Yes…
good example. I think it important to stress that Functional FS is not classical FS maneuvers dogmatically applied when river paddling. It is instead, the adaptation of classical FS to river conditions. In other words the same principles of FS Canoeing but tweaked as necessary to achieve desired results on a creek or river.
This can be a source of confusion unless differentiated.
Pag
A real practical application question
As a novice freestyle paddler I have tried applying it to my favorite ADK paddle trip-The Osswagochie above inlet. This is an extremely twisty ,narrow river with noticeable current. Going upstream I have made what I thought was a breakthrough to make the corners better only to have it all success dashed going back downstream and finding the same things don’t work at all! Ideas?
Turtle
Apparant speed.
With the current coming at you at 1 mph ( example… it could be more) your speed forward at 2 mph, the speed difference is 3 mph. so a turn could be snappier and the stern is already in a zone of less resistance.
With the cuurent going in your direction the speed of it may still be 1 mph but you are going 2 mph in the same direction… The speed difference is 1 mph and the stern has to swing sideways in the current.
Anyway that is my start… Others?
More stuff to think about
– Last Updated: Dec-01-14 5:56 PM EST –
When you are traveling up or down a narrow twisty river, all the maneuvers you perform are done with fixed objects as the reference points by which you mark your course and what you need to do. You need to stay an appropriate distance from the banks, and you need to miss obstacles like fallen trees. All these things are objects with a location in space which does not change, at least not relative to the earth's surface that we stand on, drive on, etc. However, the stuff that supports your boat while you are maneuvering is not a fixed object. It always keeps moving downstream, and as Kim pointed out, that leads to complications. The complications are even worse than she described (though I'm not saying anything she doesn't know as I talk about this), in that the water also moves with variable direction and variable speed. Think about how birds coming in to land on a tree branch always circle around and approach from the downwind side when the wind is strong. That's because wind that's moving at a significant speed relative to how fast the birds fly must be adjusted for - a lot. Your canoe only goes 3 or 4 mph on average, so even a 1-mph current is a sizable percentage of that, meaning that reversing your direction relative to that flow will make a big difference in what you need to do.
Here's another thing. As mentioned, current speed is not constant across all locations. One common place you see this is on curves, where the current is fastest toward the outside of the curve, but gets progressively slower toward the inside. Knowing this, there are a lot of things that work best going upstream which do not work so well going downstream. An easy example is choosing which side to paddle on so that less correction is needed. Everyone knows that this differential current will tend to pivot your boat toward the inside bank when going downstream. Even when there's no pronounced eddy, there will be a noticeable differential in current speed on each side of your boat, and the boat will veer toward the side where water is passing the hull more quickly, and that's the side with the slower current. If you paddle on the side toward the inside of the curve, you will automatically be correcting your boat's tendency to veer in that direction, so often you can paddle like crazy with no correction at all, or at least with far less correction effort than normal, and stay in perfect control. Not so many people routinely travel upstream so they may not think about this, but when traveling against the current, it's the side with the faster current where water passes the hull more quickly, so the boat veers toward that side, which is opposite of what happens when going downstream. A person who learns how easy it is to control the boat when paddling downstream on the side toward the inside of the bend will spin out of control if they try the same trick going upstream.
A person could list examples all day, but between Kim's examples and these, the major situations are covered. The thing that made all the difference for me was to stop focusing on those fixed objects (river banks and fallen trees) and to start focusing on the water itself. If you look at where the water that floats your boat is going and plan what you want your boat to do relative to that water, all responses of your boat to the paddle become completely predictable. You may not in all cases see every little bit of swirling current, but if you are used to focusing on where the water is going, you'll also get really good at feeling differential currents and adjusting for them.
I'm not a freestyler by any means, but I can "keep from bumping into stuff" and put my boat where I want it, at the heading I want, in almost any moving-water situation (other than strong rapids that are way beyond my skill level and/or boats), and focusing on where the water which carries the boat is going, and how that movement might be different just ahead of me is my key to staying in control. If birds are smart enough to figure out how to adjust for the wind when relating their flight path to fixed objects, we all can do the same with a river's current.
I think it’s Important to recognize
The value of these maneuvers on flat water as well. The ability to play the current does bring elegance to many sticky situations, but for me at least, even flatwater drills like the English Gates (solo)were all but impossible without utilizing some freestyle-based technique. The ability to deal with any obstacles gracefully is essential to avoiding unplanned swims 
Glenn
Can be difficult to visualize
but Guideboatguy has it right. Moving upstream you will tend to spin out into faster moving water. Moving downstream you will tend to spin out into slower moving water. Its all as about the current differentials.
Moving upstream, if the bow moves out into faster moving water with the stern in slower moving water, the bow will begin to spin downstream. The stern will stick in the slower moving water pivoting the boat into the faster moving current and turning the boat downstream. In whitewater this is called a peal out and it is used to get you out of an eddy and into the current. Its the perfect opportunity for an axle. Most people find it easier to keep the boat parallel to the current (and out of current differentials) when paddling upstream, so I think most people find it easier to stay in control paddling upstream. Paddling on the side of the faster moving water (outside of a turn) may help.
Moving downstream, if the bow moves out into slower moving water with the stern in the faster moving water, the stern will begin to spin downstream. The bow will stick in the slower moving current pivoting the boat into the slower moving water and turning the boat upstream. In whitewater this is called an eddy turn and it is used to get you out of current and into an eddy. It’s also the perfect opportunity for an axle. Paddling on the side of the slower moving current (inside of the turn) may help. In fast moving current, lean the wrong way in either of these situations and you could easily end up in the drink.
As Guideboatguy said, it is the turns in the river where these differential currents are the most pronounced - even on an otherwise slow moving river. Finding that perfect line when traveling downstream through these turns can be difficult. Personally, I’d rather spin out into the slower current on the inside of a turn rather than get caught in the fast moving water in the outside of a turn where there are likely to be strainers or other obstructions. I just tell people I was practicing my eddy turns 
Thanks
Thanks, some great info there. Going upstream paddling in a boat like my Flashfire, I find I can do practally all my steering by heeling the boat using a practically uncorrected stroke, but downstream this doesn’t work at all. You’re right about speed changing things causing spinouts. I need to keep what I have learned at freestyle classes more in mind when tripping,I tend to forget to do that.
Thanks,Turtle
Turtle you might try setting your stern
in slower water … ie the boat at an angle toward the outside bank going downstream… the stern toward the inside curve and the bow toward the outside.
This ought to stop spinouts. Its also a neat way to practice setting an angle so you can backferry in more difficult water.
"Practicing eddy turns"
Your mention of such eddy turns reminds me that when getting caught by surprise, thinking on the fly can lead to some interesting results. While stuff like that has happened to me a bunch of times, one I remember in particular might be interesting for rbturtle.
I was flying down the Wisconsin River when it was in full flood, and my plan was to turn off into what is normally a dry pathway through the woods. The current at the entrance to that pathway was trickier than I had planned for, and I got spun a bit farther than what I’d wanted (the beginning of an accidental eddy turn), and fighting to force the boat back onto the proper heading would have taken a couple of seconds, in which time I would have partially broadsided a big tree, which I didn’t want to do in swift, cold water. Thinking fast, I simply took advantage of the current differential that had spun me and used it to quickly spin the boat farther and faster in the same direction. Spinning almost 360 degrees to the right was a lot faster and easier than the obvious choice of spinning 30 degrees to the left, fighting the eddy. It also allowed me to miss the tree with room to spare, though of course at that moment I flew past the tree my boat was facing upstream instead of downstream as originally planned. Sometimes appearing to be out of control is the best way to be in control, when working with current differentials.
accidental eddy turns
– Last Updated: Dec-02-14 11:43 AM EST –
I think most of us, when heading downstream, have occasionally taken a turn too tightly and nosed across an eddy line. Fighting it is generally futile. It's almost always easier to go with it and enjoy the view back upstream. If the flow is really fast, it's an opportunity to survey what's downstream from the comfort and safety of the eddy. When you're ready, peel out and continue on your way. If done smoothly, no one in you group will know that the eddy turn was not intended.
Personally, I almost never miss an opportunity to pop into an eddy. It's fun and a great way to hone your skills. When it occurs accidentally, your reactions become automatic. No conscious thought involved.
Another neat move
When your group is sitting up high in the eddy and you blew by and missed it, is to execute a “post” downstream where the eddy line begins to fade. A post can get you into it, where a conventional upstream heeled duffek placement will not. Of course, you do need to make sure there is enough water to enable a good paddle placement.
When paddling upstream
on a winding stream, the game is to stay tight to the shoreline, in the slowest currents, on the insides of the bends. Below the inside of the bends there may even be (upstream) eddy currents to carry you along. Often, “tight to the shoreline” means within a foot or less of the riverbank. Doing this well requires the use of all the tools in your kit. Axles and posts to turn toward the onside, wedges and sweeps to the offside. Cross forwards as necessary in order to avoid the inefficiencies of corrections or because you’ve placed the on side of your hull so tight to the shore that there isn’t water for your paddle. One must avoid sticking the bow out into the faster current as that’s an open invitation for the river to spin you back downstream.
When finished rounding a bend, a side slip/ferry across to the opposite bank sets you up for the same game, on the other side. All of this is done without switching grip/shaft hands.
When heading downstream, it’s not necessary to hug the bank. In fact, one generally wants to stay away from the banks. The current along the inside banks will be slow. There may be sandbars extending out a ways. Often there will be deadfall, strainers and other debris along the outside banks. Aside from strainers and the like, The biggest “danger” is in allowing the bow to get caught in a slow current or eddy, which will spin you back upstream. Generally there’s no harm done. Hey, you wanted to let the rest of the group catch up, didn’t you?
Of course, in the real world, there may be shallows, submerged stumps, and other surprises waiting to throw you off your game. Add some dark, tannin stained water to obscure the bottom and it’s game on.
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Ah yes,
cognitive skills vs. mechanical.
Pag
Boat leans and turning
– Last Updated: Dec-03-14 6:54 AM EST –
We could start another whole thread on this. There is no better way to learn the effects that boat lean/healing can have in moving water than by canoe poling. When poling, these subtle leans are essential to keeping the boat going straight. To do this, you need to lean the boat in the opposite direction that you want the downstream end of the boat (“end of least resistance” or “eddy resistance end”) to move.
For example, if I am moving upstream and the current catches my bow and starts to swing it to my offside (in my case the right), I need to quickly lean it to my onside (left). This will increase the pressure on the onside of the stern (reduce the resistance on the offside) and allow the stern to swing to the offside straightening out the boat. Pitching the boat forward or otherwise pinning the bow also helps.
If I am moving downstream, the process is the same. If my stern starts to swing to my offside (right), I need to lean the boat to my onside (left). This will increase the pressure on the onside of the bow (reduce the resistance on the offside) and allow the bow to swing to the offside straightening out the boat. Pitching the boat aft or otherwise inning the stern also helps.
This type of turning works much better moving upstream because you have more force from the current moving toward you to push the downstream end of the boat. Turtle, this is probably why you had better luck with this moving upstream.
When moving downstream you need to be travelling slower than the current for this to work, and most people aren’t while paddling. Polers can use snubbing to slow down or even stop the boat, and this allows the current to do the work. If you are paddling faster than the current, then the upstream end once again becomes the “eddy resistance end”, so now you have to lean to the other side. Very confusing, and not at all intuitive for me. I'll often try one, and if it doesn't work then the other.
Having said all this, these subtle turns through leaning only work to a point. Usually the paddle is going to be needed to get you where you want to go – and that’s where the functional feestyle come in.
The wedge turn is useful . . .
. . . when trying to hug the shore while going upstream around an off-side corner. The wedge keeps the paddle in the deeper water of the canoe’s on-side, and it turns the canoe more sharply than an on-side sweep stroke. (You can also turn this off-side corner with a cross-axle or cross-post, which Marc will probably discuss later.)
Before Freestyle devotees introduced some new terminology in the late 80’s and 90’s , the wedge turn was usually called a bow jam or a static bow pry.
Now yer talkin’ my kinda of adolescent
language. Wedgies and braces,reminds me of high school. Oh sweet mama, “bow jammin” and “hangin braces” are part of my Snuffy Smith school of paddlin’ vocabulary. Axles and posts sound like somethin’ from figure skatin’ and is a bit hotsy totsy. Freestylin’ freakin’ requires real skill while my hillbilly creekin’ justs gets errrr done.
Wedges
Glenn must have read my mind. Last night I sat down and edited video clips for a discussion about the wedge. This morning, I awoke to find Glenn’s fine introduction.
The 1st two clips are of wedges being used in functional settings, in the NY Pine Barrens. The 3rd and 4th clips were made for instructional purposes, with a stern mounted camera.
In the instructional clips, the wedges are concluded with 1/4 sweeps. In functional settings, it is rarely necessary to conclude with a sweep. When the necessary degree of turn has been completed, the paddler simply transitions to a forward stroke.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2tm3NB8KRg&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWc2l-T9UEc&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki3KqI-sgo4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgYYatGMGPs&feature=youtu.be
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Pine Barrens got misplaced
temporarily. They are now back in New Jersey. Carry on…
oops
Must have been wishful thinking. They’d be closer (to me) if they were in NY.
New York, New Jersey,
it all runs together…things didn’t get dicey until Washington had to figure how to cross the Delaware and become a boater