new help w/ kayak

Our kayaks came with paddles of course but it also came with these three things that look like washers n we don’t know what there for or how to use them help please we also can’t figure out how the paddles hook to kayak ty ikn advance

drip rings

– Last Updated: Sep-25-14 6:45 PM EST –

If you mean the paddles have 2 black soft rubber flange things that slide, those are drip rings. Do they look like this?

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/644/Paddle-Drip-Rings.html

They keep some of the water on the paddle blades from running down onto your hands as you paddle. Slide each one about halfway between the middle of the paddle and the end.

If that is NOT what you mean we need a better description or you can post a link to a photo (shoot a pic and upload it to Flickr then copy the photo link into your message.)

Kind of puzzled by the second part of your question. You don't "hook" a kayak paddle to the boat, you hold it loosely in both hands to paddle. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing paddling technique that you can look at to get the basic idea. Most kayaks have deck rigging (stretch bungie cords laced across the deck) that you can slide the paddle under when you are carrying it, but some cheap sit inside kayaks and sit on top kayaks don't have such rigging.

It sounds like you should probably find an outfitter who offers an introductory class in kayaking. Kayak paddling is not intuitive and it really is a good idea to get some instruction in paddling technique and safety.

drip rings
Yes I thought that was where they went but was not sure n did not know what they were for. N classes if we see some near r home here I’ll take some won’t go in deep water till I get it down pretty good ty for ur help

In the meantime…
There’s a ton of great articles here at Pnet, both text and video.



Here’s a good one to start with: http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/showArticle.html?752



Start out with good technique in the forward stroke and your arms and shoulders will thank you!



Have fun!


You don’t need those drip rings
They don’t do much to prevent dripping. Try it both ways and decide for yourself.

placement
The effectiveness of drip-rings is entirely dependent on where they are on the shaft. I have found that they work best if they are placed just above the blade where they are not submerged by your normal forward stroke.

Some sit on tops kayaks have bungees
on the side of the kayak, next to the seat. You lay the paddle down lengthwise, parallel to the side, and pull the bungee cord up and over the kayak shaft, then hook the bungee into a little peg that is placed there to catch it. Easy- peasy. Just in case this is what you have or end up with in the future.



You can also take most paddles apart in the middle, and transport them inside your vehicle that way, if you don’t want to fiddle with clipping them onto your rack or tying them into your truck bed. On the water, I carry a spare, broken down into the 2 pieces, old paddle behind me, tied together with some velcro leash thing, stuck in the other bungees on my back deck. ( I have a big kayak so there’s plenty of room for me to carry “the spare stuff.”) And yes, because I carry the regular paddle clipped into the back of my truck bed, not readily visible, there has been a time or two I’ve driven off without it (insert eye-roll icon here) and gotten to the put-in with just the spare, which I usually remember to put in the cab of the truck on the seat with the pfd next to me…


orings
Ty all very much they were the o rings /washer they were just very very hard to get on .we went out on Saturday n I did great n so did hubby I did not fall in nor did I swamp the boat or nor did I tip it over had a great time - sadly hubby did fall in but I think its his shoulder did it to him trying to gey out it think he needs surgery on it but ty all