Customer Reviews

The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Prior to getting this book I had one lesson and had paddled five or six times mostly in ocean harbors and estuaries. I have paddled several times since. I have done a fair amount of small boat sailing and canoeing before taking up kayaking.

The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook did a great job helping to fill in my knowledge of kayaking in general and to help "remind" me of some of what I learned in my lesson. It is well put together and has a nice mix of anecdote and information, with more of the latter. The book is specific to sea kayaking which I also appreciated. I am not terribly interested in white water kayaking and didnt want a book that wasted my time with more then casual information on the subject.

Hightlights for me:
- Detailed and well presented information on kayak design and construction.
- Nice explanations of paddle technique I was actually able to apply after I read the book (as a supplement to my lesson).
- Informative chapters on navigation and logistics without belaboring the subjects.
- Interesting side-bars going into more detail on one point or another throughout the book.

I think the best thing about the book is Shelley's easy going yet informative writing style. The illustrations and photos were clear and useful. The tone of the book was that of a very well informed friend rather then some kind of uber-kayaker. This book worked for me. Good luck in your paddles!

Regards,

Chris

I like to browse the boating sections of outdoor stores and listen to the staff recommend equipment to people just getting started in kayaking. It can be a terrific learning experience and the best stores will always recommend good instructional manuals and the importance of taking lessons. The one book they always seem to suggest is Shelley Johnson's Sea Kayaker's Handbook. It covers all the basics but goes one step further. For instance; it is commonly explained that "the longer a boat is the faster it will go and the better it will track". There is a sidebar entitled "It isn't so simple" which carries the explanation a little further. Another section covers how to handle wind. Reading this section would be very helpful to a new paddler purchasing their first boat because one of the basic decisions is whether to have a rudder or skeg. A little knowledge here could save a lot of money and make the sport much more enjoyable. Read this book, ask questions of a knowledgeable salesman, buy a boat, take a lesson or two, have fun, see you on the water!!!

This is a great book for the beginning kayaker. I have canoed and sailed for close to 40 years and just recently took up kayaking. After several lessons and going out on my own a few times I bought this book. It filled in a lot of the blanks and is a very balanced presentation of the subject matter.

The kayaking instructor that I went to is definitely a knowledgeable individual but he is, as I have found many in the sport to be, very opinionated. Had I not read The Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook I think my knowledge of the sport would have been limited to what I learned by trial and error on my own and the limited presentation I got from the instructor. The book is pretty neutral on subjects that are more personal preference like boat selection, skegs vs. rudders vs. neither, paddle selection, etc. There is good coverage of the safety aspects and equipment, beyond what was in the lessons I took.

Overall the book is a really good supplement to lessons and paddling experience. I find myself going back and rereading sections of it after each time I go out paddling. I am sure that will change with experience but it is a great reference.

After previewing several kayak books in the "handbook" category (those that cover the activity broadly and without specializing in any specific topic), I ultimately decided on Shelley Johnson's Complete Sea Kayaker's Handbook. I was hesitant to go with the title due to its corporate publisher (McGraw Hill imprint) figuring the smaller publishers with more specialization in outdoor activity publishing would offer better books or the more well known authors might have better selections. But the reviews kept leading me back to Johnson's rather inexpensive but very comprehensive Handbook.

The most important aspect of this title is Shelley Johnson's writing style. I found most kayak books to read like the author was an outdoors' person trying to be a writer rather than an excellent writer laying out all the key concepts of the activity. That being said, Johnson has impressive credentials and a solid understanding and mastery of kayaking and covered all aspects in respectable detail compared to many of the other "handbooks" that were rather short.

Three negatives come to mind and are minor flaws only. Pictures in the book (very good photography, I might add) almost all displayed Current Designs kayaks which seemed odd considering how many different kayakers were photographed. Made me thing there was some underwriting or sponsorship and annoyed me slightly for some odd reason. Number two is Johnson's use of "she" which is a personal pet peeve of mine rather than using a gender neutral "their" to describe an unknown third person. Finally, 10 pages on cooking with 7 of those pages being recipies was just weird. I understand the book should have a small section on cooking and camping while touring. But 10 pages for cooking seemed excessive.

Trip planning, navigation, and weather were all sensational additions to my developing knowledge. While I have become well versed though hardly fully proficient in most strokes, the chapter on strokes was very well done with good pictures and illustrations. The sidebars bring up a lot of controversies and issues associated with the activity, gear, etc. This book was even better than I had expected it would be and is an incredible value for the price considering the comprehensive nature and better writing style than other similar titles.

or do as I did and read half of this book then go sea kayaking in hawaii.a HEARTFELT Thank you to the author. Your book didn't save my life, or come in handy as toilet paper, but it did make me feel comfortable tackling some mild to moderate surf and not look like a total newby idiot. It will stay on my bookshelf and get dog-eared and coffee stained like a loved book should. Next step? Lessons! Reading about rolling is one thing, actually doing it feels like another thing entirely. Goal: by summers end Puget Sound here I come, ready, willing and all trained up to rumble or at least roll with the punches.

The author goes into a lot of detail about rather mundane things like molding of yaks and menus and seems to misunderstand some technical things. Not to be nitpicky but the explanation of why a yak turns into the wind seems incorrect. When a person mixes up pressure and force i get suspicious.
Seems to me a yak turns into the wind because the paddler's body acts like a sail and the wind force acting on the body applies a side force AFT of the center of buoyancy. This side force on the paddler aft of the center of bouyancy is transfered to the yak and rotates it.
If the paddler was positioned exactly at the center of buoyancy the yak would not rotate but drift.
With so much discussion in the book about feathering paddle blades it seems odd they ignore wind effect on the body.
This wind effect can be verified by sitting in a stopped yak with a side wind and observing rotation into the wind. A stopped yak without a paddler would mainly drift sideways (translate) and not rotate.
Overall the book is worthwhile to read and gather as many tips as possible.

this book is great...packed with information every paddler should know...well worth the money...arrived on time and in good shape...can one really ask for more???

This book provides a solid introduction to the requirements of open water kayaking. It will at least get you to the point of asking the right questions, always a plus when one begins shopping.
Also gives some insight into kayak manners, a big plus.

This is a great first book on sea kayaking. We use it as the main text reference for our annual sea kayaking class.

Exactly what I wanted as a new kayak owner. Comprehensive, readable, and full of useful info.