Blog

As it’s the last bank holiday now before Christmas, we’ve got some exclusive offers for you, online and in store!

Pyranha Z:One Medium - was £749.00, now £549.00

We have a brand new Pyranha Z:One Medium in end of line colours for only £549, saving you £200! The Z:One is a true all-round kayak that’s fast, stable, forgiving and extremely playful! The Z:One is capable of taking on rapids and carving up waves in the surf. With a mixture of speed and stability the Z:One is perfect for both beginners and experts. 

Living on the South Coast, we are blessed to have access to Dorset's picturesque coastline for a days paddle, and we’d like to share some of our favourite spots with you.

Poole Harbour

Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour and is an excellent area for Kayaking. With regular ferries, fishing vessels, yachts, cruise boats and other private crafts it does get very busy so it is important to be aware of this. There a number of islands to paddle around and explore in Poole Harbour including Brownsea, Furzey, Green, Long, Round, Gigger’s, Drove, Pergins and Stone Island. It is important to watch out for Tides, with strong currents at the entrance of Poole Harbour, Holes Bay to Poole Quay and Rockley into the entrance of Lytchett Bay. Also, avoid padd

Here at South Coast Canoes, we offer a full range of British Canoeing courses and bespoke kayak and canoe trips, tailored for all paddlers from beginners to intermediates to coaches.

We now have the latest course dates available for you, these are:

BC Open Water Canoe Coach Training -  20/21st September 2018 - Devon - £180

This is a 2-day course which focuses on the knowledge, understanding and skills that you'll need to ensure the athletes/learners in your care are appropriately provided for. You will also build on your core training in the environment that you wish to coach.

Wherever you go kayaking, it is always essential that you take the correct safety equipment with you, even if you know the area really well as you never know what might happen as the water is always unpredictable.

To help, we have put together our basic recommendations of safety and rescue equipment (not including personal gear) to take with you for sea kayaking, whitewater and canoeing. Obviously, it is about personal preference and only carry the equipment if you know how to use it.

For sea kayaking, we recommend:

• First aid - Make sure that your first aid kit has all the essentials for treating everything from heavy bleeding to broken bones and make sure it’s water resistant. It’s also imp

The perfect way to experience a relaxing adventure away is with a canoe and camping trip, and there are some truly spectacular places to paddle and camp here in the UK.

Embarking on your trip takes lots of planning and preparation, and it is important to know exactly where you are going and how long it is going to take to get to your destination. It involves lots of research, packing and conversations with your fellow paddlers to ensure you are fully prepared with all the correct equipment for your canoe-camping trip, this really is crucial. There is nothing more frustrating than reaching your destination after a long day paddling only to realise you have forgotten something essential.

While travelling by canoe rather than foot means yo

No matter how confident a paddler you are, the water will always be unpredictable as conditions can change unexpectedly, so learning how to self-rescue to be as safe as possible out on the water is crucial.

Learning to kayak roll is a necessity if you wish to explore all types of water, not just whitewater, as you could tip over at any time and to be able to correct yourself safely is lifesaving, especially if you are far out, away from the shoreline in deep rough waters.

Rolling isn’t as difficult as you may think and learning should be fun as you’ll feel a sense of achievement when you can roll with ease. It doesn’t require any unusual strength, all you need is a good technique!

Where to start:

I

We are extremely excited to announce that we are now the only dealer in the south to stock the Tiderace kayaks with the Xceed being the newest addition to our store.

Tiderace is celebrating its 10th anniversary and this year they're bringing more innovation and progress to the sport of sea kayaking. 

Tiderace sea kayaks are known for having the best construction technology, made with strong, durable and yet lightweight materials including carbon fibre, fibreglass and kevlar. They offer easy repair features as well as advanced deck and hull joins which consist of a quadruple laye

Inflatable technology has come along way over recent years and while some people only relate inflatable to kids pool toys, recreational companies have managed to harness the same construction used primarily by military and commercial operations to build durable, professional and high-quality kayaks and canoes.

So are inflatable kayaks actually any good? Our answer is yes! They’re robust, hardwearing and stable while also being lightweight and portable which makes them easier to manage than hardshell kayaks. There are many pros to buying an inflatable:

• If storage is a problem, then these inflatable kayaks deflate, fold down and nicely fit into a bag that can simply be kept in a cupboard in your house. 

Buoyancy aids for canoeing and kayaking are an essential piece of kit and for safety, you should always make sure that you, and any companion, are wearing one wherever you are paddling. It still amazes us how often we see paddlers not wearing a buoyancy aid, especially young children, and so we wanted to share with you the reasons why it is so important to wear one.

What’s the difference between a buoyancy aid and life jacket?

Firstly, you need to understand the difference between a buoyancy aid (BA) and a life jacket; a BA is designed to assist with your flotation if you capsize whilst still giving you freedom of movement for paddling and swimming, whereas a life jacket is designed to turn the wearer face up and to keep a person afl

Kayaking or canoeing are ideal ways to get the whole family outdoors, enjoying the fresh air whilst having fun at the same time. There are many benefits for the family too; it’s a healthy and fun way to exercise, it’s a real bonding experience, and it allows your family to disconnect from all modern technology.

Here are our tips to make sure you are properly prepared for your adventure:

Make sure you choose the right boat:

The style of boat for the type of paddling you want to do and the correct boat size are both important factors to consider when choosing your boat.  

A kayak that is suitable for the whole family is the sit on top kayak.