I had to dig waaay back in the archives for this one but I'm glad I did because I see less and less people every year doing these and that's really too bad!  Stern squirts are a great way to learn and understand edging, timing, balance and boat control, they usually end up with you practicing lots of rolls, and are just plain fun!  You can do these in a pool, on flatwater, or just about any rapid that's deep enough to not hit your stern on the bottom.  Give this a read and go out and try some!

"A kayak or C-1 stern squirt is a 360-degree pivot on the stern of your boat using only one blade.  It is a combination of torso rotation, boat tilt, a reverse sweep and timing.  The best place to learn is on a small and distinct eddy line that is deep enought so you don't whack your stern on the river bottom.  Heavier paddlers in long slicy, low volume boats make it look easy to sink the stern under the water.  River running boats typically squirt well but with a lower angle.  Shorter spud boats are definitely easier to get vertical, but require more edge control and balance to control their short corky sterns.  Although it is fun to go fully vertical and fall over, learning to control the angle will result in smooth and predictable stern squirts."

Read the full Stern Squirts article in the Fall 2002 issue of Rapid.