The PSK Hub – Performance Sea Paddling Stuff
An easy training week coincided with spring tides and a little sunshine. A pleasant combination. This is the Swelly Rock wave in the Menai Straits, North Wales. Here the flood tide is squeezed through a narrow channel, increasing the flow speed. And as it runs over the top of the Swelly Rock a wave is …
by John Willacy This gives you an idea of one of my training sessions in the Swellies. Today it is a low-intensity session working the technical aspects of Taran boat handling on moving water – ferry glides, breakouts, crosses, climbs and surfing. The aim running throughout the session is accurate positioning on all of these …
Continue reading “Video – On The Ebb 360 – Training in The Swellies”
The Taran was designed from the outset as a performance sea kayak for paddling on moving water. To gain the best of that performance in the moving water environment I believe you need a snug fit with good physical contact inside the boat. You want the boat to respond instantly and with accuracy to your …
Here we take a look at the fitting of Bow and Stern guards to the Rockpool Taran. Before we get in to the ‘how-to’, maybe we should take a quick look at the ‘why’ too. The Taran is a long-waterline kayak (5.0m+) with a relatively low rocker. It is designed as a performance sea kayak …
These are the slides from the presentation of my first (clockwise) GB Circumnavigation. These are just the ‘bare slides’, no explanatory notes or text.
Here we go for a paddle to Puffin Island, Anglesey to see the seals. They seem to take an interest in the Taran’s rudder. YouTube: Facebook:
Standard Construction for most sea kayaks is Polyester Resin with Chopped Strand Mat (CSM – or ‘fibreglass’) – a ‘glass’ kayak. Polyester/CSM combination is easy to work with from a manufacturers point of view and relatively cheap. It provides a tough, stiff and solid kayak, though to do this it requires enough material to make …
by John Willacy The debate whether to choose the Rockpool Taran 16 or the Taran 18 rages at the moment. A decade ago I designed the Taran 18 and then the Taran 16, and of course I’ve been paddling Tarans ever since. This piece is not aimed to be a ‘which-Taran-should-I-buy’ guide. That decision is …
Another run of the River Ribble Bore in the UK. Not the best one this though, higher river levels and strong winds meant it was never going to be a ‘clean one’. Missing the front wave didn’t help either… All said, it was still worth getting out of bed for. YouTube: Facebook:
A time-lapse video of a steady downwind run of the Menai Straits, from the Sea Zoo to Menai Bridge. YouTube: Facebook: