How to Kayak and Canoe Safely in High Water

Heavy rainstorms means lots of paddling opportunities, especially on rivers that usually run too low in the summer months, but statistics show that most kayaking fatalities occur during times of high water when the river seems most tempting. Understand that excessive rainfall can turn a normally placid and familiar river into a raging torrent, and be prepared to deal quickly with the unexpected. Here are some tips for optimizing time on the river and getting home safely.

Wear a Life Jacket!

A Coast Guard approved personal floatation device ( PFD) is a must for everyone on the water. While type I and II PFD’s are designed to keep the wearer’s face out of the water, they are not comfortable for long paddling trips. Safe paddling requires a type III PFD that is worn properly fastened at all times when on the water. Before launching a boat, all paddlers should test the fit of their PFD's by having a partner yank on the shoulder straps, making certain it can't slip over the head.

Portage Around Low-Head Dams and Dangerous Hydraulics

Low-head dams or weirs, are dangerous in any condition, but particularly so during times of high water, when the raised level of the river makes the drop look lower. The deceptively low drop belies the danger of the hydraulics (or backwash formed when water passes over an obstruction). According to Rick Combs and Steve Gillen, in Canoeing & Kayaking Ohio’s Streams, (c1994 The Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT) “Water dropping over an obstacle curls back on itself.” The surface water is actually going upstream in an endlessly repeating cycle. . . “and this action will trap any object between the drop and the wave.”

A hydraulic (or eddy), exists downriver from every obstacle in the river, but when a natural obstacle, such as a tree or a rock causes a hydraulic, the current is swiftest in the center, and weaker at the edges, thereby giving the paddler an opportunity to find an opening. The hydraulics of a low-head dam, however are uniform from end to end, making it difficult if not impossible for a swimmer to find an opening. Paddlers should always portage around these dams, which, from upriver, look like a smooth horizon line at the end of a pool and are accompanied by the low rumble of tumbling water.

Avoid Strainers & Deadfalls

Strainers are usually trees that have fallen into the water, but can be anything that water can flow through but a boat can’t. It is important to realize that what can’t be seen is as dangerous as what is visible; trees that have recently come down, especially from rapid erosion due to high water will be full of branches below the water line that can trap even an accomplished paddler. Strainers and deadfalls commonly occur on the outer edge of bends where the current is swiftest. Swift current means less time for the paddler to react, and makes avoidance techniques such as back paddling and ferrying (moving sideways in the current) more difficult.

Watching for upcoming hazards, especially when approaching a blind curve will help to avoid strainers, but all kaykers should know what to do should they hit one:

• Lean the boat downstream, using the current to help loosen the boat, being careful not to get trapped between the boat & the strainer.
• A paddler that falls out of his boat should stay with it if possible, but position himself on the upsteam side of it.
• Float on the back with the feet pointing downstream, keeping the toes up, out of the water. Do not attempt to stand until reaching calm, shallow water.

High water brings paddling pleasure but also danger. Smart canoeists and kayakers plan ahead and know what to expect.

Kayak Paddles

Low Head Dam on Muskingum River at Ellis Lock

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