first kayak lesson

[airportcopper]

well i took my first kayak lesson and it was a total mess, i kept on turning my kayak upside down, im 6'3 about 207 lbs, everybody else seemed to have no stability problems, my uncle is a long time paddler claims it was the type of kayak they had placed me in, i was really looking foward to getting into this hobby becaus i love the outdorrs and the water. The problem is this big wimp doen't wanna drown it was a very uncomfortable experience. once they put me on a sit on top it was fun but i felt i paddled and the kayak barely moved .. any suggestions..

[kayak karl]

don't give up and keep practicing:D work on your balance. if you have a Wii balance board they're great. if not, just walk a straight line with arms out. balance didn't come naturaly to me on the water either. what helped me the most was "eyes forward" when i turned my head to right or left while paddling i was over:D
keep it up.
have FUN with it.

KK

[treadhead1952]

Hi AC,

Sorry to hear that it wasn't the sterling example of Kayaking that you had hoped for, but like Kayak Karl says, don't hang it up yet. The first time I got in a canoe, it was a real comedy act. I am 6'3" and tip the scales at about 240 so I can understand your situation to some degree. Just hang in there and experiment around with different styles of Kayak to get an idea of how it all works. I bike on a 16 speed mountain bike back and forth to work and play around with it on the weekends so I can sort of work on balance issues for myself. That helped me out a lot when I first started canoeing. As to being a speed king your first time out, I think that once you get the balance issues worked out so you can feel comfortable on it, paddle work will follow. Sorta difficult to focus on one thing while being way concerned about just keeping your seat.

Good luck and hang in there buddy.

Jay
treadhead1952
Las Vegas, NV

[a2cpc]

Like everyone else has said, don't give up on it yet. I was afraid I would have the same problem. I am 6ft and 250lbs. Luckily, we went to a local kayak tryout event, and I was able to try several different kayaks and found one that I felt comfortable in, balance wise. The first two I tried really made me think I would need to find something else to do as a new sport.

[keith]

Ditto, don't give up. See if any of your local paddle shops have a demo day where you can try out a bunch of boats in one day. BTW, guys do tend to capsize more than women because we have more of our weight up high and also because we tend to be more about power than grace. And as long as you're going to be capsizing anyway, you might as well take some kayak rolling lessons. ;-)

[Ozarkwoods]

I know this is not a timely response but here I go. First I have to say I am totally new to kayaking, new meaning my kayaks are sitting 40 miles away from me right now at the shipper. I have to wait until they get enough to fill a truck to come in my direction.....jeez so very new. I am not new to paddling as a kid I spent summers in a canoe in MN. I have to agree with your uncle that the type of kayak and hull you were in has a lot to do with it. From what I have read there are some that are just made for the more experienced kayaker. Keep trying out different kayaks. Look for ones that claim to more stable the hull will be a bit flatter/wider on the bottom. If the hull when looking at the bottom looks like a shape of a telephone pole you will have issues with staying up out of the water. Once you are used to balancing then the faster touring hulls or even the racing hulls. I researched and narrowed my choices down to a few then I went to look at them. Tried them out. Like they said above you will need to try the few you have narrowed down out on water, a floor in a show room just won't be the same. A good thing about going into the water you get to test the PFD you were wearing too. Also realizing the importance to learn how to self rescue.

At my age 52, I looking forward in starting a whole new past time with my wife. Good luck in your search.