by: Claire Diepenbrock
If you’ve ever found yourself around a group of kayakers and wondered if they were speaking another language — you’re not wrong. Between talk of boofing drops, catching eddies, and sending stout lines, the conversation can sound like equal parts adrenaline and inside joke.
For new paddlers — or the friends, partners, and shuttle drivers who love them — this strange dialect can be a bit intimidating. Kayakers tend to forget that not everyone knows what “playboating” means (spoiler: it involves tricks, not toys) or why someone might proudly describe a rapid as “stout.”
To help bridge the gap, we’ve put together a lighthearted A–Z dictionary of kayaking terms — a guide to understanding the colorful, often exaggerated, and always passionate language of life on the river.
Grab your PFD, keep your upstream edge up, and let’s dive in.
A
Attain / Attaining: paddling back upstream through a rapid, usually moving up through the rapid from eddy to eddy in short stretches. This can be used to move back upstream to a better position in a rapid, for practice paddling technique, or for a simple and fun challenge.
Auto Boof: A river feature that launches a kayak into a boof (see “boof” below) without the need for good boofing technique. This is typically a river feature that causes water to kick or launch out from a drop, instead of falling straight down. As the kayaker paddles over the feature, the will also be launched out from the drop as if they were on a ski jump.
B
Boof: A technique where the kayaker uses a combination of an acceleration stroke, edging, and coss-current speed to lift the bow of the kayak when running a drop or pour-over. The goal is to keep the kayak horizontal as it launches over the drop, so that the kayak lands flat at the bottom of the drop. Boofing is used to keep paddlers on the surface of the water while continuing downstream momentum at the base of drops.
Breaker: A wave that crashes over itself, often in rapids.
Boogie Water: A section of easier whitewater in a more challenging river run, allowing the paddler to move downstream more quickly and easily.
Brown Claw: a friendly kayaker “gang sign” (hand gesture). Originally appearing in a Borat movie, the gesture is formed by holding the hand like a claw, with the fingers pointed straight down. The Brown Claw is used as a greeting or simple gesture of camaraderie between kayakers. Used in a sentence: “I saw Sarah yesterday when she drove by me on the road. She threw me a Brown Claw.”
C
Current: The moving water in the river; the currents in the river will be determined by a combination of gradient, obstacles (rocks, river bank, trees, drops, etc.), and constriction (the narrowing of the river channel).
Chute: A narrow, fast-flowing channel of water that funnels between obstacles — typically rocks, ledges, or canyon walls — creating a concentrated flow that paddlers can use to navigate through rapids.
Creek Boat: a rounded, high-volume kayak designed for steep, technical rivers (creeks). They are designed to be forgiving, turn quickly, and resurface quickly after drops. As a result, they are often slower and don’t track as well as other kayak designs.
D
Drop: A sudden vertical fall in the river, where the riverbed drops steeply enough to cause a noticeable plunge, pour-over, or waterfall like feature.
Dry Suit: A full body paddling “suit” designed to keep the paddler completely dry even while fully submerged. Most dry suits have socks as part of the primary suit, while wrist and neck closures are sealed against the skin with latex (or neoprene) gaskets. Unlike a wetsuit, which traps a thin layer of water between the neoprene and the body, the dry suit allows the paddler to wear insulating layers underneath that will stay completely dry (at least when the suit is new).
E
Eddy: A calm area of water behind rocks or obstacles where water circulates backward due to the obstacle has blocked the main flow of current. Eddies are one of the most important features on a river — they provide resting, regrouping, and maneuvering spots for paddlers in moving white water.
F
Ferry: A core paddling move where you cross the current at an angle, using the flow to move sideways without losing any progress downstream. The kayaker will be paddling facing upstream, at a roughly 45 degree angle to the current (the actual angle depends upon the current and the river) in order to hold ground and move across the river at the same time.
Ferry Angle: The specific angle of your boat relative to the current while ferrying — key to controlling your lateral movement.
Float Bag: An inflatable bag placed in the bow or stern of a kayak to displace water and make the boat easier to recover after a swim.
Foam Pile: The frothy, white part of a hydraulic where water is recirculating.
Foot Entrapment: a dangerous situation where a paddler’s foot gets stuck between rocks while standing in moving water. Due to the strength of the current, it is possible for the paddler to be unable to free their foot, resulting in the paddler being held underwater. Due to the danger of foot entrapment, paddlers should never, ever, stand up in moving current.
G
Gauge: Used to measure the river’s flow. Gauges can be simple rulers bolted to rocks that measure the river’s flow in feet, or they can be more complex monitoring stations (often maintained by the USGS), measuring the river’s Cubic Feet Per Second and posting this information in real-time on the web. Gauges are essential tools for understanding a river’s current flow, which in turns allows the paddler to make judgements about various river features that will be encountered.
H
Hydraulic: is a recirculating feature in the river that forms when water flows over an obstacle and then recirculates back upstream toward it. Hydraulics are one of the most important — and potentially dangerous — features on a river because they can trap and hold boats or swimmers.
Hole: an informal term for a hydraulic, especially one with a visible recirculating foam pile. Holes are generally less vertical pour overs (see pour over below). Most paddlers use the term “hole” more frequently than hydraulic.
Hull: the bottom of a kayak. This is the part that sits in the water.
I
Inflatable Kayak: A kayak made of durable inflatable material, often used for commercial trips or beginners. They’re stable, forgiving, and easy to transport — nicknamed “duckies.”
K
Kayak: the coolest and most fun type of craft to paddle in whitewater 🙂
L
Line: the path or route to take through a rapid or section of river – the specific way you navigate around rocks, waves, holes, and other features to make it safely and smoothly from top to bottom. On the river, it’s common to hear “What’s the line?”, when someone is asking which way to paddle through a rapid.
Longboat: longer, faster kayaks designed for downriver whitewater racing. They are typically narrow and emphasize a long water line over rocker. Longboats, often 12′ in length, are super fast charging forward in whitewater, but can be challenging to paddle. They are not very stable and are difficult to turn.
O
Oregon Tuck: a waterfall running technique where the kayaker tucks forward with their face toward the cockpit or deck of the kayak when the kayak enters the bottom of the drop vertically. The paddle is either thrown or held parallel to the side of the kayak. The Oregon Tuck is used when running large waterfalls in order to protect the kayakers face, body, and shoulders while allowing the kayak to pencil vertically into the water at the bottom of the waterfall.
P
Peel-out: the maneuver used to leave an eddy and enter the current.
PFD: Personal Flotation Device. These used to be called “life jackets”. Then lawyers and insurance agents got involved and decided they don’t necessarily save your life. Now they are PFD’s.
Portage: When you exit the river and walk, while carrying your kayak, around a section of the river in order to re-enter elsewhere. Portaging is used to avoid hazards that are judged to be too difficult to paddle by the individual kayaker.
Playboat: short, planing hull kayaks designed for tricks and surfing on waves and in holes. They are highly responsive and maneuverable when surfing and playing, but are very unstable while paddling downstream.
Put-in: Where the boats and people go to get in the river and start their trip.
R
River Left: Opposite of river right – the left side of the river when you are facing downstream.
River Right: The right side of the river when you are facing downstream. If you turn to face upstream, river right will still be the same side as when you were facing downstream.
River Runner: a kayak designed for all-around river running, with a balance between playfulness and stability. They are generally faster than creek boats, and not as playful as play boats.
Roll: a self-rescue maneuver that allows a kayaker who has flipped upside down to return to an upright position while staying in the kayak. Most people new to the sport mistakenly believe that the “roll” is the trick to having fun kayaking. The real trick to kayaking is staying upright in the first place. The roll is just super handy when you’re on plan B upside down.
S
Surf: riding a wave on a river where your kayak stays on the wave without going downstream. Kayakers surf waves in the river in much the same way to surfers surf waves at the beach. In fact, kayakers can also surf waves at the beach.
Strainer: an obstruction, usually a tree or branches lying in the river, that lets water pass through but traps solid objects like boats, gear, or people. Strainers get their name from the way they “strain” objects in water, just like a kitchen strainer strains pasta. These are one of the most serious hazards in the river, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.
Self-rescue: To rescue yourself with little to no help from anyone else.
Swimmer / Swimming: a person who is out of their kayak (usually due to a wet exit – see below) and is “swimming” or floating through the river without their boat.
Sweep stroke: A powerful kayak technique used to turn the boat in a large arc.
Scout / Scouting: Checking out parts of the river visually before running them. (For example: “Let’s scout this next rapid” As in, let’s go check out the rapid and see how we should run it.)
Stern squirt: A trick or playboating move where you submerge the stern of a kayak in an eddy line, causing the boat’s bow to rise vertically. Once the boat is standing vertically, it is possible to spin or pivot around the submerged stern.
Stout: the word “stout” is slang (frequently used in whitewater culture) — it’s used to describe something that’s powerful, intense, challenging, or intimidating, usually referring to a big rapid, drop, or feature with serious consequences that demands skill and commitment.
T
Take-out: Where the boats and people get out of the river and end their trip.
Throw Bag: the primary rescue device for whitewater kayakers. The throw bag is a bag containing 50 – 65 feet of rope that can be thrown by a rescuer. The rescuer will maintain hold of one end of the rope, while the bag of rope spools out in the direction of the throw.
T-rescue: an assisted rescue technique used to help an upside-down kayaker roll their boat back upright. In a t-rescue, a paddling partner will present the bow of their kayak in a perpendicular position (“t” shape) to the upside-down kayaker. By holding onto the bow of their partner’s boat, the upside-down kayaker is able to roll their kayak back upright. This is typically done when the upside-down kayaker is unable to roll their kayak on their own.
U
Undercut: A rock, cliff, or riverbank that has been eroded underneath by the current, creating a hidden pocket where water — and sometimes boats or people — can flow beneath the surface. Undercuts are extremely dangerous, as they can trap paddlers underwater.
V
V-Feature (or Downstream V): OK, no-one says “V-Feature”. The real phrase is downstream V, but we needed a v-word. The downstream V is the V-shaped pattern of smooth water that forms between two obstacles, showing the direction of the deepest, least obstructed current. The point of the V points downstream in the direction you want to go.
W
Wetsuit: a form-fitting neoprene garment that helps keep you warm in cold water by trapping a thin layer of water against your skin — which your body then heats up. Different from dry suits (see previous definition), wetsuits help keep you warm, but not dry.
Wave: a standing or moving rise in the river’s surface created by water flowing over an obstacle or constriction. As the water flows over the obstacle and then down the backside of the obstacle, it will rise up in an attempt to fill back in the depression created by the drop. As the depression and resulting surge grow, waves can become tall enough to topple back over on themselves, creating a breaking wave or “breaker” (similar to the way a wave breaks at the beach).
Wet exit: Self-rescue technique in which you exit and swim out of your kayak while upside down in the water. Wet exits are used after flipping in your kayak and being unable (or unwilling) to roll back up.
Z
Z-Drag: A mechanical advantage rope system (usually 3:1) used in rescues to unpin or free a trapped raft, kayak, or gear. It’s called a Z-drag because the rope and pulley setup forms the shape of a “Z.”
And there you have it — the ABCs of kayak lingo. With this cheat sheet (it is by no means complete), you’ll be ready to smile knowingly when someone claims they “boofed the stout” or “caught the cleanest line of their life.” Whether you’re gearing up for your first day on the river or just trying to keep up with your paddling friends, we hope this helps you feel a little more in on the fun — because at the end of the day, it’s all about good lines, big laughs, and time on the water with your crew.
New to kayaking? Sign up for a beginner kayak course and much of this language becomes second nature.
