You will need the following equipment for the roll session. You may bring your own appropriate equipment or we can make arrangements to provide you with rental equipment.

1. 1. Boat - You will need a decked (sit-in) kayak with a keyhole versus a recreational cockpit.
   

2. 2.Sprayskirt- You must have a sprayskirt that fits both your waist and the cockpit of the boat you will be using. We can loan you a limited number and sizes of both nylon and neoprene skirts for keyhole cockpits only.
   

3. 3.Paddle - Any two-bladed kayak paddle is fine. See our website (www.trianglekayak.com) for a discussion about paddle types and considerations for buying.
   

4. 4.Personal Floatation Device/PFD (life jacket) -This must be a U.S. Coast Guard approved Type III or Type V approved for use as a Type III. There are many PFDs on the market designed specifically for paddling and you will be most  comfortable with one of these. Be sure to have a whistle attached to you PFD. I’ve found the ACR WW-3 whistle to be the perfect (and inexpensive) tool for this purpose.
   

5. 5.Footwear- We all like to think we’ll spend a leisurely day in our boat and won’t need foot protection but it frequently doesn’t work that way. Good protective footwear is a must when kayaking. Try to find a good balance between comfort in the boat (and test your footwear in the boat) and something with a good sole for walking over rocks. Strap-on sandals like Teva or Keen work great if they fit your boat.
   

6. 6.Water-Have a bottle of water with you for hydration. Paddling is exercise and you will need to hydrate in any season.
   

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Clothing-  Wear casual and comfortable clothing for the classroom portions of the course that are appropriate for the day of the course. Having rain-gear may make life more comfortable.  Once we get in you will want to have warm clothing suitable for staying wet in for several hours. This precludes any type of cotton clothing. There is a wide selection of paddling-specific clothing available; much of it made from artificial and wicking fibers like polypropylene. Patagonia Capiliene serves very well in this function as a wicking layer. Various vendors have similar products. Always try to have an extra layer available to add to what you have on in case you begin to get chilled. Try to also follow the advice to “dress for the swim” rather than the paddle. While neoprene wetsuits provide fairly good insulation, they also provide really effective evaporative cooling. If you’re wearing a wetsuit, try to have a thin splash layer over it to cut down on evaporative cooling.

Weather-We will try to hold the course during nice weather but that’s not always possible when scheduling a course in advance. Your instructor will make a final decision to hod the course on the basis of the weather providing a safe and enjoyable experience. Should a class need to be rescheduled due to weather, we will make a reasonable alternative date available.

Once you have your boat and gear available, try it all on and sit in your boat for while and get comfortable. Adjust your footpegs of footbraces so that you’re snug in the boat not cramped. We’ll do some fine tuning during the class, but it’s good to get a feel for your gear and boat as early as possible. For the best results with kayak rolls, you will need good body-contact with your boat. Your hips should be in good contact with hip pads and your thighs should be snug in your thigh braces.  I would advise not getting into the water with it prior to the class if you have not used this type of gear before so that we can go over a few basic maneuvers to help insure your safety. Hang out on the living room floor, surf the web, watch the tube, get comfy.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call at 919.368.2151 or email us at larry@trianglekayak.com or nancy@trianglekayak.com. We look forward to the class as much as you do. You’ll find that most instructors in this sport are teaching because they love to paddle and love to see others learning those skills. We’re no different in that regard.

--Larry and Nancy