I gave up on underwear
I kept falling over when I tried to put it on.
And the “Splash” is my best thing, dagnabbit!
This might be better than stretching
out your tidy whities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URONCFjK0j0
you guys
wear underwear!?
Pag
I think it’s time to move on
– Last Updated: Nov-23-10 8:50 PM EST –
The maneuver I use most, is the side slip. There are two variants, drawing and prying. For now we'll stick to the drawing side slip.
The great thing about side slips is that they allow your to move the canoe laterally, without changing course angle. You can use it to slide up to a dock, slide past a stump in the middle of a lake or line up on that perfect slot at the head of a rapid. The neat thing is there is no zigging and zagging as would be necessary to maneuver using turning strokes.
So let's get started.
The canoe must be moving forward with relation to the water. This may be obvious on flat water but in moving water the canoe must be moving faster than the current. If paddling upstream you need to be making some progress against the downstream current.
There is no initiation necessary for a side slip though a brief short draw can help to get things moving. With the hull running straight the paddle is simply sliced or placed neutral (blade parallel to the keel line)at the center of rotation. The leading edge is then turned slightly away (opened) from the gunnel. The trick is finding the center of rotation. It will likely be at or a bit behind your hip. Too far forward and the boat will turn toward your on side. To far aft, and the boat will turn toward your off side. The exact point will be a bit different from hull to hull and will also vary with your stance in the boat. With practice, you'll develop a feel for it and make an almost instantaneous adjustment when necessary.
You can ride the slip as long as the canoe has any forward momentum. As the boat slows, you can open the paddle angle a bit. A neat trick if you need to turn toward your offside before you've run out of momentum is to slide the paddle forward a bit and change from an open angle to a closed angle (forward edge pointed toward the gunnel). You've now converted the drawing side slip to a wedge.
Key Points
1. The boat must be running straight at the time the paddle is placed. If the hull is turning, it is likely to keep turning.
2. No heel is required however, raising the onside rail just a bit helps, especially on hard chined boats.
Tip:
After placing the paddle but while it is still neutral (before opening the leading edge) a short quick draw (just a couple of inches) will help to get the boat moving.
Like all other maneuvers, side slips can be done in all quadrants, but that's for another time.
I'll try my hand at a riddle here (though I don't think I can compete with Charlie's).
Why does converting a drawing side slip to a wedge work well, while converting to an axle does not?
Marc Ornstein
Photos of wedge
– Last Updated: Nov-23-10 5:23 PM EST –
Note the patterns on the water. You can see that the bow hardy moves at all. It is the skidding stern that causes the boat to change course.
Marc Ornstein
Me me me!
(envision kid with raised hands in third grade).
My favorite move. I wish it weren’t so cold(and rainy snowy) that I can’t work on its mirror image the cross drawing sideslip to cross wedge.
Please Please stay on topic
– Last Updated: Nov-23-10 8:53 PM EST –
You can put your hands down now. We'll get to the cross SS soon enough, though probably not before you're iced in.
Marc
side slips
are very convenient in whitewater as well. It is often much easier to sidle over a smidgeon to miss an unforseen rock, or on final approach to a narrow slot, by using a side slip than it is to do so by executing 2 quick turns in succession.
Tom Foster used to emphasize heeling the boat to the offside or “elevating the side of opposition” when doing side slips.
I suspect the answer to your question is that for the axle to work, one needs to initiate the turn with some type of active correction stroke, whereas the wedge, or jam doesn’t require one, as long as the boat is moving through the water.
hey!
I’ll bet you meant to say lift the Onside, not Offside. We want to ease the diagonal flow of water under the hull, so for a drawing SS that would be the Onside, for a prying SS the Offside.
Of note, lifting the side of opposition tends to move the "spot where draws, ~ aft of the paddlers body and prys, ~the knee, insert. If you can heel to the same angle every time cool. Learning, it’s better to keep the hull dead flat level.
And, for what it’s worth, I always initiate with a very short, violent, Draw or Pry to start water moving diagonally under the hull. Not necessary, but helpful.
Nobody answered the question yet
The drawing sideslip works well as the whole boat including the stern is sliding toward the side the paddle is on. Now slice forward and put the leading edge of the blade against the bow(the blade would now be pointing away from the diagonal you are on). This forces the bow to turn the other way while the stern continues skidding on its original course.
Now we can deal with the heel “problem”? Boats with some and symmetrical rocker can handle switching heel. The turn seems to die with skegged stern boats or those with no rocker or a v shape. Switching the heel has the boat flat in the water for a moment and some boats then just stick at going ahead.
Ding Ding Ding
– Last Updated: Nov-24-10 5:47 AM EST –
Kayamedic wins this weeks riddle!
The trick to this with non rockered boats is to come up on your knees (2 point stance) as you slice forward and before you change the paddle angle. This pitches the bow down and frees the stern. It's not as dramatic as with a rockered boat but will generally get the job done.
The downside of the two point stance is a decrease in stability. This while doing a maneuver that many already find unnerving.
Marc Ornstein
Touring boats
SideSlips are easier in touring boats as paddle placement isn’t so critical. The more rocker the more precise the paddler needs be. As in heel, the key is repeatability, and a vertical paddle shaft is a necessity because differing horizontal angles change the drawing/prying forces and thereby where the blade needs to be longitudinally for a truly diagonal SS.
Question
– Last Updated: Nov-25-10 6:28 AM EST –
Whenever I try to side slip my canoe turns toward my paddle side. I've tried planting as far back as I can, and it still happens. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
What boat?
– Last Updated: Nov-25-10 10:57 AM EST –
Tough to say without seeing, and you didn't mention your boat. Sideslip placements are boat-specific, but for many, the drawing sideslip placement should be abeam the rear seat crossbar with a vertical paddleshaft. A placement too far forward will turn the hull, drawing the bow inside. Introducing horizontal angling to the shaft moves the placement position further aft.
Or, you may also be opening the blade to to aggressive an angle of attack. Start with the blade parallel to the keel line and rotate it open to less than 45 dg.
Lastly, you could be initiating a yaw couple getting your paddle into position. Try slicing the paddle forward from your final forward stroke and keeping it neutral, parallel to the keel line. If the canoe turns you're using too much J or pitching the blade and loading your slice, either would initiate an onside turn.
Straight movement.
You have to have the boat going STRAIGHT first. If you induced any yaw with your last paddle stroke, it is (almost) impossible to find a paddle placement that doesn’t make your sideslip a turn.
1 Like
Ditto
Having a boat go straight before the sideslip is so important that I think it bears repeating.
That also indicates the importance of a yaw free forward stroke…or at least mimimal yaw. In FreeStyle, lots of time is spent perfecting the mimimal yaw forward stroke. This has an added benefit to the paddler as they no longer have to depend on a mimimally rockered stern to go straight.
Too much J
You mentioned the boat turning toward your “paddle side” on side so I suspect your too strong on the J stroke. This would start the boat turning toward the paddle side. As has been mentioned by others, the boat must be running straight before beginning the side slip.
Try breaking down your practice sessions to 2 parts. First, practice J strokes with just enough oomph that if you take the paddle out of the water after completing the J and just let the boat drift, it glides straight ahead. Once you get the feel for how strong the J needs to be, then practice slicing into position.
Note the comments by previous posters about paddle position.
Marc
Cross Drawing Side Slip
I was going to do the prying side slip 1st, but it can wait. There’s a young lady in the back of the class, waving her hands frantically to tell us about the cross drawing side slip.
Kayamedic, would you please step to the front of the classroom and explain this maneuver?
Photo of drawing Side Slip
Note the diagonal path of the canoe as evidenced by the pattern on the water.
The paddle shaft is nearly vertical with the grip hand stacked over the shaft hand. The blade has an open angle. The blade angle was less when the slip was initiated but was opened a bit as the side slip slowed. The onside side of the hull (side of opposition)is slightly elevated.
another photo
… drawing sideslip from the Hemlock Canoe website with Harold Deal. Cool stuff.