Adventure Canoe Forum » Forum: Technique & Strokes

Adventure Canoe Forum » Forum: Technique & Strokes - Recent Topics http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/forum/technique-strokes Canoe Camping & River Tripping Discussion en-US Thu, 09 Sep 2010 23:23:24 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/search.php Loading the boat for a solo trip.... http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/loading-the-boat-for-a-solo-trip#post-1941 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:33:35 +0000 DamnTrue 1941@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ In a couple of weeks I will embark on a solo trip on the Green River in Utah. 7 days, 120mi in a 16' Wenonah Adirondack. I will be paddling "backwards", ie sitting in the front seat facing aft. I weigh 230lbs. I will be bringing 10ga of water (80lbs) in 2.5ga containers and the rest of my gear incl. tent, bag, pack, food/cooking stuff (~60lbs). Should I attempt to load the stuff at the far end of the canoe to offset my weight, or keep it closer to center? Thanks, True Wenonah Adirondack tweaks http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/wenonah-adirondack-tweaks#post-1864 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:21:17 +0000 DamnTrue 1864@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ As I mentioned before I have a 16' Wenonah Adirondack. It's not in great shape, but all the important bits seem to be there and it keeps the water out. Paddles nicely too during those rare moments when my wife and I are working together well. It came to my attention when I was cleaning it up after our last outing that the aluminum brackets supporting the front seat were cracked. The Aluminum was bent in the right plane, it just looked to be a bit of abuse from the previous owner. Couldn't have been my wife, she only weighs about 110lbs. I decided to fabricate new brackets and do so in a way that would enhance the solo capability of the boat. At 220lbs I find that the trim is quite off while seated. I can make it better by knealing up near the yoke, but that puts me at the widest part of the canoe. No bueno. I figure that if I can move the seat a bit aft I can compensate for the remaining out of trim condition with a water filled dry bag in the opposite end of the boat. Anyway, here are the brackets I made and installed. I used a touch heavier material and extended the bracket an additional ~8" aft of the OE seat position. With the seat in the fwd position <img src="http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/canoe/seatfwd.jpg">   Seat in the aft position <img src="http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/canoe/seataft.jpg">   Seat fully installed and screwed in place. <img src="http://i490.photobucket.com/albums/rr262/damn_true/canoe/seat1.jpg">   Sorry for the lousy iPhone photos.     Canadian Style Paddling - Omering http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/canadian-style-paddling-omering#post-563 Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:59:11 +0000 James 563@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Discuss... <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3475/3886863063_177963a52a_o.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="432" /> Favorite Canoeing Books http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/favorite-canoeing-books#post-166 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:01:42 +0000 Dennis 166@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ A long time ago I used to work as a carpenter at a university here in St. Louis. As a regular employee I had access to their huge library that was chock full of great books about canoeing. To me the most interesting ones revolved around the fur trading industry and the employees of the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Fur Trading Company. I was poking around on Amazon.com today to see if any of my old favorites were available to buy.     Does anyone else have any good books about canoeing they can recommend? Canoe Poling - a lost art? http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/canoe-poling-a-lost-art#post-464 Sun, 23 Aug 2009 07:51:10 +0000 James 464@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ <img src="http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7393/029vid.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="800" /> Crow poling his canoe in <a href="http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/after-we-shot-the-grizzly-suilven-and-beyond-scotland-3" target="_blank">Scotland</a>  Lets talk about the lost art of canoe poling. It makes sense to me but I had never seen it done until I started posting over at <a href="http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/" target="_blank">SongofthePaddle</a>, a UK canoeing site. This pretty much means I've never actually seen it done...just photos. I'd like to give it a try and need some pointers from all the Canadian and UK guys. What’s the right kind of pole? I've seen the Bill Mason videos. It looks like he grabs a sapling with an ax. Not exactly a low impact outdoors skill. Are there carbon fiber, wood or fiberglass poles? Do they break down? What’s on the tip? What happens when you get to deep water? ACA Canoe Instructor Certification - October 23-25 http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/aca-moving-water-canoe-certification-october-23-25#post-422 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:34:31 +0000 James 422@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ <a href="http://www.adventurecanoe.com/aca" target="_blank"><img title="ACA-Logo" src="http://www.adventurecanoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ACA-Logo.jpeg" alt="ACA-Logo" width="201" height="192" /></a> Adventure Canoe is hosting an ACA Canoeing instructor training session. See <a href="http://www.adventurecanoe.com/aca" target="_blank">this link</a> for more details. The Cross-bow Draw Stroke http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/the-cross-bow-draw-stroke#post-435 Tue, 18 Aug 2009 07:35:09 +0000 James 435@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ The cross-bow draw is done from the bow. The canoe is to wide for the stern paddler to make effective cross strokes. The cross bow stroke is used to quickly move the bow of the canoe to the paddlers off side. <ul> <li>Without changing the position of the hands on the shaft, swing the blade of the paddle all the way across the bow to the opposite side of the canoe by rotating the torso at the hips as far as possible.</li> <li>Do not cross arms.</li> <li>The upper hand is kept close to the hip with the elbow at the side.</li> <li>With the lower arm fully extended, insert the blade in the water narrow edge up and at about a 45 degree angle from the bow.</li> <li>By pushing out with the upper hand and using the lower hand as a pivot, you will pull the bow toward the paddle.</li> <li>To recover, push down with the upper hand and lift the paddle up when it reaches the bow.</li> </ul> The J-Stroke http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/the-j-stroke#post-32 Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:21:10 +0000 James 32@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ The J-Stroke is probably the most important canoe stroke to learn yet most recreational canoeists don't even know it exists. Every person who has ever sat in a canoe knows how difficult it is to keep it going straight. The reason for this is that with every stroke of the paddle, the canoe wants to turn to the opposite side. The canoe j-stroke is the remedy to this problem and actually allows the canoeist to correct the direction of the canoe while paddling forward. Here's How: <ol> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: Maintaining Proper Form Be sure that you are holding the canoe paddle properly and that you are sitting up straight throughout the j-stroke.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: The Beginning Similar to the forward stroke, the j-stroke begins the same way. Raise the paddle up, bringing the top hand up to about head level while keeping the shaft of the paddle vertical and out to the side and not angled across the body.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: Reach Forward Push the lower hand forward, reaching the paddle blade as far toward the front of the canoe as you can while still maintaining a good upright posture.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: The Catch Phase Place the paddle blade into the water ahead of your body. Keep the face of the blade perpendicular to the direction of the stroke.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: The Power Phase Pull the paddle along the side of the canoe in a straight line. Allow the top hand to push forward and down while the bottom hand pulls back.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: Upper Body Involvement Use the torso and upper body rotation to aid in the stroke to give maximum power.. You shouldn't be using your arms as much as you use the rotation of your torso.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: Twist the Canoe Paddle Toward the end of the stroke, begin to rotate the canoe paddle blade from the pulling the canoe into a ruddering position by twisting your top hand down. The thumb on the top hand should be facing downward at this point.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: The “J” With the paddle now in a rudder position, the bottom hand pushes the paddle out from the canoe. The entire stroke would look something like a “J” from up above. This part of the j-stroke serves to correct the position of the canoe if it rotated during the power phase of the stroke.</li> <li>Canoe J-Stroke: The Recovery Remove the canoe paddle from the water and go back to step 2.</li> </ol> The Pry Stroke http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/the-pry-stroke#post-437 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:41:00 +0000 James 437@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ The Pry is a short, quick, and powerful turning stroke. It is much preferred to the forward sweep or cross-bow draw for turning to the nonpaddle side in turbulent water. The forward sweep is less powerful and with the cross-bow draw there is a period of instability when the paddle side is changed. The pry loses its effectiveness, however, in shallow water. It is essentially the reverse of the draw stroke. <ul> <li>Insert the paddle with the blade near and slightly under the canoe with the shaft in an almost vertical position.</li> <li>Use the lower hand to pivot the throat of the paddle against the gunwale while pulling in with the upper hand.</li> <li>The paddle is thus used as a lever to pry the boat away from the paddle.</li> <li>To recover, rotate the paddle shaft 90 degrees and slice back to the starting position; repeat if necessary.</li> </ul> The Draw Stroke http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/the-draw-stroke#post-436 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:36:50 +0000 James 436@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ The Draw stroke is used to move the end of the boat to the paddle side. The upper hand is held above the head and the torso is turned sideways from the waist. This stroke is made by reaching out as far as possible from the canoe with the lower hand. The powerface of the paddle on the surface of the water will keep you from tipping over. As you push out with the upper hand and then pull in with the lower hand, use the lower hand as a fixed pivot point: the canoe will be pulled toward the paddle blade. To recover: just before the canoe hits the paddle, use the lower hand as a pivot point at the gunwale and push the upper hand down and forward toward the bow while swinging the blade up out of the water. If the paddle should get caught against the canoe, immediately release the paddle with the upper hand and pull the paddle free with the lower hand. Resist the temptation to remove the paddle from the water by raising the shaft vertically. This attempted maneuver has caused many tipovers. Another method of recovery, useful when a number of draw strokes are done in rapid succession, is to rotate the paddle shaft 90 degree with the upper hand and slice the blade through the water out to the initial position. The Forward Sweep Stroke http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/the-forward-sweep-stroke#post-434 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 07:29:32 +0000 James 434@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ The Forward Sweep provides forward power with moderate turning force. When done from the stern, the stern is pulled to the paddle side, turning the canoe to the nonpaddle side. <ul> <li>The paddle is inserted in the water just out from the hip with the shaft at a 45 degree angle.</li> <li>The paddle is swept back in a wide arc until the blade reaches the stern.</li> <li>Recovery is the same as for the J-stroke.</li> </ul> The Forward Sweep from the bow will force the bow of the canoe to the nonpaddle side. Reach as far forward as possible and insert the paddle blade near the bow. Sweep out and back until the paddle is even with the hip. Sweeping past this point contributes very little toward turning the canoe. Canoe Paddle Strokes - Every thing you need to know for canoe paddling http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/topic/canoe-paddle-strokes-every-thing-you-need-to-know-for-canoe-paddling#post-703 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:31:30 +0000 James 703@http://www.adventurecanoe.com/forum/ Here are the common canoe paddling strokes: <ul> <li>The cruising stroke or forward stroke is the easiest stroke and is considered to be the foundation of all the other strokes. The paddle blade is brought forward along the side of the canoe, dipped into the water, and drawn back. The paddle should be drawn straight back rather than following the gunwale's curvature. In a tandem canoe, it is used mainly by the bowman to simply propel the canoe forward without turning.</li> <li>The back stroke is essentially the same movement as the forward stroke, but done in reverse. The back face of the blade is used in this case. This stroke is used to make the canoe go backward or to stop the canoe.</li> <li>The J-stroke is so named because, when done on the port side, it resembles the letter J. It begins like a standard stroke, but towards the end the paddle is rotated and pushed away from the canoe with the power face of the paddle remaining the same throughout the stroke. This conveniently counteracts the natural tendency of the canoe to steer away from the side of the stern man's paddle. Advocates of steering in the stern of tandem canoes often use this stroke, and it is also used in reverse by the bowman while backpaddling or back ferrying in white water.</li> <li>The Superior stroke is a less elegant but more effective stroke which is used in the stern of tandem canoes. It is more commonly referred to as the goon or rudder stroke. Unlike the J-stroke in which the side of the paddle pushing against the water during the stroke (the power face) is the side which is used to straighten the canoe, this stroke uses the opposite face of the paddle to make the steering motion. It is somewhat like a stroke with a small pry at the end of it. This stroke uses larger muscle groups, is preferable in rough water and is the one used in white water. It is commonly thought to be less efficient than the J-stroke when paddling long distances across relatively calm water.</li> <li>The pitch stroke is the preferred stroke to go straight in a canoe with a good traveling speed, because this stroke tries to correct the yaw caused by the forward stroke almost on the same moment that it starts, where other correction strokes do this after the forward stroke, when there already is considerable yaw from the canoe.</li> <li>The Indian stroke may be used to paddle a straight course like the J. It can be useful against strong winds or running rapids. Move the paddle forward, rotate the grip of the paddle in the palm of your upper hand. Then you are ready for the next power stroke without taking the blade out of the water. If done carefully, there is no sound from the paddle, making it possible to paddle in calm water without sound.</li> <li>The pry stroke begins with the paddle inserted vertically in the water, with the power face outward, and the shaft braced against the gunwale. A gentle prying motion is applied, forcing the canoe in the opposite direction of the paddling side.</li> <li>The push-away stroke has an identical purpose to the pry stroke, but is performed differently. Instead of bracing the paddle against the gunwale, the paddle is held vertically, as in the draw stroke, and pushed away from the hull. This is more awkward and requires more force than the pry, but has the advantage of preventing damage to the paddle and canoe due to rubbing on the gunwale. It also uses force more efficiently, since the paddle is pushing straight out, instead of up and out.</li> <li>The running pry can be applied while the canoe is moving. As in the standard pry, the paddle is turned sideways and braced against the gunwale, but rather than forcing the paddle away from the hull, the paddler simply turns it at an angle and allows the motion of the water to provide the force.</li> <li>The draw stroke exerts a force opposite to that of the pry. The paddle is inserted vertically in the water at arm's length from the gunwale, with the power face toward the canoe, and is then pulled inward to the paddler's hip. A draw can be applied while moving to create a running or hanging draw. For maximum efficiency, if multiple draw strokes are required, the paddle can be turned 90° and sliced through the water away from the boat between strokes. This prevent the paddler from having to lift the paddle out of the water and replace it for each stroke.</li> <li>The scull, also known as a sculling draw is a more efficient and effective stroke where multiple draw strokes are required. Instead of performing repeated draw strokes, the paddle is "sculled" back and forth through the water. Beginning slightly in front of the paddler, the paddle is angled so that the power face points at a 45° angle toward the hull and astern. The paddle is drawn straight backward, maintaining the angle, and then the angle is rotated so that the power face is pointing 45° toward the hull and the bow. The paddle is pushed straight forward, and the whole process is repeated. The net effect is that the paddler's end of the canoe is drawn toward the paddling side.</li> <li>The reverse scull (sometimes sculling pry or sculling push-away) is the opposite of the scull. The stroke is identical, but with the paddle angles reversed. The net effect is that the paddler's end of the canoe is pushed away from the paddling side.</li> <li>The cross-draw stroke or cross-bow draw is a stroke that exerts the same vector of force as a pry, by moving the blade of the paddle to the other side of the canoe without moving the paddler's hands. The arm of bottom hand crosses in front of the bowman's body to insert the paddle in the water on the opposite side of the canoe some distance from the gunwale, facing towards the canoe, and is then pulled inward while the top hand pushes outward. The cross-draw is much stronger than the draw stroke, but normally can't be used by the stern paddler in a tandem canoe.</li> <li>The sweep is unique in that it steers the canoe away from the paddle regardless of which end of the canoe it is performed in. The paddle is inserted in the water some distance from the gunwale, facing forward, and is drawn backward in a wide sweeping motion. The paddler's bottom hand is choked up to extend the reach of the paddle. In the case of the bowman, the blade will pull a quarter-circle from the bow to the paddler's waist. If in the stern, the paddler pulls from the waist to the stern of the canoe. Backsweeps are the same stroke done in reverse.</li> <li>The C-stroke is used in both solo and tandem paddling. It is generally used to turn the canoe to the side opposite of the sterner. With only one paddler, doing a simple bow stroke will cause the canoe to turn rapidly away from the paddling side. To counteract this, the paddler draws toward the boat, paddles forward as in a normal stroke, and pushes away as in a j-stroke. This is opposite to a sweep. It serves the same purpose as a J-stroke (counteracting the natural turn of the canoe away from the paddling side), but provides more correction which is necessary when starting a solo canoe from a standstill or paddling in strong wind or current. When tandem paddling, the C-stroke is generally used in the stern only. To turn the boat to the side opposite of the sterner, the sterner moves the paddle in a "C" shape, by paddling in an ark, whose apex points away from the boat. In tandem canoes, complementary strokes are selected by the bow and stern paddlers in order to quickly and sharply steer the canoe. It is important that the paddlers remain in unison, particularly in white water, in order to keep the boat stable and to maximize efficiency.</li> </ul> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoe" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoe</a>