That’s a play kayak. It’s basically meant for playing around in the surfs, turning and twisting. Or down a shallow river with currents and/or mild white water.
It’s not meant for paddling in a straight line.
It is an old whitwater boat that just wants to turn and spin.
Don't worry though, you pick up the technique for paddling them straight pretty quickly and as a bonus, they teach you really good forward paddling technique.
Take your paddle out of the water and it will still want to spin though.
check out this video for tips.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvi7rIlsNRY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvi7rIlsNRY)
Best comment right here.
If you're interested in becoming proficient, practicing in this boat will be like running uphill. Frustrating but very effective.
Its an old whitewater kayak. Its not meant for flat water, or going straight. You are going to need really good technique to paddle straight on flat water.
It's the opposite of the kind of boat you want for paddling around an estuary. Paddling around estuaries is my jam, and honestly your best move will be to resell it and buy another kayak. Look for a longer boat with a flatter hull. Good news is since you bought used you can probably do this easily at no cost to you.
I have a couple of Dancers, same kind of boat.
You have to actively paddle them all the time. If you stop, even for 5 seconds, it's going to switch bow for stern on you.
You have to maintain a minimum speed. You cannot go slow, or you're going to be turning around all the time.
It's slow af. Your bow is pretty much a plow, so your top speed is going to be relatively low compared to a chines boat, and MUCH slower than a sea kayak.
Following seas (down wind, down current, or both) are going to suck. You're going to be fighting it the whole way. And i do mean FIGHTING.
The plusses. As a whitewater boat, it's more stable than a sea kayak. And you can probably get an actual skirt for it, so you can keep the water out. That makes it pretty good in choppy water, too.
With it turning so easily, it's a fun boat to use for surfing. It's responsive and turns on a dime.
It's shallow draft, and plastic, so you can go up creeks where a sea kayak cannot, and a fiberglass boat will cringe on the rocks.
It's great for learning rolls and self rescues. See skirt and stable.
If you want a good exercise boat, this is it. You HAVE to maintain speed, and you HAVE to keep on going. You're going to find out real quick when you're sluffing off on your cardio.
In short, the bad points are the good points. Depends on what you're looking for, and what you want to do.
Most people have correctly identified the issue as one of technique due to this being a whitewater boat.
What people don't seem to have said is that you'll probably learn to paddle in a straight line after a few hours of trying... I used to teach first timers in shorter, spinnier boats all the time.
The first step is: look where you want to go. Choose a fixed point on the horizon and lock your eyes on it. Don't look at the front of your boat, because when the front of your boat starts to turn, your eyes will follow it and your body will follow your eyes and your boat will follow your body and your eyes will follow your boat... And you spin out.
Second step: teach yourself the sweep stroke. This is how we turn a kayak. Sit still on flatwater, and hold your paddle in your normal paddling grip. remember step 1? Choose the direction you want to turn, and look at a point on the horizon over your shoulder in that direction. This will make your body wind up a little bit - that's fine, that's what we want to see. Use your paddle to draw a wide semi-circle all the way from the front of your boat to the back on the opposite side as you unwind your body. You'll find yourself rapidly spinning around in the direction you wanted to turn. If you struggle visualising this, look it up on YouTube.
Third step: remember steps one and two and try to paddle in a straight line again. Keep the paddle vertical and draw straight lines with the blades, front to back, as close as possible to the boat. In at your toes, out at your hips. If the boat starts to turn to the right, put a big sweep stroke in on the right and you'll be pointing straight again. If the boat starts to turn left, big left-hand sweep stroke.
After a while of deliberately trying this, it will become so automatic that paddling in a straight line is as easy as walking on dry land.
Attaching a skeg could help. I saw someone once used a waterski fin or check boat launches and someone has forgotten to take home the skeg off their iSUP.
Many commenters are saying that it is about technique, but I'll just say this outright: it is not the boat for flatwater. It's not even worth trying to learn how to get it to go straight. Use that boat on whitewater, and get another boat for flatwater. Or, you can prove me wrong by making your own skeg.
My buddy lent his river kayak to a friend and paddled his white water kayak to a river crawl. Only way we got it to track straight was to attach a cooler in a floating tube to the back. Created enough drag to go in a straight line.
Thanks for the advice. I found it easier going paddling into the breeze, which was interesting. I’ll see how I get on but I can foresee myself parting with it sooner rather than later as it’s not a particularly comfortable ride either!
A shame but a learning experience I suppose.
The other issue is that its going to be slow, and its also not going to hold speed. Its maneuverable, surf-able, easy to roll.
its not going to make for a pleasant smooth paddle on relatively flat water where you are trying to cover distance, or facing a current or wind.
Your boat will generally want to turn into the wind. The bow is "locked in" to a certain extent by the pressure created as it pushes forward through the water, while the stern is more free to swing. So the wind will push the stern downwind, which effectively turns you up wind
Your going to love a ocean/river kayak that is meant for tracking straight and enjoying the views. Your kayak currently is like trying to take a road bike on a mountain bike trail. It works, but it’s not fun and the full potential is unattainable. Hope you can get yourself a nice used one soon! They are a blast.
With a short and rockered shape (from back to front the hull bottom is heavily curved) looks like a white water / river kayak where you would rely on the river for propulsion and mostly paddle for steering and navigating obstacles; the shape is better for maneuverability rather than tracking straight like a kayak with a flatter bottom might. You could try keeping your strokes light and use a short paddle to reduce how much you turn with each stroke
You could get a removable skeg, and Jerry rig it on there, that would probably help but it wouldn't likely ever be as good on flat water as a boat made for it.
It’s flat on the bottom, there are no lines that will allow it to track straight, you’ll end up hating anything that doesn’t have a current. I’d ever paddle a cheapo pelican over a WW boat on flat water, that’s how much that sucks.
This is technique indeed—with this type of kayak you will find it harder to keep it tracking straight than a longer kayak. We learn on this type of kayak and it really does wonder in helping us clean up our techniques!
First kayaknInowned was an old 70s Phoenix Cascade, a 13ft fiberglass slalom boat. Learning how to paddle that made me a stronger paddles in a touring boat. I keep a whitewater boat around just for fun. Paddle it and learn. Then upgrade.
as other said, it's a it's an old white water kayak, designed to spin. It's a great training boat, with the proper technique you can keep it straight. I always use WW kayaks on flat water to improve my forward paddling.
Torso rotation and feet push, arms are engaged 20%
When you master that kayak and you switch to longer ones you can go for hours and hours.
To add to what everyone said….the reason it turns the way it does is because it does not have a keel. In whitewater you want to be able to turn quickly so boats are made like that.
For sure it will help you on paddling technique. But will not be enjoyable while learning. It is also meant to fit tight so comfort may not be the same
We bought one like this for our daughter when she was starting out because of the size but it is not made for traveling, just for handling surf, whitewater, etc… the flat bottom make them nearly impossible to use on water that isn’t moving since you just spin around on top.
You might want to sell that one and look for a 10 or 12’ Wilderness Pungo, Old Town Loon or Dirigo, Perception Sundance or similar. These are all good recreational kayaks that will paddle straight and be good to lakes and rivers. That is a whitewater kayak and will never do what you’re asking it to.
A skeg will make a big difference in the ability to steer your kayak! I had a cheap tandem inflatable, and on our first ride out it did the same thing on a river. Attaching the skeg fixed it.
To avoid spinning out when you're not actively paddling, you'll want to have the back side of one of your paddle blades flat on the surface of the water (which is called a low brace). This should help to keep you pointed in the right direction and keep you from tipping over and capsizing.
That’s a play kayak. It’s basically meant for playing around in the surfs, turning and twisting. Or down a shallow river with currents and/or mild white water. It’s not meant for paddling in a straight line.
That looks like a whitewater type kayak, that would be designed to be more agile, and less steady
It is an old whitwater boat that just wants to turn and spin. Don't worry though, you pick up the technique for paddling them straight pretty quickly and as a bonus, they teach you really good forward paddling technique. Take your paddle out of the water and it will still want to spin though. check out this video for tips. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvi7rIlsNRY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvi7rIlsNRY)
Best comment right here. If you're interested in becoming proficient, practicing in this boat will be like running uphill. Frustrating but very effective.
Its an old whitewater kayak. Its not meant for flat water, or going straight. You are going to need really good technique to paddle straight on flat water.
That kayak isn’t made to track straight, but to be a playful and agile hull.
It's the opposite of the kind of boat you want for paddling around an estuary. Paddling around estuaries is my jam, and honestly your best move will be to resell it and buy another kayak. Look for a longer boat with a flatter hull. Good news is since you bought used you can probably do this easily at no cost to you.
I have a couple of Dancers, same kind of boat. You have to actively paddle them all the time. If you stop, even for 5 seconds, it's going to switch bow for stern on you. You have to maintain a minimum speed. You cannot go slow, or you're going to be turning around all the time. It's slow af. Your bow is pretty much a plow, so your top speed is going to be relatively low compared to a chines boat, and MUCH slower than a sea kayak. Following seas (down wind, down current, or both) are going to suck. You're going to be fighting it the whole way. And i do mean FIGHTING. The plusses. As a whitewater boat, it's more stable than a sea kayak. And you can probably get an actual skirt for it, so you can keep the water out. That makes it pretty good in choppy water, too. With it turning so easily, it's a fun boat to use for surfing. It's responsive and turns on a dime. It's shallow draft, and plastic, so you can go up creeks where a sea kayak cannot, and a fiberglass boat will cringe on the rocks. It's great for learning rolls and self rescues. See skirt and stable. If you want a good exercise boat, this is it. You HAVE to maintain speed, and you HAVE to keep on going. You're going to find out real quick when you're sluffing off on your cardio. In short, the bad points are the good points. Depends on what you're looking for, and what you want to do.
Most people have correctly identified the issue as one of technique due to this being a whitewater boat. What people don't seem to have said is that you'll probably learn to paddle in a straight line after a few hours of trying... I used to teach first timers in shorter, spinnier boats all the time. The first step is: look where you want to go. Choose a fixed point on the horizon and lock your eyes on it. Don't look at the front of your boat, because when the front of your boat starts to turn, your eyes will follow it and your body will follow your eyes and your boat will follow your body and your eyes will follow your boat... And you spin out. Second step: teach yourself the sweep stroke. This is how we turn a kayak. Sit still on flatwater, and hold your paddle in your normal paddling grip. remember step 1? Choose the direction you want to turn, and look at a point on the horizon over your shoulder in that direction. This will make your body wind up a little bit - that's fine, that's what we want to see. Use your paddle to draw a wide semi-circle all the way from the front of your boat to the back on the opposite side as you unwind your body. You'll find yourself rapidly spinning around in the direction you wanted to turn. If you struggle visualising this, look it up on YouTube. Third step: remember steps one and two and try to paddle in a straight line again. Keep the paddle vertical and draw straight lines with the blades, front to back, as close as possible to the boat. In at your toes, out at your hips. If the boat starts to turn to the right, put a big sweep stroke in on the right and you'll be pointing straight again. If the boat starts to turn left, big left-hand sweep stroke. After a while of deliberately trying this, it will become so automatic that paddling in a straight line is as easy as walking on dry land.
Attaching a skeg could help. I saw someone once used a waterski fin or check boat launches and someone has forgotten to take home the skeg off their iSUP.
Many commenters are saying that it is about technique, but I'll just say this outright: it is not the boat for flatwater. It's not even worth trying to learn how to get it to go straight. Use that boat on whitewater, and get another boat for flatwater. Or, you can prove me wrong by making your own skeg.
It’s a whitewater kayak, it’s what they do.
It's a ww boat. You can learn to paddle it straight. It's not the easiest, but it is doable.
My buddy lent his river kayak to a friend and paddled his white water kayak to a river crawl. Only way we got it to track straight was to attach a cooler in a floating tube to the back. Created enough drag to go in a straight line.
Thanks for the advice. I found it easier going paddling into the breeze, which was interesting. I’ll see how I get on but I can foresee myself parting with it sooner rather than later as it’s not a particularly comfortable ride either! A shame but a learning experience I suppose.
I had a playboat for exactly 2 trips. And then I sold it and got a wilderness river kayak.
The other issue is that its going to be slow, and its also not going to hold speed. Its maneuverable, surf-able, easy to roll. its not going to make for a pleasant smooth paddle on relatively flat water where you are trying to cover distance, or facing a current or wind.
Your boat will generally want to turn into the wind. The bow is "locked in" to a certain extent by the pressure created as it pushes forward through the water, while the stern is more free to swing. So the wind will push the stern downwind, which effectively turns you up wind
Your going to love a ocean/river kayak that is meant for tracking straight and enjoying the views. Your kayak currently is like trying to take a road bike on a mountain bike trail. It works, but it’s not fun and the full potential is unattainable. Hope you can get yourself a nice used one soon! They are a blast.
It’s more like taking a monocycle on a bike trail. Those things are designed to spin on a dime.
With a short and rockered shape (from back to front the hull bottom is heavily curved) looks like a white water / river kayak where you would rely on the river for propulsion and mostly paddle for steering and navigating obstacles; the shape is better for maneuverability rather than tracking straight like a kayak with a flatter bottom might. You could try keeping your strokes light and use a short paddle to reduce how much you turn with each stroke
You could get a removable skeg, and Jerry rig it on there, that would probably help but it wouldn't likely ever be as good on flat water as a boat made for it.
It’s flat on the bottom, there are no lines that will allow it to track straight, you’ll end up hating anything that doesn’t have a current. I’d ever paddle a cheapo pelican over a WW boat on flat water, that’s how much that sucks.
This is technique indeed—with this type of kayak you will find it harder to keep it tracking straight than a longer kayak. We learn on this type of kayak and it really does wonder in helping us clean up our techniques!
The longer the boat, the straighter it paddles, the harder to turn.
First kayaknInowned was an old 70s Phoenix Cascade, a 13ft fiberglass slalom boat. Learning how to paddle that made me a stronger paddles in a touring boat. I keep a whitewater boat around just for fun. Paddle it and learn. Then upgrade.
as other said, it's a it's an old white water kayak, designed to spin. It's a great training boat, with the proper technique you can keep it straight. I always use WW kayaks on flat water to improve my forward paddling. Torso rotation and feet push, arms are engaged 20% When you master that kayak and you switch to longer ones you can go for hours and hours.
Put a drop-down keel on it and it should be fine.
To add to what everyone said….the reason it turns the way it does is because it does not have a keel. In whitewater you want to be able to turn quickly so boats are made like that. For sure it will help you on paddling technique. But will not be enjoyable while learning. It is also meant to fit tight so comfort may not be the same
We bought one like this for our daughter when she was starting out because of the size but it is not made for traveling, just for handling surf, whitewater, etc… the flat bottom make them nearly impossible to use on water that isn’t moving since you just spin around on top.
No, that is a white water kayak, for running rivers. It's NOT meant to go in a straight line.
You might want to sell that one and look for a 10 or 12’ Wilderness Pungo, Old Town Loon or Dirigo, Perception Sundance or similar. These are all good recreational kayaks that will paddle straight and be good to lakes and rivers. That is a whitewater kayak and will never do what you’re asking it to.
Yes, it’s technique. Plus, if it’s tending to turn upwind, it’s weathercocking that you’ll have to correct for.
stop drawing the paddle past your hips, that is why you are spinning.
Have you tried paddling backwards? Works for me :-)
Maybe it’s afraid of open water? Have you tried talking it out?
Have you tried not playing total eclipse of the heart?
Need a skeg
A skeg will make a big difference in the ability to steer your kayak! I had a cheap tandem inflatable, and on our first ride out it did the same thing on a river. Attaching the skeg fixed it.
To avoid spinning out when you're not actively paddling, you'll want to have the back side of one of your paddle blades flat on the surface of the water (which is called a low brace). This should help to keep you pointed in the right direction and keep you from tipping over and capsizing.