| | 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. Products and Services Access to Recreation, Inc.
Common Ground Outdoor Adventures
Northeast Passage
Wilderness Inquiry
Canoeing Many of the suggestons for kayaking are applicable to canoeing. Canoeing is often preferable, since you can fit more gear into a canoe, including a wheelchair to use when you get to your destination.
Products and Services American Canoe Association (ACA)
Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center
Common Ground Outdoor Adventures
National Amputee Centre
Outdoors for All
TRS
Wilderness Inquiry
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 makes it impossible to capsize. It can be modified to fit the individual, particularly in the seating system.
Products and Services US Rowing
Discover Rowing
Phoenix Poke Boats
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