EnviroYak: Edging a Sea Kayak When Surfing

One of my “Aha!” moments when learning to surf waves in a sea kayak was the realization that edging on the same side as your paddle during a stern rudder stroke is less effective (actually ineffective) in turning the boat.

As a kayak catches a wave and begins to move forward and "plane" on that wave, the bow will invariably begin to turn one way or the other. Without correcting this the kayak will eventually broach resulting in a side-surf or coming off the wave (wave passes underneath). Using the stern rudder stroke and edging the kayak is necessary to get the kayak back on track when surfing.

Under regular paddling (non-surfing), the typical way to improve the effectiveness of a stern rudder stroke is to edge the kayak on the same side that you placed the paddle. [e.g., To Turn Left - Rudder On Left Side - Edge on Left Side]. Edging this way on the stroke-side is more natural for the body and quickens the turn by shortening the kayak’s waterline length. Doing it this way also allows for a quick transition to a low brace turn.

However, edging on the paddle side won’t work when surfing if your intent is to stay on the wave. If you edge on the same side as your paddle in the stern rudder stroke, two bad things happen: First, your edge will present more of the boat’s hull to the wave face - the flat underside portion of the hull in contact with the wave. This will increase the rotational force that has already begun to turn the kayak into a broach. (bad) Second, the chine portion of the kayak hull has a curve to it from bow-to-stern, that will naturally act to turn the boat to the left when edged on the right and vice-versa. Using this natural tendency of the hull to turn away from the side it's edged on is super helpful when fighting the broach. But if you edge on your paddle side you'll be edging on the down-slope side of the wave, and the curve of the kayak hull will very rapidly accelerate the broach that has begun. (bad)

So, edging the kayak on the OPPOSITE side from your paddle during a stern rudder stroke when surfing is much more effective in keeping the boat running straight and on the wave. It provides a double-whammy - the paddle and the edging work together. As your kayak begins to turn or broach, put the stern rudder stroke in on the down-wave side (trough side) but edge on the up-wave side (crest or peak side). NOTE, doing it this way can be challenging to execute without practice. You may feel off-balance and unstable at first – your mind is telling you, “Don’t do that, if I edge on the side without a paddle I won’t have any support!?” You must ignore that warning message from your brain, curl your torso/head away from the edge side to stay balanced (it's an "edge" after all, not a "lean"), and keep the paddle blade in the water. Try it on some small waves at first to build muscle-memory.

I’ve done my best to sketch some illustrations of this (below) that I hope are clear enough.