It’s great the way you end the turn
with momentum and can continue to paddle on your way. I tend to end up dead in the water.
I notice you do a lot of in water recoveries on your forward stroke. Is it just a style preference, or is there an advantage in linking to other strokes?
Eddy turn/Peel out
I thought about those points after turning in last night and planned on making them this morning. You beat me to the punch. Thank you.
Another issue with an eddy turn or peel out is that the differential current is the primary factor in creating the turn. Typically, after setting and entry/exit angle, one waits until the pivot point of the boat has crossed the eddy line, then plants the paddle into the upstream (relative to the boat’s direction) current to enhance the turn. In fact, once the angle is set, it is often possible to allow the differential current to turn the boat, without any initiation or paddle placement.
Although the two maneuvers look similar, the mechanics are quite different. That having been said, I often combine elements of both, especially when entering/exiting weak eddies and or when paddling minimally rockered boats. I’ll often Initiate the turn with a strong J or a pry, and heel the boat to compensate for the lack of rocker.
Some of the best whitewater canoeists have been instrumental in the development of freestyle techniques.
Ending up with momentum
is largely a matter of paddle angle and consistent heel. If the leading edge of the paddle is turned out too far, it will create undue drag and quickly kill the momentum. If the heel is inconsistent (we often refer to this as bobble) that will also kill the momentum.
In water recoveries
are partly a matter of style but they are also functional.
In water recoveries can be silent. If done correctly, there is no splash at the beginning or end of the stroke and no drip during the recovery. Both of these factors can enhance the paddling experience and are useful when sneaking up on wildlife.
If conditions are windy, there is less drag against the blade during the recovery than there might be with an out of water recovery, even with a feathered blade. There is some drag as the blade is sliced through the water, but with a fine blade and a neutral slice, it is minimal.
An in water recovery allows for bracing if the wind/waves dictate.
I often tweak the blade a bit during the recovery in order to induce a bit of side slip, pry, draw etc.
Finally, it is relaxing. No matter how light the paddle is, each time you lift it out of the water and support it during the recovery, you expend energy. Some of that is offset by the “force” necessary to slice it through the water, but my intuition is that in water recoveries are more relaxing. This is especially true if the paddle is designed to be buoyant, while vertical with the blade partially submerged.
I don’t always use in water recoveries. It’s just another arrow in the quiver.
Marc do you have a video of switching?
When its windy I rarely do inwater recoveries going upwind.
Lots of these manuevers work downwind but sometimes first you have to get upwind.
And for that some of us use the very first stroke we all probably ever used in a canoe.
Switch sides.
But its done in a highly organized way without letting the boat yaw get out of control. Its amazing how quick you can get one of these short solos up to hull speed where the bow wake just pins the boat and keeps even a rockered boat on a rail so to speak.
All FS is about keeping your boat animal under control without undue tugging…
the video gives me a lot to think about
The closest thing that I can relate to freestyle is taking the canoe out in the evening and just “messing around.” I don’t mean any disrespect by this comment. One of the great things about pnet is learning how differently others view “paddling” and expanding my own knowledge base. I’ve been pretty focused on getting from a to b and mostly in the ww environment with my own paddling experiences. In freestyle everything is slowed way down, and super smooth with the strokes linking seamlessly from one to another. Kind of like me watching Tai Chi and marveling at it while comparing my own paddling style to board breaking karate. Even at some level, in my own paddling, I want to be smooth as well, be it catching an eddy or surfing a wave, or just running a “clean” line.
One of the things I really liked was how the strokes weren’t just out to the side, but reaching ahead and behind as well. Something I’m working on in my kayaking right now, expanding my stroke zone. The top hand position was way higher than the way I paddle a canoe. My top hand is almost always below my chin and I use a shorter paddler.
I made the switch to kayaking because of knee pain and only take the canoe out occasionally now. So I’d have to learn to freestyle from a seated position. I couldn’t tell a lot about your position in the boats from the video or how the boats were set up.
I’ll go back and watch the video a few more times.
breakdown the move (turn) that begins
at 2:10, that one impressed me, reminded me of a slalom move.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves
Here but the move at 2:10 is a cross wedge. I initiated it with a J on my onside, then crossed over and planted a wedge against my offside bow. The leading edge of the blade was turned inward a bit which caused the water pressure on the back side of the blade to nudge the bow around the turn.
I might generally have used an axle or post here. Neither would have required crossing the paddle to my off side however the water at the point was very shallow on my right, but deep enough for the paddle on my left.
I’d rather not elaborate further about wedges or cross maneuvers yet. I’m sure we’ll discuss them further, in good time. I’m glad you noticed it, because it is visually and physically quite different from all the other maneuvers.
its called a cross wedge
or without the heel a cross bow running pry…
What it does without the fancy nomeclature is turn your boat to your normal paddling side.
The paddler is a right sided paddler and has started it with a hard J that starts the stern skidding to the left away from the paddle…
Without switching hands on the paddle he brings the paddle across and plants it against the hull and angles it ever so slightly toward the direction the boat is turning. The paddle front is against the boat if you look closely.
When we want a sharp turn we immerse the blade fully. But then you wouldn’t be able to see it. Its best to go slow, don’t heel the boat much and use a very slight angle on the paddle.
If you angle the blade so the trailing edge is too far out the effect is that of a brake.
My very first wedge ( a regular on side one) had me going way too fast , too much heel on the boat and too open a paddle angle… The boat veered and stopped and I flew out.
I found myself doing a fish census.
Very basic question
What do you mean exactly by onside and offside. I’ve been assuming from context but I’ve followed these discussions before and I think I lose it from a poor grasp of the basics.
I’m another envious a to b board breaker.
Onside is the side
you normally paddle on.
Off side is the other side… No switching hands!
If you do switch the offside is your new onside…
I don’t know if I helped but its a good question…
Nice video
I often catch myself whistling when I take video. I don’t even realize I’m doing it until I watch the video and hear the off-keyness. I noticed one of your camera people has whistle-itis, too.
Bowler and I used to speculate about having a race on one of the PB rivers (is your video from the Mullica?). To do well, you would need speed, but not at the sacrifice of boat control, because pin-balling off the banks and trees would slow you down, a lot.
The free-style moves (should we call it something else on a downriver trip?) look good and put the boat where you want it to go. I think you are ready for the race.
Will be on the lookout for future chapters. Thanks for posting.
~~Chip
Holding paddle away from side
I assume holding the paddle so far away from the side of the boat increases leverage to aid in the turn? Similar to reaching farther forward or backward to move the bow/stern?
I think that’s one of the mistakes I’ve made trying to execute this maneuver, I always kept the paddle close to the boat. My blade was angled too much as well, killing momentum before it had a chance to turn very much. I like the transition to bow draw at the end.
Alan
I might just be the whistler
Are you suggesting that I too whistle off key? Please, don’t let anyone else know. It would be soo embarrassing.
On some levels, I like the race idea. In other ways it detracts from what I like to experience when paddling on Pine Barrens like streams, but it would be fun for one day out of a several day excursion. Would there be any rules such as time penalties for contacting an opponent’s canoe? How would one decide who caused the contact. Thee are such rules in sailing competition. These are just some initial thoughts. We have the whole winter to contemplate this.
Holding the paddle away
from the canoe, when doing an axle does help. I assume it provides more “leverage” from the pivot point. If CEW would chime in here, he’d probably explain the physics better than I can.
There is a caveat however. One wants to keep the paddle reasonably vertical. If it gets too far out of vertical, other inefficiencies are introduced. While one can reach quite far from the hull with the shaft hand (it is on the paddlers “on side”) the grip hand has a relatively limited reach, coming from the other side of the boat. Torso rotation or moving to a transverse stance can minimize that limitation.
1 Like
Run it like…
– Last Updated: Nov-16-14 5:32 PM EST –
an enduro or trials type of event. Paddlers leaving at timed intervals. Check stations to record times from one segment to another. Point values per segment based upon difficulty of segment. Implement minimum & maximum times per segment.
Could be a lot of fun as well as a new aspect of practical freestyle discipline.
That’s exactly what I needed
Thanks
There usually is a giant slalom
competition for a top prize of a fifty cent medal but maybe the course is best left open at events to those who want to time themselves and not have an audience.
Improving self times are the goal …beating another need not be.
Marc won it once in cross reverse… I can’t stay in that position long enough to endure… but I would lose anyhoo… !
“upper” Batsto…
…somewhere above Quaker Bridge
Levels
My old friend CEW used to say that we are probably not doing anything in canoes that some 10 year old didn’t already do in a dugout in the Mesopotamian Valley about 5000 years ago and I agree. The modern Freestyle group did not invent canoe maneuvers. In modern times canoe students and instructors were focused on the “how to” rather than the “why”. That changed when a group of U.S. canoe enthusiasts and instructors applied a very empirical approach to the “why” question. So, during the course of several years of discussion and experimentation, the way in which canoe maneuvers was executed was fundamentally changed by this group, later known as Freestyle Open Canoeists. The relationship between hull configuration, paddle placement, and body mechanics was tweaked in ways not seen before. These elements were refined in their execution and timing to produce very efficient maneuvers. These paddlers had fun with this, messing around in canoes and trying to out-efficient each other, even setting a series of maneuvers to music. Naturally as Americans will, a competition was started.
It is important to note that the most highly refined techniques seen in competitions do not necessarily apply to say river paddling, where current, hull types, and other factors are at play. So in this discussion, let’s not confuse the two styles of freestyle. A good example is eddy turns. A paddler does not necessarily need to put the gunwale down to water level, as called for in comp. The paddle might be angled rather than vertical to achieve a broader arc to fit a need, such as avoiding a pillow rock, deadfall, etc. Speed might be slowed a bit as well. A three point stance might be preferred over a two point. A great variation is choice of maneuver, as more stable or executable ones might be chosen over others depending on situation and risk.
So, Let’s be clear during discussion about what level of execution is being considered. I was a canoe instructor before learning the Freestyle approach and in retrospect, really did not know how to paddle until doing so. Understanding the “why” can help a paddler execute the “how” at a much higher level.