On Sat, 29 May 1999, Hal Christiansen wrote: > I will be taking a beginners WW course in two weeks. The facility offers > training using kayaks. I have paddled OC! almost exclusively for several > years. So my question to the list is this : > > What are the reasons why you favor either kayaks or canoes, for white water > rivers, playboating, rodeo, etc. ??? > I ponder this question often, and haven't come up with a good answer. I paddle WW in both OC-1s and kayaks, depending on my mood, the water level, and how long it's been since I've been in one boat or tha other. WW kayaks are easier to learn than WW canoes. Canoe partisans refer to the double bladed paddle as "training wheels", but it's certainly true that an intermediate kayaker can make moves that an intermediate canoeist cannot. Sometimes whan I'm paddling kayak with my canoe buddies, I almost feel like apologizing when I easily drop onto a wave that they're working hard to catch. That said, I can't give up my open boats. There is an elegance to single blade paddling that kayaking can't match. Part of it may be the challenge of making moves with only one blade, part of it is the more upright position. The canoeist has better visibility and can put more of the body into the stroke. But they do fill up with water and get hard to handle. Some people think decked C-1 provides the best of both worlds, but you have to be prepared to live in pain. Paddle them all, I say. Steve Cramer Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes you never can University of Georgia always tell what you Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the most. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat May 29 1999 - 06:23:04 PDT
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