RE: [Paddlewise] Group Paddling - A warning

From:           	"Reeves, Debbie (Debbie)" <dreeves_at_lucent.com>
To:             	paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subject:        	RE: [Paddlewise] Group Paddling - A warning
Date sent:      	Thu, 8 Apr 1999 13:23:52 -0400 

> what about the stern of the towee getting pushed out away from the
> tower, say with small quartering seas?  I occasionally practice the "Short
> Assisted Tow" and it can require a considerable amount of effort on the
> tow-ee's part to keep their bow in at the cockpit of the tow-er as they lean
> over the back deck of the tow-er.  This is without clipping up, of course.
> Actually, we've never practiced clipping up on this type of tow.  I wonder
> if it would cause the tow-er to loose their tracking and have to perform a
> bunch of correction strokes? 

Dunno, Debbie, but it doesn't seem to be a problem.  The contact 
tow line --- and, again, that's clipped into the towee's deckline 
fitting, not to his bow loop --- tends to hold the boats pretty much in 
line.  It sounds awkward, but it works, and the short line holds the 
towee's bow in tightly against the tower's boat, and, with the added 
connection of the towee being draped across the tower's foredeck, 
the combination seems to be relatively easily propelled and 
controlled.  (This seems to work better with a Euro-paddle rather 
than an indigenous paddle, especially on the side where you have 
to reach across the towee's bow to get to the water.)

Excellent comments on the line release issue, as well.

Jack Martin
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************