The Houston Canoe Club
is a Paddlesports Risk Management Club Sign the Waiver HCC
"What If I Flip?" "Paddlers often say that we’re all between swims. There are many ways to get back into your kayak if you flip. First, make sure your boat is floating right side up. Push on one side while pulling on the other..." Complete story: Adventure Kayak "Five Common Mistakes When Buying SUP Gear" "Earlier this year, I was shopping for home supplies when I came face-to-face with a paddleboard display outside of a big box store. They were selling a package deal of foam board, plastic paddle and leash for $400. Good deal?..." Complete story: Adventure Kayak "Why Your River Is Worth More Than The Sum Of Its Parts" "Longtime readers will recognize two themes occupying this space: risk and reward and the valuing of our rivers. Lately it has been more of the former and less of the latter. My pessimistic self senses paddlers today collectively value our rivers less than we did in the past and less than we should..." Complete story: Rapid Media "How To Install The Yoke On Your Canoe" "These seven simple steps will have your yoke installed in no time. Pick up a wooden canoe yoke from your local canoe outfitter. There is ongoing debate whether contoured and carved-out or padded yokes are most comfortable—choose the style that works for you. Ash is strongest, poplar is lightest and walnut or cherry offers a unique look..." Complete story: Canoeroots "10 Things That Will Happen When You Learn To Whitewater Kayak" "Learning to whitewater kayak is a huge feat. Maybe you are a new paddler beginning the process this season, or perhaps you are a waterlogged pro with several decades of boofing, creeking and river booties behind you. No matter where you are in the life of your whitewater kayaking pursuits, you will be able to relate to these ten whitewater learning moments..." Complete story: Rapid Media "Stirrup Strap Re-entry" "Any re-entry type of rescue, whether a solo effort or assisted, can be taxing on the capsized paddler - sometimes to the point of near exhaustion. Using a stirrup recovery technique can literally give you one leg up on being able to re-enter your boat..." Complete story: Paddling.com "How To Paddle Straight" "Many people who have paddled for years can't keep a canoe on a straight course without constant wavering. What are they doing wrong? Heading the list is their correctional stroke which, more often than not, is the "thumbs-up-J"... For flatwater though, it is awkward and inefficient. For running straight without wavering the pitch stroke is better..." Complete story: Paddling.com "Manky PFD? How To Know When It's Time To Replace" "Rapid’s staff spend a lot of time wearing PFDs. Some of us are guilty of using the same manky PFDs on every single river outing for years on end. Some of us get sentimentally attached to our PFDs, holding onto them much longer than we should. We found ourselves debating when exactly we should be replacing them. Do PFDs have a best-before date? What are the red flags that warrant a replacement? We spoke with experts in the PFD industry to find the answers..." Complete story: Rapid Media "Understanding Weather-Cocking And Skegs" "Have you ever wondered what weather-cocking is and how the skeg works in relation to it? By use of these diagrams, I will explain what is happening to your kayak when it “weather-cocks.”.." Complete story: Adventure Kayak "The Float Plan: A Vital Paddling Tool" "A sudden sequence of bad weather caused two groups of kayakers to become overdue to the point Search and Rescue units were activated to find them. The first group was recovered within hours; the second group had to survive three days before being found. The difference? The first group had left a float plan behind, the second group had just charged off with out telling anyone where they were going or what their plan was..." Complete story: Paddling.com "How to Have Sex in a Canoe" "In a country with more than 60 percent of the world’s lakes, crisscrossed by untold rivers and streams, it’s no wonder that the ability to copulate while floating in a small boat has become a point of national pride. In 1973, author and historian Pierre Berton was quoted as saying, 'A Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe...'" Complete story: New York Times
"Paddlers often say that we’re all between swims. There are many ways to get back into your kayak if you flip. First, make sure your boat is floating right side up. Push on one side while pulling on the other..."
"Earlier this year, I was shopping for home supplies when I came face-to-face with a paddleboard display outside of a big box store. They were selling a package deal of foam board, plastic paddle and leash for $400. Good deal?..."
"Longtime readers will recognize two themes occupying this space: risk and reward and the valuing of our rivers. Lately it has been more of the former and less of the latter. My pessimistic self senses paddlers today collectively value our rivers less than we did in the past and less than we should..."
"These seven simple steps will have your yoke installed in no time. Pick up a wooden canoe yoke from your local canoe outfitter. There is ongoing debate whether contoured and carved-out or padded yokes are most comfortable—choose the style that works for you. Ash is strongest, poplar is lightest and walnut or cherry offers a unique look..."
"Learning to whitewater kayak is a huge feat. Maybe you are a new paddler beginning the process this season, or perhaps you are a waterlogged pro with several decades of boofing, creeking and river booties behind you. No matter where you are in the life of your whitewater kayaking pursuits, you will be able to relate to these ten whitewater learning moments..."
"Any re-entry type of rescue, whether a solo effort or assisted, can be taxing on the capsized paddler - sometimes to the point of near exhaustion. Using a stirrup recovery technique can literally give you one leg up on being able to re-enter your boat..."
"Many people who have paddled for years can't keep a canoe on a straight course without constant wavering. What are they doing wrong? Heading the list is their correctional stroke which, more often than not, is the "thumbs-up-J"... For flatwater though, it is awkward and inefficient. For running straight without wavering the pitch stroke is better..."
"Rapid’s staff spend a lot of time wearing PFDs. Some of us are guilty of using the same manky PFDs on every single river outing for years on end. Some of us get sentimentally attached to our PFDs, holding onto them much longer than we should. We found ourselves debating when exactly we should be replacing them. Do PFDs have a best-before date? What are the red flags that warrant a replacement? We spoke with experts in the PFD industry to find the answers..."
"Have you ever wondered what weather-cocking is and how the skeg works in relation to it? By use of these diagrams, I will explain what is happening to your kayak when it “weather-cocks.”.."
"A sudden sequence of bad weather caused two groups of kayakers to become overdue to the point Search and Rescue units were activated to find them. The first group was recovered within hours; the second group had to survive three days before being found. The difference? The first group had left a float plan behind, the second group had just charged off with out telling anyone where they were going or what their plan was..."
"In a country with more than 60 percent of the world’s lakes, crisscrossed by untold rivers and streams, it’s no wonder that the ability to copulate while floating in a small boat has become a point of national pride. In 1973, author and historian Pierre Berton was quoted as saying, 'A Canadian is somebody who knows how to make love in a canoe...'"