Playboating - dancing on the waves

Playboating is a solo paddling style that involves small canoes paddled agressively in white water. The canoes are outfitted with saddles, thigh straps and airbags to firmly connect the paddler to the canoe and allow radical moves including the option of rolling a tipped canoe back upright.

Seasoned paddlers often think it should be an easy task to get into a playboat and simply use it like other canoes they've paddled. The first experience in a playboat often comes as a frustrating surprise. The canoes usually feel very tippy compared to other canoes. They don't travel in a straight line very well and require constant attention to make them go where the paddler wants. When a canoeist stops paddling, most playboats will turn completely broadside within the distance traveled by two strokes.

However, once a paddler begins to feel comfortable in a playboat, they are extremely nimble and allow paddlers to dance on the waves. Their small hulls leave a very small footprint in the water which lets paddlers move around in rapids with great freedom.

Most recreational moving water canoe courses are geared towards playboating. Even the introductory tandem courses incorporate the basic techniques which build towards playboating.