Re: [Paddlewise] stroke poll...aw, c'mon

Jim, I'm also a newbie who has recently figured out a stroke I like--though
I'm still not sure it's the right one! I'm trying to learn. But I'll dive
in and answer your questions.

>>1) when you paddle, do you "pedal" your boat; that is to say do you exert
>>pressure on one foot then the other, depending on where you are in your
>>stroke?

I think I do something like this; I got a helpful tip early on about using
my lower back and thighs to move the boat past the paddle blade in the
water.  I am trying to replicate my stroke in an office chair right now and
tell you what's happening: I think I lift or push forward the hip on the
same side of the boat as the paddle blade which is in the water, and push
with that foot.

>>3) When you push with your right leg, are you also pushing your knee
>>upwards, or does your opposite knee pull up?

Same knee.

>>
>>4) when your left paddle is in the water between A and B which way does
>>your boat lean left or right?

My boat is a Loon 138, so stable in the water that I don't think it leans
noticeably on a regular stroke.

>>
>>5) when you paddle does the stern of your boat zig zag?

This seems to depend a lot on where I'm placing the paddle blade.  In the
stroke I'm learning to like, the paddle is nearly vertical and the blade
travels through the water very near the boat. This seems to give me a lot
of speed and forward motion, and the boat barely zigs or zags at all. I
know that people doing the kind of casual, recreational paddling I do often
paddle with their paddles less vertical and the blade farther from the
boat, and I've tried to develop such a stroke as a kind of resting stroke,
but I get frustrated at recognizing that so much of my energy is going to
turn the boat, as evidenced by the distinct wagging of my bow.

I'm interested in the vertical-versus-horizontal paddling thing. There
don't seem to be any kayaking books out there called things like "The
Complete Causal Recreational Class-I River Paddler," so I'm trying to piece
together useful bits of info for myself from books on whitewater paddling
and sea kayaking (and from talking to more experienced paddlers, of
course). Whitewater books stress a high angle on the paddle, while sea
kayaking books stress the opposite. Each recommendation makes sense for the
kinds of conditions being paddled in, and I'm not quite sure where the kind
of paddling I do fits in. I'd be interested to hear about this aspect of
paddling, if people feel like dropping in their two cents.

Su Penn


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