Kayaking is much more challenging than most think.  You then add whitewater to the situation and it can also become dangerous.  So if you are one who thinks of kyaking as something as simple as paddling up and down a stream.  You have overly simplified this extreme sport.

A kayak is a long, thin shaped boat that has a rounded or V-shaped hull.  They can be as short as about 6 feet to as long as over 12 feet.  Normally made of rugged plastic to reduce the damage that can be done by the rocks in the river rapids, they are constructed to take the extreme punishment.  But for some forms of kayaking there is other material that can and is used.  There is one seat in the center for what is called the pilot.  There is a waterproof skirting that fastens around this persons waist.  This skirting is to stop water from entering into the boat.

Different from a rowboat where you paddle with two paddles one on each side, a kayak uses on paddle.  This paddle is just as different as the kayak is.  It is double bladed and designed to paddle on one side and then the other in a back and forth sequence.

Playboating, slalom, creeking and river running are the 4 main types of whitewater kayaking and we will take a look at each.

You may have heard of slalom kayaking but can not remember where.  It is a event in the International Summer Olympic Games.  Slalom is a precision kayak race.  This event is set up on a designated part of the river with a series of gates.  These gates are navigated in a certain sequence and are color coded red and green.  These are suspended vertically above the water, and the colors dictate the direction you must be traveling to negotiate the gate.  The winner is determined by who is the fastest to go from the first gate to the last, turn around and navigate the other colored gates in the opposite direction, bringing you back to the first gate.  The kayak that is used for slalom kayaking is made of fiberglass and carbon fibers to increase their speed and the sleekness of the design.  Slalom kayaks also do need to be a certain size so the competitors are equal in regards to boat size.

Playboating is also known as the whitewater rodeo.  It consists of putting the kayak into a series of extreme maneuvers that have such vivid names as looping, surfing, cartwheeling and spinning.  The kayaks used for playboating are designed to allow the bow and the stern to be easily submerged.  This assists with all the trick moves required in playboating.  An experienced playboater can just about stand a kayak on its nose.  As you can see playboating is almost a sport within a sport.

River Running is not for the timid.  It puts the kayak and its pilot into just about every maneuver that tests the extreme limits of each.  It will take you from a calm drift down a lazy river to a fanatical obstacle course of fast water rapids and could also involve a waterfall.  This type of extreme kayaking can include day-trips, river races that are also known as whitewater races.  Multiple day trips including overnight camping are also a possibility with river running.