Kayak stability is a significant concern for most kayakers and an even bigger point of contention for new kayak anglers. Face it, when we’re fishing we’re not paying that much attention to our balance. The more we can prepare for it and avoid those unpleasant moments of drastic rocking, the better we’ll feel about our situation. The more you do to take advantage of your kayak’s innate stability, and the more effort you put into reinforcing that stability, the more pleasant your outing will be.
You have to start by understanding your kayak. What are the stability properties designed into your kayak? What techniques are provided by the manufacturer to reinforce that designed stability? What are the limitations the manufacturer recommends not exceeding.
If you want a better foundation on this decision process, check out the following articles.
Once you understand what your kayak’s limitations are and you recognize your personal limitations (experience, flexibility, skill level) you can start looking into solutions for your personal situation.
1. Stand up assist bar
If you are new to kayaking, have difficulty standing up from an unstable sitting position, or have difficulty “finding your sea legs” while standing on a kayak, you’ll need assistance with the process. Most kayaks today come with a pull strap somewhere in the cockpit. Manufacturers intend for you to use that strap to help you stand up. For some, this is perfectly sufficient. It provides a pressure point for pulling yourself up into a standing position. Once up, you’re perfectly fine with your circumstances and able to move on with your activities. There are others who need more assistance than that strap.
When you’re unstable on your feet and you’re fighting a fish from the kayak, that strap isn’t going to keep you stable or upright. A Stand up assist bar, however, provides you with a significantly more stable position. In rock climbing, hunting, and other outdoors adventures, the key recommendation is to maintain 3 points of contact at all time. This method provides you with the most stability while also allowing for movement and repositioning.
The standup assist bar gives you that third point of contact while allowing your hands to remain free while fishing. It gives you a solid point of contact to pull against as standing. As I am always looking for multi-purpose uses to minimize bulk and weight on my kayak, I find it to also be rather beneficial for attaching other accessories (lights, camera mounts, tools can be hung at the side).
2. Flotation bags
When you fish from a sit inside kayak you will face a unique set of obstacles that can become quite overwhelming for a newer kayaker. Sit inside kayaks are known for their secondary stability, not primary stability. YouTube is a great resource for visual explinations of this concept. While that secondary stability will help you right yourself and your gear more quickly than you can do on a sit on top kayak, you’re still going to be facing a major water frustration.
An upside down sit inside kayak takes on water that never drains. Sit inside kayaks don’t have scupper holes to allow for drainage. While a bilge pump (manual or automatic) will benefit you in these types of circumstances, it will only help if the kayak is at least partially out of the water. That is where the flotation bags become most important. They fill the empty space in front of you and behind. When your kayak flips they prevent the hull from filling entirely.
That air pocket, in theory, will keep your kayak from sinking.
Once you upright the kayak, the bilge pump can remove most if not al of the remaining water making it easier to remain afloat while returning to shore. Additionally, once water is displaced and the kayak is preserved, many of today’s float bags can be used as a personal float assist also. Now this doesn’t replace your PFD, but it can help add to your buoyancy. The more of your body that is out of the water, the easier it is for rescuers to see you.
Why would I bring this up in a discussion about kayak stability? Buoyancy. The more buoyant a kayak is, the less likely it is to tip over. That means you’ve turned a small degree of your secondary stability into primary stability. The more primary stability you have, the easier it will be for you to fish.
This doesn’t mean you won’t flip or sink your kayak. It does mean you’ll help reduce the risk.
3. Skeg or rudder installation
One of the most challenging prospects for new kayakers is tracking. You can be in a kayak with “perfect” tracking and still struggle to move in a straight line if you are malfunctioning as the operator.
If you’ve read other articles, you already know I malfunction regularly. I’ve talked in the past about surgeries causing mobility issues for me. I sit crooked in my kayak now and cause a lyst to the right because of that. While there are multiple solutions I have found to help with the issue, nothing resolves the problem completely other than my conscious effort to fix the situation.
A big help to my tracking has proven to be a skeg. It helps counterbalance the way I sit at an angle. The skeg compensates (a bit) for my tendency to paddle stronger on the left than right. And it helps hold my position in currents as I’m fishing.
Many people get confused between a skeg and a rudder.
I tend to prefer skegs which are stationary fins positioned behind the kayaks. The fixed blade helps hold a straight line as you progress through the water. A rudder, on the other hand, moves. You have to install a steering system to make the rudder work. The rudder can help you hold true when trying to track straight, but proves to be more beneficial when trying to steer. I have found it to be helpful for steering on the kayaks I motorized. When paddling, it has never proven to help me with my tracking and has not made any significant change to my steering.
That is my experience. It is not necessarily going to be yours. You will benefit from trying out kayaks with a skeg and kayaks with a rudder. The one that helps you best will be rather easy to identify once you’re out on the water. Remember that with all of these alterations and mods you’re goal is to be making the kayak better for you. Don’t waste your time on a project that will not benefit your kayaking methods.
4. Dog platform
Many people enjoy taking their dog kayaking with them. It can be entertaining, fun for you and your dog, and help with the bond every dog should have with its human companion. My dogs are terrified of water that doesn’t come in a drinkable volume so bathtubs, lakes, rivers, and the like are a no go. Luckily, many kayakers don’t have scaredy-cats like me.
If you take your dog kayaking with you, you’ve no doubt experienced the rocking caused by your dog shifting its weight inside the kayak. Small dogs aren’t necessarily going to cause a significant enough shift to create a problem, but larger dogs can cause noticeable tippage. A simple solution that has worked for many people has been to create a dog platform. When it has some give, that flexibility will absorb some of the motion and reduce the rocking taken on by the entire kayak. Remember, every little bit of reduced rocking helps create a more stable experience for you as the operator.
Besides, what dog doesn’t like a soft, comfy bed to experience life from?
5.Outriggers
Probably the most talked about and most used source for added stability is the outrigger. This can be as simple or as complex of a solution as you choose to make it. I have a few smaller kayaks with less stability than I prefer. I have a profound knack for leaning a bit further to the side than I should when I get frustrated. The combination is not ideal which is why I started experimenting with outriggers. They can be a bit on the pricey side, but after losing my second $500 setup, I was willing to invest in the solution.
They can be attached by independent attachment points such as the Railblaza star ports I use for mine or they can be built to attach to the flush mounted rod holders already on your kayak. If you are going to go the DIY route, you’ve got limitless options for attaching outriggers to your kayak.
The benefits to outriggers are plentiful, but not infallible. Don’t go into any stability solution expecting that it will prevent you from ever flipping your kayak. No solution is 100%. Of all the solutions I’ve tried, I have found outriggers to be the most beneficial for my clumsy habits. They help you stop the tipping cycle when you’re not paying close attention to your position. They won’t stop you from tipping if you really put your back into it.
A major disadvantage that many people have discovered is the added drag.
The more material in the water, the more drag your vessel will experience. Many users claim that the outriggers prevent them from moving as quickly through the water as they’re used to. My experience is that this drag is usually caused by misalignment of the pontoons. If they are properly aligned, they will just barley skim the water surface when sitting perfectly level.
They don’t dig into the water unless you lean to the side. Why, then, is there noticeable drag? Most users with an issue have either set the pontoons lower so that they are always sitting in the water or they have not developed proper paddling technique. Now I am by no means an expert paddler. I will lean into my strokes quite frequently. The lean during my stroke puts the pontoon deeper in the water and adds a bit more power to the stroke to compensate. Ideally, I would learn to paddle correctly and not dig the pontoon into the water.
If you opt for the outriggers, just recognize that they are user dependent. Learn to use them correctly and they can become a time saver as well as a life saver.
6. Casting Deck (sort of)
Every kayak is designed with an ideal center of gravity level. Just like raising your seat can reduce your stability, a casting deck can do the same thing. This is why I suggest the casting deck solution with cautions. Most importantly, I am not suggesting you put an elevated casting deck on your kayak. As we have always suggested, check what your manufacturer suggests for your chosen kayak. If they say you shouldn’t stand on the kayak, you’re not going to be able to use a casting deck. If they say you’re good to stand, think about where you’re going to stand. I have had several kayaks that are rated for standing and sight casting. A few of them had a bit more give to the floor than what I was comfortable with. The give on the floor causes you to have unstable footing. That can cause you to fall out or miss cast.
A solution to the problem is adding a more solid floor. It is going to be raised to add a bit of height to your position. The material you choose can make the platform a bit more solid or significantly more solid. Either way, the more solid your footing, the less you will struggle with balance. No matter how you cut it, your balance is what determines your stability on your kayak.
Whatever solution you choose to try, the focus must be on your safety.
Making your kayak more stable will improve your safety. So experiment with these options, explore other potential solutions, and find what will make your kayaking experience the best it can be.
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What has worked for you? What are you interested in trying next? We’d love to hear from you.