Provides advice on buying a canoe or kayak, paddling strokes and maneuvers, navigating all types of waters, and the best ports for paddling.

Offers tips on choosing a boat, describes the parts of a boat and how they operate, explains marine navigation, and covers maintenance and safety issues.

Premiere paddler and Texas Canoe Racing Hall of Famer Bob Spain presents a thorough and personal guide to all aspects of canoeing. He opens with a brief history of canoes and canoe making in North America followed by an illustrated how-to section on proper paddling technique and posture. Instructional photos and drawings by Spain’s paddling partner and wife, Joy Emshoff, help make your first-time paddling adventure less intimidating and more enjoyable. Readers will learn how to hold a paddle, perform basic strokes, and improve their technique as well as gain important information on the various types of canoes available. A handy checklist in the back of the book outlines important safety gear and essential equipment to pack in your canoe for day trips and overnight expeditions. Both newcomers to the sport and seasoned paddlers will find Spain’s detailed descriptions of his ten favorite inland and coastal Texas paddling trails entertaining and helpful. He provides useful logistical information—such as launch and take-out locations—GPS coordinates, available camping sites, and suggestions for nearby paddling trails. These trails offer paddlers a unique opportunity to explore the state and its varied wildlife while promoting the importance of preserving waterways. Spain concludes with a discussion on pressing conservation issues—water pollution, urban growth, habitat destruction, invasive species, and natural disasters—and the role ordinary people can have in protecting these natural resources for future generations. (Printed on waterproof paper)

A beginner's guide to paddling canoes and kayaks, with tips on choosing equipment, safety and and performing maneuvers.

New in paperback. This is a modern illustrated ‘how to’ guide to kayaking, with authoritative information for beginners as well as the experienced paddler, all delivered with humor and enthusiasm. Presented in color with easy-to-follow, step-by-step photographic sequences and inspirational action images, the Kayaking Manual covers everything from flat water through to ocean paddling, white water and surfing. The book also explains the clothing and equipment required for every type of kayaking and, of course, the boats and paddles themselves, as well as weather, hydrodynamics, safety and rescue.

In the heartland of America rise the Ozark Mountains, teeming with cascading, free-flowing streams. Situated astride the Missouri/Arkansas border, the Ozarks represent a canoeing and kayaking wonderland. Still a comprehensive, accurate and readable guide, but now with a new design and format, A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to the Ozarks (formerly Ozark Whitewater) catalogs the varied rivers of the region. Inside are updated descriptions of all the classic rivers, including the Buffalo National and Little Missouri, as well as exciting new reports of today's steep creek runs: Bryant, Turkey, and many others. This guide is the definitive sourcebook for Ozark river sport.

Interest in recreational kayaking is booming! Learn paddler lingo, basic paddle strokes, river etiquette, what to do when you capsize, what to buy and money saving tips on what not to buy, how to transport a kayak and how to lead a paddle like a pro. Written by an American Canoe Association Kayak Instructor with twenty years of experience - over one hundred pages of the basics to help get you started.