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Don't let the following hazard descriptions intimidate you. Your purpose is to understand the hazards clearly, enabling you to know why and when they may be a factor in your safety. If you would like further explanation, ask your instructor or an experienced paddler to point them out on nearby water.
Foot entrapment is simply catching a foot in rocks on the bottom of the river. It is caused by trying to stand up while getting swept downstream in water higher than knee-deep. Prevention is easy: stay in the safe swimmer's position (on your back, feet up and feet pointed downstream) unless the water is less than knee deep. Practice swimming and manoeuvring through rapids aggressively, on your back, swimming backwards and looking between your feet at the side of the river you wish to avoid. In very deep water practice swimming freestyle, on your stomach with all your kayaking kit on. River swimming wisdom is to roll into a ball if going over a sheer drop of more than 3 to 4 feet when out of your boat.
Strainers are trees, branches or other obstacles in the current with river water flowing through, causing a severe pinning hazard. Natural strainers are often caused by bank erosion toppling trees into the river. Trees also fall because of old age, floods, and storms so expect to find them in the river after stormy weather. Look for fallen trees on wooded riverbanks and along small creeks after high water, often found on the outside of a bend, and on less frequented rivers. Assume they are present unless you know otherwise. Use downstream vision to spot bobbing twigs or irregular flow patterns. If you are swept toward a strainer with no hope of avoiding it use a rapid forward crawl stroke to try and get on top of and over the obstacle.
Man Made Entrapments Anything man-made in the river can be dangerous. Keep an eye open for bridge stanchions, weirs, dumped cars and any man made junk found commonly in urban rivers. Pay special attention near road crossings and at abandoned building sites where some children find it amusing to throw things in. Maintain a habit of visual downstream scanning, avoiding anything suspicious!
Broach Getting pinned on a rock or between rocks, either amidship or at the ends. Avoid sharp rocks that can potentially crease a boat or serve as point for you to be wrapped in your kayak! Develop the instinct to lean into the rock with your boat. Reach your body out to "hug the rock". Practice this skill with an instructor on gentle, shallow water until it becomes instinct.
Undercut Rocks Undercuts are a water feature where a slab-shaped rock or erosion forces the current to flow under the surface of a rock. Learn to spot undercuts by the dark shadow on the upstream side of the rock, the lack of a foam pillow caused by oncoming water, and by the lack of a normal eddy on the downstream side. Most dangerous undercuts are well known by locals and listed in guidebooks.
Entanglement Getting tangled exiting your boat is most likely to be caused by ropes and loose lines in your boat. Practice wet exits and critically evaluate your outfitting for entanglement potential, ask an experienced paddler for advice. Treat throw ropes as a potential hazard. Keep them neatly bagged and carry a knife for rescue (and know how to use it).
Vertical Pins occur when the bow or stern buries and gets pinned on the bottom, often after a steep drop or hitting a rock in a fast flow. This is not usually a concern until you are paddling drops of over 3 or 4 feet. Advanced paddlers prevent them by checking the water depth first and pulling their knees up into a “boof” move to keep the bow up or avoiding rocks altogether. Paddling boats with a large volume reduces this risk substantially - That’s why creek boats have high volume!
Hydraulics (Stoppers) The most dangerous hydraulics have evenly formed backwash and water moving very powerfully back upstream (towback) for further than the length of your kayak. Holes with more of a wave shape are intimidating but typically less hazardous than water flowing smoothly back upstream. Weirs and hydraulics that are very regular and perpendicular to the current are far more dangerous than those angled with one end downstream. Almost all weirs will form dangerous stoppers at some time in certain conditions - never run any weir without checking for stoppers first!.
Long Swims Many people unfamiliar with the sport might expect long swims to be a primary killer. Since most beginner/intermediate rivers have pools between the drops this is rarely the case. Wearing a tight PFD, matching your ability to an appropriate river and being dressed for a swim can be excellent defence against a long swim. Of course another great precaution is a competent group of friends with either a shore or boat-based rescue plan.
Back to basics: always wear a helmet when in your kayak and learn to tuck tight forward to the deck if you flip ...dress appropriately for the water and air temperatures. Drysuits and/or wetsuits are a must if the water and air temperature is low.
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