Rowing, Canoeing & Kayaking

Canoeing | Rowing

Kayaking
Kayaks and related equipment now are available with various modifications, depending on individual need. No specific guidelines exist for boating with a disability because everyone is unique. However, one great way to familiarize yourself with a sport is to go on an outing. Organizations listed at the end of this section, such as Wilderness Inquiry, will have everything you need for kayaking, including trained guides and special equipment which you can try before deciding whether to buy your own.

It is best to consult with a recreational therapist or physical therapist who can assess your ability to maneuver a kayak and determine how you can compensate for any disability. Certified Red Cross instructors also provide training.

Consult with manufacturers of adaptive equipment or their sales staffs to determine what specific equipment you need. Here are some sample adaptations:

• For persons with lower extremity weakness, a kayak can be adapted with a custom-made seat, using ensolite, if necessary, to protect the buttocks.
• Floats or foam inserts can be tucked into pant legs to provide buoyancy to dangling legs and prevent snagging on submerged objects.
• Recommended are a wet-suit to protect against hypothermia and a helmet to avoid head injury, particularly injury from banging against rocks.
• Safety note to all kayakers and canoers: helmets are extremely important on white water rivers because of huge boulders around which the current flows at great speed, making it easy to bang one's head. Be safe. Rivers move very quickly!
• It's also necessary to wear a floatation device, particularly a life vest in case you capsize.
• For those with poor balance, seat belts in kayaks are occasionally recommended, but the kayaker must first extensively practice escape procedures in a swimming pool.
• In order to avoid entrapment in a kayak, lower-body amputees should not wear a regular prosthesis; a water-sports prosthesis is recommended and can be strapped to the outside of the boat for easy access.
• Upper-body amputees can use one-handed paddles, and/or practice paddling using heavy tape or rubber rings to secure their grip on the paddle. (Conventional terminal devices are not designed to hold paddles.)
• Rowing prosthetics also are available for amputees using other types of water crafts.
• Some quadriplegic kayakers or others with limited range of motion will opt to use a two-man kayak if managing a one-man kayak proves to be too difficult.

Kayaking Resources
Common Ground Outdoor Adventures
http://www.cgadventures.org/

Courage Duluth-Adaptive Sports & Rec.
http://www.courage.org
download map with directions

Northeast Passage
http://www.nepassage.org/home.htm

Shared Adventures
http://www.sharedadventures.com/reg.html
Annual Day on the Beach Event

Wilderness Inquiry
http://www.wildernessinquiry.org

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Canoeing
Many of the suggestions for kayaking are applicable to canoeing, and canoeing is often preferable, since you can fit more gear into a canoe, including a wheelchair to use when you get where you're going.

The American Canoe Association's Canoeing and Kayaking for Person's with Physical Disabilities, a 162-page manual, covers all aspects of equipment, adapted equipment, specific disabilities and implications for paddling (see first listing below).

Canoeing Resources
American Canoe Association (ACA)
http://www.acanet.org

Breckenridge Outdoor Education
http://www.boec.org

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures
http://www.cgadventures.org/
Adaptive Canoe Program

Courage Duluth
http://www.courage.org/programs/duluth/main.asp
Adaptive Sports & Recreation

Shared Adventures
http://www.sharedadventures.com
Annual Day on the Beach Event with Outrigger Canoeing

SKIFORALL Foundation
http://www.skiforall.org
Experience the waterways of the Greater Seattle area by boat!

Wilderness Inquiry
http://www.wildernessinquiry.org

Rowing
Rowing of any kind is great sport anyone can enjoy regardless of ability. The development of the Modified Alden Ocean Shell has helped make rowing accessible to individuals with disabilities, including quadriplegics.

The Alden Ocean Shell has an attachable pontoon that provides excellent stability and make it impossible to capsize. It can be modified to fit the individual, particularly in the seating system. Visit http://www.merrywherry.com/alden.html

U.S. Rowing Association
http://www.usrowing.org

VIRUS Rowing Boats
http://www.rowvirusboats.com

Rowing Resources
Access to Recreation
http://www.accesstr.com
Tons of adaptive sports equipment.

Modified Alden Ocean Shell
http://www.merrywherry.com/alden.html

Phoenix Products
http://www.pokeboat.com/
Several styles of boats built for people with disabilities

Special thanks to Jeffrey A. Jones and Michael C. Paciorek for technical information, and resources excerpted from their book, "Sports and Recreation for the Disabled."

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