You can accomplish the same thing with the right kind of bow rudder, but you don’t have to put the boat on edge that much.
Celia’s suggestion of scrambling around while in the cockpit while in shallow water is a good one. Nigel Foster’s The Art of Kayaking has a great balance exercise: sit on the back deck, feet in the water, and paddle. Then progress to lifting your feet to the the surface while paddling, then move them out of the water. When comfortable doing that, start with your feet in the water and eventually move them onto your cockpit seat and paddle. If you fall out, you can easily get back in and try again.
I personally prefer a hard chined boat. I like the communication. Granted, I’ve a much lower center of gravity than PhotoMax, so initial stability on my Fathom LV has never been an issue. While my Prana LV has something called a hybrid hard chine, the only time I can feel it is when I run my hand over the hull.
@Sparky961 said:
@magooch makes a good point about practicing your shallow water entry/exit. I’ll add that being proficient getting into and out of your boat quickly just about anywhere is very valuable. Your strength, balance, and flexibility are the only limiting factors. I think it’s important to be able to do it from both sides as well. I can’t imagine having to move my boat just so I can get in on the right [correct] side.
I get your point, especially when it comes to getting out of your boat quickly to beat the next wave, before it beats you. On the other hand, getting into your boat can generally be planned. I still think one should totally master entering and exiting from one side where it is instinctive and requires no thought–everything is automatic. I used the bicycle, motorcycle examples, because that too is a one sided deal for me. I actually have thought about training from the opposite side with the kayaks, but if it ain’t broke, I’m very reluctant to attempt to fix it. At 76 I’m kind of set in my ways and not sure I want to risk messing with something that works.
@magooch said:
I get your point, especially when it comes to getting out of your boat quickly to beat the next wave, before it beats you. On the other hand, getting into your boat can generally be planned. I still think one should totally master entering and exiting from one side where it is instinctive and requires no thought–everything is automatic. I used the bicycle, motorcycle examples, because that too is a one sided deal for me. I actually have thought about training from the opposite side with the kayaks, but if it ain’t broke, I’m very reluctant to attempt to fix it. At 76 I’m kind of set in my ways and not sure I want to risk messing with something that works.
I have better coordination, balance and strength than average, and likely will have diminished by the time I reach your age. So what I’m suggesting needs to be tempered and adjusted to a person’s abilities and conditions in which they paddle.
Yes, getting into your boat is usually planned. Getting out, less so - especially for a nature break while paddling in an area you didn’t expect to get out at. I’ve done some pretty creative exits on slippery rocks, roots, high docks and ice shelves. Also being a taller guy with high centre of gravity (6’2", 225 lbs) like the OP, I’ve found that a large cockpit opening can really help with a speedy in/out. Moving the backband aft and the foot pegs back the same amount can give more clearance too. This way you might just be able to raise your legs/knees up with your butt still on the seat. I imagine this is no problem in the Stratos (I also own one and the opening is large), but I don’t know about the Romany Surf. This might be causing some of the issues for entry, as the only way to enter/exit a boat like this is to sit on the back deck and slide down inside. This can be precarious even in calm conditions. It’s also the most likely time you’ll have an audience, and thus most embarrassing. 
If concentrating on one side, even just to nail it down really well to start, is what it takes than nothing is lost and much has been gained.
@Celia said:
@semdoug
I guess, though aside from maybe the chine thing I don’t know where we disagreed. We both said that this paddler was at the upper limits for the boat and that balance would be an issue. FWIW, I have put very new paddlers into my hard chined boat. They loved it.I did not suggest the OPer dump this boat right now, on that one maybe we have to leave it at disagree. The good news is that he has apparently been in contact with Shauna of BBandB . It would be difficult for them to find better advice online than what they can get in person if they maintain that connection…
Celia,
Your first sentence in your second paragraph is wrong and does not reflect my comments. I never said you suggest the OP dump his Romany Surf! Perhaps you are talking about someone else. I think magooch recommended getting an NC kayak. I also think the OP should keep the Surf.
Knowing what you do and why sometimes helps with the reprogramming and new muscle memory.
Imagine sitting at a desk, (or actually do it) and drop a pencil to the floor on your left, As you lean to the left reaching for it, all downward pressure will go to your left leg, your right leg will raise up to brace off of the underside of the desk or table, and your hand will reach to the surface of the floor to steady yourself if you really go off-balance.
This is a very engrained lower body reaction. But if you go off balance to the left in your kayak, pushing down with your left leg and raising your right leg to brace yourself against the thigh brace, the kayak just capsizes faster. It is entirely normal to watch less experienced kayakers slowly capsize, where if they just relaxed the leg that they’re pulling themselves over with, they would remain upright.
In the kayak, if you go off balance to the left, you should push down with your right leg, and pull up into the thigh brace with your left leg.
This, I believe, is the fundamental reprogramming that must take place to allow you to handle a kayak in rough water.
The more unsure you become, the more tense you become, the more wobbly you become, and your mind and muscles take over to react quickly. Your instincts don’t trust that you will be able to stay upright, and the normal incorrect-in-a-kayak engrained reaction to off-balance creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m not fully in agreement with this: “The plain truth is, given your current skill level this is the wrong boat for you.” I think you will find that this reprogramming happens more quickly in the less stable boat. Once your engrained reaction to off-balance is correct, you will be a different paddler, and your impression of kayaks will be different. Countless coastal paddlers around here have a Romany as their rough water play boat.
This may sound over-simplified, but I don’t think it is. I think it’s more a case of it isn’t as simple as it sounds. My hope is that through an awareness of this thing, and through finding yourself a way to do drills on this development, you can advance more quickly.
What CapeFear said… more truth… reprogramming and new muscle memory. Much better than the newbie ballast. If you want to get rid of ‘tippiness’ do braces left and right. High braces and low braces. Over and over and over.
If you have a big expedition boat and are not carrying any gear a small bit of ballast can vastly improve tracking.
Are hip snap exercises using an assistant standing in the water or a solid object no longer practiced?
@semdoug said:
Are hip snap exercises using an assistant standing in the water or a solid object no longer practiced?
I did some last time I was out…
@ CapeFear
Thanks for this synopsis! I have done a bunch of reading on this topic but have not seen it presented quite this way. Very helpful…
@CapeFear said:
Knowing what you do and why sometimes helps with the reprogramming and new muscle memory.
Imagine sitting at a desk, (or actually do it) and drop a pencil to the floor on your left, As you lean to the left reaching for it, all downward pressure will go to your left leg, your right leg will raise up to brace off of the underside of the desk or table, and your hand will reach to the surface of the floor to steady yourself if you really go off-balance.
This is a very engrained lower body reaction. But if you go off balance to the left in your kayak, pushing down with your left leg and raising your right leg to brace yourself against the thigh brace, the kayak just capsizes faster. It is entirely normal to watch less experienced kayakers slowly capsize, where if they just relaxed the leg that they’re pulling themselves over with, they would remain upright.
In the kayak, if you go off balance to the left, you should push down with your right leg, and pull up into the thigh brace with your left leg.
This, I believe, is the fundamental reprogramming that must take place to allow you to handle a kayak in rough water.
The more unsure you become, the more tense you become, the more wobbly you become, and your mind and muscles take over to react quickly. Your instincts don’t trust that you will be able to stay upright, and the normal incorrect-in-a-kayak engrained reaction to off-balance creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I’m not fully in agreement with this: “The plain truth is, given your current skill level this is the wrong boat for you.” I think you will find that this reprogramming happens more quickly in the less stable boat. Once your engrained reaction to off-balance is correct, you will be a different paddler, and your impression of kayaks will be different. Countless coastal paddlers around here have a Romany as their rough water play boat.
This may sound over-simplified, but I don’t think it is. I think it’s more a case of it isn’t as simple as it sounds. My hope is that through an awareness of this thing, and through finding yourself a way to do drills on this development, you can advance more quickly.
CapeFear, you grabbed a sentence out of one of my posts but left out the later part where I said this: " However, don’t give up!!! In kayaking there is something very rewarding about growing into a boat."
My wife has one of those sit on inflatable therapy balls. I tried it out just now while holding onto a doorway. It pretty much matches the grabbing the dropped pencil analogy CapeFear highlighted…
I do appreciate the tips here. Thanks to all!
I am a photographer with a lot of experience with vintage and modern lenses. So, if any of you were wondering about mirrorless cameras, new v.s vintage lenses, “character” lenses, etc, then please contact me…
Something that you could built is a Greenland balance bench. Build one and then sit on it while watching TV (or what ever):
https://aldercreek.com/practice-kayaking-indoors/
^^ that looks fun. I am a woodworker with tools so this would be easy…
semdoug, that has been very true for me. That moment you realize that you’re not wobbly in that kayak anymore definitely is a great feeling.
CapeFear has already covered this very well. I would like to add a few points and emphasize some of CapeFear’s points.
A sea kayak is 100% stable on flat water. The worst thing a beginner can do is trying to “stabilize” it when it feels unstable. Just relax, let the kayak do what it wants to do, keep your head above the centre of the kayak, and it will stay upright by itself.
(I talk from experience: I have my club’s record in capsizes during the beginner’s course: 7 capsizes in one weekend on totally flat water in a sheltered harbour. Because I didn’t relax.)
If you want support from something, get it from your paddle. Not from your kayak. As long as you have one paddle blade on the water (or in the water), you will have tremendous support. There are multiple ways of getting this support: Low brace, sculling, recovery strokes. Look up some videos explaining these terms. The Haghighi video you posted is a good example of a combined low brace turn and sculling.
In waves, the above also largely applies. Of course a large enough breaking wave can capsize you. But the more you relax, the more you will stay upright. If you use paddle support, remember to always support on the paddle blade to the side the wave is coming from. “Lean into the wave”. “Show your ass to the beach”. If you try to support to opposite side, the wave will roll you over.
An - odd, and not really beginner relevant - example of the importance of relaxing:
We were paddling in 6-7 foot waves, some of them slightly breaking. One of my paddling buddies capsized. I made a standard partner rescue and was afterwards rafting up (is that the proper English term) with her kayak to stabilize her while she emptied her cockpit. Then another breaking wave approached, and our raft was capsized - meaning that her kayak flew through the air over mine while I was still firmly holding on to it, so we were now sitting upside down both of us, still in raft formation.
So we had to start over. I rolled up, she got out, I did a partner rescue again, and again we ended up rafted. At this time we had been pushed closer to shore, so now several waves were breaking. And I discovered that if I relaxed my grip in her kayak every time one of these waves were approaching, we could stay upright!
Even though this was a very different situation and a very different type of relaxing, there is something one can transfer to solo paddling in smaller waves: By relaxing, you can prevent the wave forces from getting “leverage” on your kayak. You will just absorb the energy as the wave passes.
Just to wrap it all up; there is nothing that takes the place of seat time in your kayak. That is, seat time on the water in a lot of conditions. Part of it is learning the boat and gaining confidence in how it reacts to what the water presents and the other big part is like everyone else has said–relax, but don’t go to sleep. I did that a couple of times, but woke up in time to keep from a rude awakening.
I would offer that not all boats are equal. Some will seemingly take over and get you out of what for sure looks like an imminent dumping; others not so much. I had a canoe that would flip you upside down if you looked up at a bird.
Skip the gizmos and just learn to brace and roll. Your property is waterfront, right? It’s spooky and unnerving at first and then it’s just fun.