How to perform an Eskimo Roll?

Question

Please explain the steps of doing an eskimo roll in a kayak.

Answer 1

you hang to the side and paddle your way around

Answer 2

Take a class. You will never learn how to roll by text answers.

Answer 3

A new boater, right on!

Here are the steps as best as I can articulate them, but to have a truly bomber roll, you have to "feel" it more than do the steps.

Try to take a breath before you go over.  Calm yourself.  Your first impulse as you go over will be to try to raise your head up to the surface and that will put you in a completely wrong position.

Put the paddle down along the side of the boat on the side opposite your dominant hand, (if you're right-handed, the paddle goes on the left side of the boat).  If you're already upside down, your hands will be going up towards the surface along one side of the boat.  At the same time bend forward as far as possible so that your head is nearly touching the front deck.  If you're a beginner and you begin to go over in a rapid, you can start to get into this position even before you go completely over.

Next, make sure your paddle blades have broken the surface.    When you're practicing in flat water, you can even slap the surface with your paddle to get a feel for the proper position.  Rotate the paddle slightly so that your forward shoulder comes tight into your chin.

Now here comes the tricky part.  What gets you upright is a combination of a hip snap and a sweeping motion of the paddle.  Twist your hips towards the surface at the same time as you sweep out and back with the paddle.  Keep the paddle up on the surface and resist the urge to pull directly down on it like a handle.

Done properly, your hips will come out first and your head will be the last part of your body to come up towards the back deck of the boat.  (There is a more advanced variation where you can keep your head down on the front deck.)

Once you've got a fairly good roll, you should get out in the rapids as often as possible.  You want to be just as confident in your roll in a rapid as you are in flat water.  As you get better, you will learn that mastering bracing techniques and boat handling to keep you upright are more important than your rolling.

My experience as a beginning boater was that until my roll was second nature, I was terrified of going over in just about every rapid.  It made me tense and I did not particularly enjoy my first couple of trips.  

Stick with it because it takes a lot of practice.  Once you're confident in your roll, all those rapids that used to scare you will suddenly become your personal playground.  

Good luck!