A packraft rewards a short, relaxed, rotating stroke. Paddle it like a long sea kayak and the bow swings side to side. Paddle it like a packraft and it runs straight, turns on the spot and holds its line across a lake. Here is how to get there in an afternoon.
Sit tall, then paddle
Technique starts before the blade touches the water. Sit upright against the backrest with your feet braced on the floor or the bow tube. Slumping back pushes your hips forward and turns every stroke into an arm stroke.
Hold the paddle with your hands a little wider than your shoulders. Loosen your grip. A light hold lets the shaft rotate in your fingers and saves your forearms on a long day.
Paddle length matters on a wide hull. A shaft that is too short makes you reach down and out, and the extra reach turns the packraft with every stroke. Our paddle guide covers sizing if you are still choosing one.
The forward stroke
- Wind up. Rotate your torso so your shoulder on the stroke side comes forward.
- Catch. Plant the blade fully in the water near your feet, close to the tube.
- Pull by unwinding. Your torso turns back and the blade comes with it. Arms stay fairly straight.
- Exit at your hip. Lift the blade out as it reaches your body. Anything behind the hip turns you instead of driving you.
- Switch sides and repeat, with an even rhythm.
Keep the stroke close to the hull and fairly vertical. The further the blade travels from the tube, the more it acts as a sweep and swings the bow away. Short, crisp strokes at a steady cadence beat long pulls every time in a packraft.
Keeping it tracking straight
Every packraft yaws a little. It is short and wide, and there is no keel to hold a line. The trick is to correct small and early rather than big and late.
Watch a point on the far shore, not the bow. The moment the bow drifts off that point, take your next stroke on the side it is drifting towards, a touch wider and softer. One small correction now saves three hard ones later.
Trim helps more than most people expect. Weight too far back lets the bow wander. A pack strapped to the bow, or sitting a little further forward, settles it down. Even cadence helps too.
Turning
Turning is where a packraft shines. It spins in its own length.
- Forward sweep. A wide arc from your feet out to the side and back to the tail. It turns you away from the paddle side while keeping some forward speed.
- Reverse sweep. The same arc run backwards, tail to feet. It turns you towards the paddle side and slows you down.
- Spin turn. Forward sweep on one side, reverse sweep on the other, repeated. The packraft pivots on the spot.
- Stern correction. A short push away from the tail at the end of a stroke nudges the bow back on line without breaking rhythm.
Rotate your body into each sweep. A sweep driven only by the arms is weak and tiring. Driven from the torso, one good sweep does the work of three forward strokes.
Bracing basics
A brace is a stroke that stops a wobble turning into a capsize. Packrafts are stable, and most of the time you will never need one. When a wave, an eddy line or a sudden shift in weight tips you, a brace is the reflex that keeps you upright.
The low brace is the one to learn first. Hold the paddle low and flat across your lap with your knuckles pointing down. When you tip, slap the back face of the blade flat on the water on the side you are falling towards. Push down on it for a moment of support, and use that moment to level your hips back under you.
The hips do the real work. The paddle buys you half a second; your hips bring the packraft back flat. Keep your head low and moving last, because lifting it first pulls your weight the wrong way.
The high brace uses the front face of the blade with your knuckles up. It gives more support and puts more load on your shoulders. Keep your elbows low and close to your body. If your hands go above your shoulders, you are asking for a sore joint.
Practise on flat water first
Pick a calm lake or a slow pool on a warm day, wear your PFD, and give yourself half an hour of drills before you go anywhere.
- Paddle a straight line to a mark on the shore, then back. Count the corrections.
- Spin the packraft a full circle each way using sweeps only.
- Rock the packraft side to side with your hips and catch it with a low brace.
- Paddle a figure eight around two points without stopping.
Twenty minutes of this changes how every trip feels. The strokes become automatic and your attention goes back where it belongs, on the water ahead and the country around you.
Every Seeka self-bails and carries a two-year warranty on materials and welding. Or hire one for a weekend first.