Had my first ever pool session last night. They did not allow long boats in the pool this time because there were too many people so I paid 10 bucks and they gave me a Dagger RPM. Now this was my first time ever in a whitewater type boat and it was almost comical when I pushed off from the side of the pool, planted my paddle blade and spun completely around! Huh?
I felt a little jammed in the boat with my feet tight against the bulkhead but I am assuming I would be able to loosen that backband a bit though there is a block of foam just a half an inch behind it so maybe it is a bit small for me? Dunno.
Easy enough to roll even though I was not very comfortable (and still not) with my euro blade. I had brought a norsaq just for grins and was able to roll up with that and by hand pretty comfortably - didn’t miss any anyway except one during a game we played.
Did learn a back deck roll which I almost got down. - Throw your self out there and sweep under the boat and come up with a reverse sweep.(blade kept diving most of the time and I ended up stopping and setting up to get back up)very different from a reverse sweep with a gp.
I will say this though…great experience and I will be back in two weeks!
One thing I noticed which surprised me. At the end of the session we played a form of water polo with a tennis ball but with no paddles. (and of course I screwed up and threw the ball to the wrong person on the other team!) My lower back started screaming very quickly as I was hand paddling all over the place. I wonder what kind of exercises I can start doing to alleviate that as this is the same pain that I experience sometimes after a long time in the seat of my boats?
I also fell over trying to get the ball and didn’t even try to get my hand roll even though I did fall over on my on side and everything…I just wet exited and walked the boat to the side…hmmm so much for a bombproof roll…
Paul
Cool!
A warm pool in winter is great ain’t it? Sorry you had to use a stubby boat.
take the GP next time
and tell us how the stub boat feels with it.
RPM is a fantastic roller…
I have one in my fleet just to teach folks to roll with and for me to do some g-style practicing when I don’t want to lug the big boats around.
The backdeck roll definitely is different but if you have a solid reverse sweep, it shouldn’t be all that hard. The only difference is committing to the hipsnap instantly as the boat begins to rotate. If you have an offset Euro paddle, this roll is a bit more tricky.
Pool sessions ,GP, WW boats, etc…
This is the first winter we’ve used ww boats for pool sessions. It does make more room in the pool(s) and transport easier.
The RPM is a pretty forgiving boat and a few sea kayakers in our group have gotten them for pool sessions.
A few of us have also been bringing our GPs along with Euro paddles. I find switching back and forth between my GP and my ww paddle works well for honing my skills.
I’ve alternated bringing my Inazone and my Pirouette to pool sessions. The Pirouette is much more forgiving and easier to roll.
However, a couple of weeks ago I got into an Avocet during a pool session and was reminded that for me, such a sea kayak is easier to balance brace than either of my ww boats and much easier to roll than my Inazone.
Pirouette
She was my first.
It was great.
SOOOOO, PAUL, WHEN DO YOU GET
the WW boat to more fully round out your stable…???
Let’s see… (uh, does Vera also “see”…?)
Rec boat, SOT, roto SINK (gone?), glass/composite SINK (still there?), SOF, stripper (in progress)…
I dunno, is there only a wave ski and a surf ski you have yet to get to complete the (yak) fleet to
PADDLE ON!
-Frank in Miami
WW silliness
"Now this was my first time ever in a whitewater type boat and it was almost comical when I pushed off from the side of the pool, planted my paddle blade and spun completely around! Huh?"
Now you know why whitewater boaters laugh when sea kayakers complain about poor tracking… 
fleet:
rec boat at brothers house: Old Town rush (basically a glorified otter.
tempest 165 roto
Outer Island glass
Strand SOF
Yost sea rider (made by yours truly and not very well either)
Scupper pro’s (2)
Kea for the kids
working on the strip built hunter and side by side making a sof version of the hunter just for grins and giggles. I want to see the differences in handling in the water. I should be able to get it very close as i can use the forms from the strip built to define the shape of the hull which is all straight lines anyway.
whitewater? river runner? so many choices…
surfski? holding out for yours Frank.
I like that boat.
Paul
yeah it made me smile
then I cried when I saw the 9 year old kid doing forward and back deck hand rolls in his Jackson 2. BTW, he is the one who taught me the back deck roll. :)
talk about humbling! See how you feel when a nine year old is telling you that your head is in the wrong position, bring your elbows in and your paddle is diving....sheesh..
Paul (tail between legs)