterproof jackets with latex-sealed sleeves and neck. The jacket is recommended in bright colors so that the paddler can be clearly seen not only during the demonstration before the high school girls' trip, but especially during the rescue operation under the dam or in the rapids.

Helmet! A helmet is an essential piece of protective equipment for kayakers. Even if you were the best paddler in the world, you would capsize sometimes. The kayaker does not have the option to simply jump out of the boat and falls head down. While underwater, there is always the risk of hitting stones, rocks or roots. Without a helmet, it could have fatal consequences - a moment of unconsciousness is enough, a person reflexively breathes in water and drowns.

Shoes. Kayak neoprene paddling shoes are low, soft and flexible. There is no place in a kayak for massive bagans.

Glasses. A reliable fit of the goggles on the head is very important for kayakers. They are constantly moving, twisting, tilting and sometimes eskimo.

Slingshot (lifeline). Every paddler has a floating rope with a length of 7-15 meters in their kayak. Rolled up in a bag, it waits for a kayaker to pick it up and throw one end to a fellow in trouble. A boat wedged in rapids is pulled out with it, a boatman stuck on a rock in the middle of the river is pulled out with it, a colleague who swims to help a drowning person in a water cylinder under a weir is rescued with it.

Sea wolf

Even in our countries, where canoes still reign, more and more paddlers are appearing who desire a touristic, fast, sea kayak. They are very long and narrow, designed for one or two paddlers, and their waterproof chambers can be loaded with equipment for a week's expedition to uninhabited areas.

In Central Europe, they are ideal boats for water tourism on large rivers and large dams or lakes. At sea, kayakers stick to the coast and eventually meander between islands. Kayaks do not belong on the open sea, the natural element has too much power for that, which the paddler on the boat is not able to handle.

A sea kayaker takes everything with him, whether he's overcoming the wind in the Baltic Sea, the hot sun in the Mediterranean Sea, or navigating the Elbe or Danube.

Ship bag (bag). A waterproof bag is also recommended to be placed in the waterproof cargo chambers of sea kayaks. It's a backup if water eventually gets there by mistake or after an accident. A cold night in a wet sleeping bag and wet clothes would not only be unpleasant, but such an experience threatens your health.

Clothes for the sea mainly consist of a waterproof jacket and trousers, or even an entire so-called dry suit, into which water does not get even during unwanted swimming. Depending on the destination you are going to, you add more or less functional clothes under your suit - t-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece jackets, socks and underwear.

Gloves! Spare neoprene gloves are always needed in a boat. You never know how the sea weather will change and sometimes it can be pretty damn quick! He doesn't attack much with fragile hands, so any way to warm them up will be appreciated.

Shoes. There is plenty of room in a sea kayak unlike a whitewater kayak. Boots for male kayakers are therefore higher, ankle-length and comfortable. It better protects the ankles and feet during the complicated ascent to the shore in waves.

Glasses. You absolutely need good dark glasses for the sea.

Slingshot (lifeline). A floating rope with a length of 7-15 meters is often the only option to get an exhausted kayaker to land. The other members of the expedition tie his ship to theirs and drag him to port.

The compass is the only reliable aid to navigate at sea. A map, compass and GPS receiver are only additional methods to determine the correct sailing direction.

Adrenaline hunters on rafts

Rafts are paddling tanks. Four- to twelve-seater inflatable boats have earned such a comparison, because they can go almost anywhere. Their brutal displacement and stability allow even inexperienced paddlers to take a look at many wild rapids. Where a novice kayaker would drown, an amateur rafter can have a good time.

Therein lies the beauty, but also the danger, of rafting. As long as the raft is moving and the paddler is sitting in it, everything is in the best order. As soon as the boat capsizes or the boatman falls out of it, it's bad. Even for a trained athlete, swimming through challenging rapids unscathed is a result of luck, chance, honest training and many years of experience. Estimating what to let your crew into and where not to go is the most responsible task for the helmsman. In commercial terminology it is called a raft guide.

Rafters take similar equipment to kayakers. When they plan a one-day trip, their equipment is closer to that of whitewater kayakers, for a multi-day event with a planned overnight stay on the river, they pack equipment closer to sea kayakers. However, everything is oversized against kayakers. If a life jacket, then with double the carrying capacity. If wetsuit, then thick. If it's a first aid kit, it's a good one. It is related to the strength and power of the rivers on which the rafters embark.

What do all boaters need?

There is probably no point in even talking about camping equipment. Nights at a campsite or in the wild outside of civilization require tents, sleeping bags, mats, headlamps, stoves and dishes. It is more convenient to pack camping chairs and tables, a grill and other essentials according to your habits and space in the car or boating bus. Power banks and solar chargers for smartphones are the scream of technology used by boaters. You need to know which river has just the right amount of water and what the weather will be like tomorrow.

Always a life jacket! Every seasoned boater has a swim lane on him. You never know what can happen on the water and a life jacket is a life saver. All you have to do is fall out of the boat, hit your head on an overhanging branch, stay in the current under the weir... and you're done for. A person can survive under water for less than two minutes without air, and then his brain dies quickly. The rescuers can tell about dozens of boaters whose corpses they pulled out of the water, or who they pulled ashore alive, but unfortunately already with their vital functions damaged for life.

The biggest joke is really not what you usually see on many Czech rivers: Boaters rent a boat with full equipment from a rental company and instead of putting on a vest, they put it on a seat under their bum. There it is valid for them like a dead man's winter coat.

Don't forget the most basic things: money, documents (identity card or passport, insurance, car documents), a map and a boating guide (in our country it is called mileage), an outdoor mobile, an outdoor first aid kit (including medicines that you have to buy yourself at the pharmacy) and sun cream. More sensitive people suffer when they forget toilet paper or soap and a toothbrush at home.

Small things that make staying on the water easier

Transparent waterproof cover for electronics. A GPS or smartphone can be especially useful when you're navigating a river and want to know where you are and where you're going. Today's cases are really waterproof and reliable. Just don't forget to tie them to the boat, so that you don't have to watch sadly as your mobile stays afloat, but quickly floats down the rapids after it capsizes.

Durable packaging for sensitive devices. Are you carrying an expensive SLR camera, a sensitive camera, or something else that must not get wet or get into the water under any circumstances? Pelican cases and their clones are the right thing for your technology.

Multitool. The time when "every man has a knife in his pocket" is over. The successor to the military Swiss army knife is called the multitool and includes a sharp knife and a set of folding tools from pliers and a screwdriver to a sharp point and a saw. You can handle emergency repairs of any kind with this friend in your pocket. That is, unless you're a lion as hell, which none of us will admit.

Repellent. Chemical insect repellent will never get lost on the river. In the Czech Republic, fortunately, it is only a fight between a stinging insect and a mammal, in which a person suffers from itchy sores here and there. In the southern countries, however, the effectiveness of the repellant depends on whether the insects will transmit a tropical disease to you, and in the northern countries, without the repellant, the boater will go crazy from the huge number of small biting flies.

Waterproof electronics. The worldwide boating nation is so large that it has forced the manufacture of electronics that do not mind water. What can you buy? For example, an outdoor camera, there is a large selection among outdoor compact cameras and you can buy particularly durable outdoor mobiles (look among sports equipment, but among devices for working in harsh conditions). If you are even more demanding, look for a waterproof, shockproof and possibly fireproof laptop.

Wild Water Difficulty Scale

For the basic orientation of paddlers, the difficulty of the streams are described using the scale WW1 to WW6 and calm water ZWA to ZWC.

Recreational rivers are mostly WW 1 in difficulty in short stretches, otherwise they flow gently without waves and other tricks, which is a precursor to ZW. Anyone can ride them and they don't have to know much. The so-called trekking rivers have WW 2 rapids and meanders. At least the coxswain would have basic paddle shots on them and should guess where and how the water flows in the channel. Wild water for experts starts at level WW 3. Five is reserved only for well-matched paddling groups with the best equipment and regular training. Six is ​​the limit of the human and material possibilities of rowing. Paddlers descend dozens of meters high waterfalls, giant waves, eddies, zigzag between rocks and all this at a hellishly fast pace without the possibility of making a mistake. In the paddling guides, the difficulties are indicated under ideal water conditions. At a higher current, the current can be one to two degrees harder, sometimes even completely impassable. In some cases, the water is lighter at a higher level, but it is usually more dangerous.

In the Czech Republic, the difficulty is usually increased by a blocked channel, attacked trees and an overgrown stream. Alpine rivers increase it rather with rapids, rollers and rushes of water on rocks. Watery Asian or American rivers will most likely surprise paddlers with the tremendous force of the current.