Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long-Distance Touring (Paperback)

by John Dowd (Author) "Sea kayaks are distinguished from river kayaks by a multitude of features for which we have one word: seaworthiness..." (more)
Key Phrases: fibreglass kayaks, pocket flares, unfeathered paddles, New Zealand, British Columbia, John Dowd (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In this guide, veteran paddler John Dowd provides the foundations of sound seamanship and good risk management, including lessons on how to read the weather and the water, how to navigate, and how to travel with a group. He covers the basics of equipment and technique, detailing types of paddles and strokes, and presents practical, concrete advice on dealing with potential hazards and carrying out rescues. The book also contains information on expedition planning, instructional methods, and sea kayaking for people with disabilities. Completely revised and updated, this edition features new photographs, charts, diagrams, and illustrations.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Greystone Books; 5th edition (March 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550549766
• ISBN-13: 978-1550549768
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #149,372 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehesive and readable, good practical advice, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long-Distance Touring (Paperback)

I first read his 1988 edition as I was just getting into sea kayaking. I have since built 3 singles and a triple and have done week-long trips in Prince William Sound, Puget Sound, Sea of Cortez, and New Zealand. So I'm now fairly experienced and yet still learn (relearn?) new information and techniques when I reread it.

I especially appreciate Dowd's emphasis on self-rescues as opposed to assisted rescues. So many rescues that work in a pool with an unloaded boat are impossible in 38F water, 3-foot seas, with 150 pounds of gear in your touring kayak. And yet that is when you really need a solid rescue technique.

His references to some of the epoch, historic and recent, long-distance expeditions are inspirational. When you're slogging 5 miles back to camp against a 15-knot wind, it helps to remember that people have paddled across the Atlantic and that your task is doable.

Be safe, go see cool places, happy paddling. -David Thomas

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible of the Sport, August 18, 2000

By	Michael J Edelman (Huntington Woods, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sea Kayaking: A Manual for Long-Distance Touring (Paperback)

There are a number of good books on kayak technique, but Dowd's is the bible of the sport, and with good reason. He's been kayaking for over thirty years, and he's done some of the most difficult voyages in kayaking history. He's specific in his recommendations, but open minded, too. He favors feathered paddles, but he understands the advantage of unfeatehred paddles, and allows how they may be superior in many conditions.

Dowd's advice isn't based on theory, but on experience. He's not afraid to admit his own mistakes, and in this latest edition, he desribes how he's changed a lot of his opinons on the rescue techniques he's taught in the past. He's realistic, and realizes that not every kayaker is going to develop a bombproof roll or be able to perform the Borze's paddlefloat rescue; he endorses alternate techniques like he (somewhat contentious) Sea Wings.

What it boils down to is this: Whatever other books you may own, whatever lessons you may have taken, whatever your level of experience- you need this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books on Sea Kayaking that I have ever read!, March 17, 2007

By	W. Merriman (Phoenix, AZ. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am not an avid reader, and I usually lose interest in a book and place it on the shelf mid way through if the author doesn't keep my interest. John Dowd had not only captivated my interest, but made it hard for me to put it down. Some of the best and informative information about Sea Kayaking that I have read yet. It should be a "Must Read" for any person involved in the sport of Sea Kayaking, beginner to novice. 5 Star Rating above all others!!!