Club Boats & Equipment

The club has a range of boats and equipment, broadly as follows

A large number of small K1s for juniors.

A large fleet of introductory K1’s – suitable for first-timers, recreational & fitness paddling and racing up to approx. division 6 marathon.

A small number of advanced K1s for advanced racers.  Use of these requires permission from a coach.

A number of crew boats i.e. K2 & K4’s.  Use of these requires permission from a coach and booking for race events (see below), but you will be encouraged to give it a go!

Several sea kayaks / general-purpose closed-cockpit boats.  Typically used for adult taster sessions but also for occasional touring or day trips to the sea –again seek permission from a coach if planning on taking club boats off site to use.

A fleet of large open canoes – the “Canadian” or “family picnic” boats and often used as safety boats for races.

Basic paddles & “wing” paddles of a number of sizes.

Buoyancy aids (personal floatation device) in a range of sizes

Insurance

The Club has insurance for Club boats only in the club house. If there was a fire or break in etc at the club, personal boats are NOT covered. It is therefore recommended that members insure their private boats and equipment such as paddles against loss or damage.

The same applies to transport on the trailer or on other people’s cars.

We accept no liability for any damage caused to equipment and therefore additional insurance should be arranged by paddlers to cover their own boats and paddles.

British Canoeing – On the Water Membership includes 3^rd party insurance (policy covers the cost of defending yourself against a claim in the vent that you are held responsible for an injury to someone else or damage to their property).  Boat insurance can be purchased through British Canoeing or a specialist insurance brokerage.

Repairs

To maintain the condition of the club fleet it is vital that the boatswain is notified of any defects or missing parts of club boats as soon as possible.

Please contact boatswain@weykayak.co.uk with details

K2 Booking

The Club has a large selection of crew boats, which are available to members to train and race in.

Due to the popularity of crew boats, it is necessary to book ahead, especially for races.  Bookings can be made on the K2 booking sheet on the club notice board by the changing room.  Booking is subject to the KS Booking Policy (link to Policies and Guides)

Transporting Boats

Members are required to arrange their own transportation of boats and equipment to and from trips or races. Boats can be transported on your car with the use of V-bars on roof racks, there are various on the market, but the favoured variety tends to be the Lawler V-bars available from Ultimate Kayak.  People normally end up having 2-3 pairs, so you can transport a k1, k2 and a friend! Boats are secured with bungees or tie down straps for longer journeys.  Neoprene cockpit covers or boat bags are also available to offer further protection.

River Licence

To paddle any private boat on the River Wey a licence is needed, either directly from the National Trust (River Wey only) or British Canoeing – On the Water Membership (covers over 5000 miles of river throughout the UK).  Members with their own boats will need to purchase either of these independently.

For those using club boats, the club purchases BC affiliate membership for all its boats whilst used for club related activity.

Boat racking & Shed keys

Although the club has generous amount of racking for both club and private boats, demand is high and space tight, so from time to time there will be a wait list for a private boat space.

To ensure a smooth process members should give the racking officer a minimum of 4 weeks notice of any requirements.

On allocation, rent will be due for the rack and a shed key issued.  The rent entitles the tenant to sole use of the position occupied.  Members are not permitted to change position of boats from one rack to another without the previous consent of the racking officer.

When the rent of a rack is more than two months in arrears, the members boat or boats may be removed and impounded.  Boats can only be recovered on payment in full of all arrears and charges.  If payment is not received within 28 days of rent arrears, the boats and its effects may be sold or used at the club sees fit.

Shed keys give 24/7 access to your allocated boat shed, which you will share with other users.  It is your responsibility that your shed is not left open and unattended, but must be locked and lights switched off.

Shed keys are issued at the discretion of GWC/WKC and subject to payment of a non- refundable administration fee. They remain the property of the GWC / WKC and must be returned on expiry of membership.

Lost keys should be reported to the boat racking officer as soon as possible.

Contact racking@weykayak.co.uk

GWC Key Fobs

Wey share our facilities with a number of other community clubs and charities, accordingly access to the GWC is through the use of electronic fobs.  Fobs are issued at the discretion of GWC/WKC and subject to payment of a non- refundable administration fee. They remain the property of the GWC / WKC and should be returned on expiry of membership.

The access control system will record whose key has been used whenever a door has been unlocked.  Where there is evidence of misuse of keys, or of club facilities in general, the Canoe Club reserves the right to disable a member’s key fob on the system.  The key fobs of lapsed members will automatically be disabled, as too will members who owe rack or membership fees.

Key fobs will not be issued to juniors under 16, but may be issued to the parents of junior members subject to need, for example, for fetching or returning boats for races. Keys fobs are for the sole use of the person to whom they are issued; they may not be lent or given to others.

Key fobs are available for new adult members after three months.

Wey Kayak Club reserves the right to deviate from this policy where the individual circumstances makes it right and proper to do so.

Lost fobs should be reported as soon as possible.

Contact treasurer@weykayak.co.uk