When kayaking, it is necessary to know how many people can fit into a kayak.
This is one of the things that help in making a kayaking session free from casualties.
The number of people that can fit into a kayak depends on the number of seats on the kayak, the weight capacity of the kayak, durability of the kayak and the turbulence level of the water current.
Not going above the weight capacity of the kayak is very important no matter how many seats the kayak may have.
This will help the kayak function optimally.
What Determines How Many People Can Fit Into a Kayak
1) Number Of Seats Provided On The Kayak
When it comes to the number of people that can fit into a kayak at once when kayaking, the number of seats on the kayak plays a major role in this.
In making use of a kayak, there are number of seats that are always provided.
This is to make sure that the person in the kayak feels comfortable during the kayaking time.
In the inflatable kayaks, inflatable seats are provided as well.
In some kayaks, what you will discover is that the number of seats provided in the kayak is only one.
This is usually a solo or a one person kayak.
Due to the number of seats provided being only one, this means that it is only one person that can make use of this kayak at a time.
If you want to kayak with a friend inside the same kayak, you will have to look for an alternative to the one person kayak.
This is usually a two person or a three person kayak.
This helps in accommodating more people at once during a kayak trip.
2) Weight Capacity Of The Kayak
The weight capacity of a kayak is another factor that determines how many people can fit into a kayak.
In every kayak, there is always a weight capacity that the kayak has.
This is derived from the series of safety test that the kayak manufacturer has performed before the kayak is released for public purchase or use.
In such tests, the kayak is subjected to a lot of weight variations during the test.
How the kayak responds in each of the weight size is recorded and further experimented with other values of weight during the test.
This is also subjected to different water conditions too.
This ranges from the stable water to the turbulent water.
After the series of test has been taken, there is always a particular weight value that performs well in the stable water and on the turbulent water current.
This is how the weight capacity of a kayak is determined.
That is why you must make sure that you do not go above the weight capacity of a kayak when you are making use of a kayak.
This can result in fatalities that could have been avoided.
3) Quality Of The Kayak
The quality of the material used in making a kayak is very important as far as the safety of the people inside the kayak is involved.
A kayak that is built with a good material will be able to safely carry people easily.
But if the kayak build quality is bad, it will have some flaws when it comes to the number of people that can go in the kayak at once.
One of the issues that will show up in a poor quality kayak is how it performs when used.
A poor quality kayak will be very unstable.
It is even worse if the kayak is an inflatable kayak.
In an inflatable kayak with a poor build quality, one of the things that will be commonly seen has to do with how well it retains the air pressure in it.
If the build quality of the inflatable kayak is good, it will be able to hold the air pressure inside it well even when there are people inside it.
Such a kayak will be able to hold a larger number of people comfortable when compared to a kayak that has a poor build quality.
An inflatable kayak with a poor build quality will lose air pressure or deflate easily.
This is usually caused by conditions like the kayak having holes in it or when the air inlet valve of the kayak is faulty.
This will lead to the loss of air pressure in the kayak.
Due to this, it will not be safe to carry a large number of people on the kayak irrespective of the weight capacity of the kayak.
4) Condition Of The Water Current
The condition of the water current the kayak rides on also determines how many people can fit into a kayak when kayaking.
When it comes to the use of a kayak, it always responds well when on a water that is flat or stable.
This helps in carrying the optimum number of people in the kayak without any problem.
But when it comes to the use of the kayak on water bodies that are not stable, the stability of the kayak will not be as excellent as it was when on a stable water.
This also affects the number of people that can be carried on the kayak at once.
This is to avoid casualties on the water when kayaking thereby help in increasing the safety of the kayak and the passengers in it.