Drill Time for Canoeing E-School

Perhaps you remember a time of frustration from trying to move your canoe sideways. Perhaps it was on a lake, trying to pull alongside a dock. Or perhaps it was on a river, trying to move further into an eddy to grab the security of the shore or a friends' boat. In either case, you were probably left with the same frustration as you felt learning to parallel park a car.

It is a beautiful, crisp spring day on your favorite run. So far you have stayed dry, as splashes from the choppy waves spray harmlessly aside. But around the corner is your nemeses, and the threat of bigger waves that could swamp you, dampen your spirits and make a swim much more likely. You wish it was easier to avoid swamping in the big waves.

Have you ever seen a really good paddler accelerate their boat into an eddy? They seem to make the boat move effortlessly, even during a gradual turn. The key is carving your turns so you can maintain your momentum in the direction you want to go.

The J is a great correction stroke to keep you going straight. Paddling longer distances, smoothly and with less effort, is easiest with the J stroke correction because the same face of the blade works throughout the forward stroke and correction. The J stroke is much smoother and ultimately faster than a rudder, or stern pry: but it has its limitations. The J is not very good for starting from a standstill, or for making sharp corrections, or for ferrying.

I remember my first day behind the wheel in drivers ed. Heading out of the driveway of school, I had my eyes riveted on the hood of the car. As the car ran up on the curb, the instructor grabbed the wheel, screaming for me to look down the road. A lengthy lecture on scanning the road followed my mistake.

You probably know the feeling of trying to go straight with a boat that seems to have a mind of its own. The boat spins into an ever tighter turn.

It is a fun, long set of riffles. The channel seems wide open, and the speed and splashes of the rapid enhance the fun you have been having. Suddenly you have a few rocks to avoid and without thinking you switch your paddle to the other side and slam in a back rudder stroke. Another rock looms ahead, and after another flurry of switching sides you slam in yet another inefficient back stroke. You made the moves, but the abrupt flurry of braking was a noticeable disruption to the flow of your paddling.

To go anywhere in this sport, you need to be able to develop speed from a standstill. In fact, forward paddling is the greatest weakness of 90% of the boaters on the river.

This scenario is often played out in whitewater canoeing and kayaking classes around the country. Leans, and the resulting good balance, are an important part of learning to paddle, but are rarely described with precision. Leans can be organized into three basic types: the J lean, the Bellbuoys lean, and the body lean.

Rolling has become a common skill for open boaters paddling continuous class III and harder rivers. Rolling saves the long swim, and keeps you in the relative safety of your boat.