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From: Phil Huck <thekayaker_at_yahoo.com>
subject: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 10:00:03 -0700 (PDT)
Hello again,

 In respect to this last season of paddling, I want to
know what you would do to make it better. I have been
following a similar thread on a local paddling list
and I have seen many good ideas come from it.

Basically, go over what wasn't so great and describe
what you would do to fix it.

Here are some of mine.
 
   On cold trips I would like to bring hot chocolate
laced with Irish Cream, plenty for sharing. (not
Shari) :)
   I would leave a spare pair of shoes/socks in the
truck.
   I would call home more often to explain why I am
staying on the river for 6 more hours than I
originally thought. (whoops)
   I would set up my hot shower bag for the takeout:
it's especially nice for rinsing off the local mud.
   I would spend more time exploring islands, hidden
coves and looking out over tall lakeside cliffs than I
would just paddling from points A to B.
   I ought to stretch out more pretrip. Sometimes I
got  so excited, I completely forgot, and paid later.
   I would carry more Gatorade in my hydration pack, I
seem to never have enough.
   I would spend more time working on a "combat roll"
and less time with the "perfect setting ones".
   I would take more pictures, I won't always be able
to remember "the good times".
   
   

There you are. 
Paddlewisers:I hope you find time to answer this, your
ideas can help out everyone.

Thanks
Phil Huck
thekayaker_at_yahoo.com
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From: David Powdrell <powdrell_at_silcom.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 13:55:42 -0700
Interesting thoughts run through my head thinking of what I'd do
differently.

1.  I'd limit my daily distances on ocean kayak camping trips to 15-18,
allowing more time to enjoy the scenery and less time popping Advil at the
end of the day.

2.  I'd take lots more pictures...and I'd keep my camera more easily
accessible for those instantly exciting moments we all have.

3.  I think I'll spend less time crossing channels, and more time exploring
sea caves and the coastline.

4.  I'll bring oatmeal for hot breakfasts rather than cold, stale bagels.

5.  I'll keep my PFD pocket loaded with Jolly Ranger candies....such a treat
for everyone.

David Powdrell



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of Phil Huck
Sent: Monday, October 11, 1999 10:00 AM
To: paddlewise submissions; Shari Schoenborn; Mark Tilly
Subject: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?


Hello again,

 In respect to this last season of paddling, I want to
know what you would do to make it better. I have been
following a similar thread on a local paddling list
and I have seen many good ideas come from it.

Basically, go over what wasn't so great and describe
what you would do to fix it.

Here are some of mine.

   On cold trips I would like to bring hot chocolate
laced with Irish Cream, plenty for sharing. (not
Shari) :)
   I would leave a spare pair of shoes/socks in the
truck.
   I would call home more often to explain why I am
staying on the river for 6 more hours than I
originally thought. (whoops)
   I would set up my hot shower bag for the takeout:
it's especially nice for rinsing off the local mud.
   I would spend more time exploring islands, hidden
coves and looking out over tall lakeside cliffs than I
would just paddling from points A to B.
   I ought to stretch out more pretrip. Sometimes I
got  so excited, I completely forgot, and paid later.
   I would carry more Gatorade in my hydration pack, I
seem to never have enough.
   I would spend more time working on a "combat roll"
and less time with the "perfect setting ones".
   I would take more pictures, I won't always be able
to remember "the good times".



There you are.
Paddlewisers:I hope you find time to answer this, your
ideas can help out everyone.

Thanks
Phil Huck
thekayaker_at_yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com
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From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 18:39:55 -0700
Phil Huck wrote:

>  In respect to this last season of paddling, I want to
> know what you would do to make it better. [many snips throughout]
> Here are some of mine.

>    I would leave a spare pair of shoes/socks in the truck.

And change of clothes.  And spare key on the rig.

>    I would spend more time exploring islands, hidden
> coves and looking out over tall lakeside cliffs than I
> would just paddling from points A to B.

This is my major flaw.   Too "goal oriented" about getting there.

One trip we "tidepooled" from our yaks at very low tide, and it was really
fun!

Another regret is that I did not carefully journal each day -- reading my
journal after trips where I was more thorough has been a lot of fun!

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

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From: <gpwecho_at_juno.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 10:47:45 -0500
Hmmmm....

1.  I'd make a real effort to "compose" a picture that tries to capture
the mood of the moment on each outing.  Snapshots are great and lots of
fun, but some shots seem to tell so much more.  Be it sun and shadow, or
wind on water, a well crafted photo is a real asset.   I gotta make the
effort !

2.  Take more snacks !  

3.  Do more stroke drill and roll practice while the water is warm !

4.  Take more snacks !

5.  Take more short trips to different water ...any water close by. 
Weekend campouts are not the only time to paddle.

6.  Take more snacks !

...adieu   ...Peyton  (Louisiana)  
 
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From: Reeves, Debbie (Debbie) <"Reeves,>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:16:59 -0400
As opposed to Peyton, I need to:

Do more stroke, sculling and rolling practice in cold water (but it still
makes me shiver just thinking about it)

Debs

> ----------
> From: 	gpwecho_at_juno.com[SMTP:gpwecho_at_juno.com]
> 
> 3.  Do more stroke drill and roll practice while the water is warm !
> 
> 
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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:21:56 -0400
At 12:16 PM 10/12/99 -0400, Reeves, Debbie (Debbie) wrote:
>As opposed to Peyton, I need to:
>
>Do more stroke, sculling and rolling practice in cold water (but it still
>makes me shiver just thinking about it)

In which case if you're ever considering visiting another PaddleWiser
you should come to Ithaca instead of Louisiana.  The water here is
getting quite chilly.  I haven't tried rolling in a couple of weeks but
I've worked on my sculling brace and can finally get my head completely
wet.  It took awhile to feel comfortable getting my left elbow down so
I'm holding the paddle like I would a pull-up bar.  Once I did that I was
able to get a nice, slow, sculling motion.  

Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
better?
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From: Kirk Olsen <kolsen_at_imagelan.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 14:44:26 -0400 (EDT)
On Tue, 12 Oct 1999, John Fereira wrote:

> Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
> Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
> better?

Get someone to videotape you doing both sides.  Its frightening how bad
you can look on videotape...

The first things I would look at would be
 - your offside scull isn't perpendicular to your boat (at the middle of the
   sculling motion.  I have problems if I scull to far forward or leaning
   back. 
 - your "top hand" is too far away from the hull as you scull,
 - your onside hand isn't below the paddle.

kirk
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From: Wes Boyd <boydwe_at_dmci.net>
subject: [Paddlewise] Clueless
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:53:49
I just extracted this from today's National Park Service morning report,
out of
Delaware Gap National Recreation Area. Are we talking clueless, or what?

-- Wes

------------------------------------------------------------

"The park received a report of two overdue canoeists on the Delaware River on
the evening of September 28th.  Rangers Mike Zirwas and Jennifer Kavanaugh
began a search for the married couple, who had rented a canoe from a local
business permittee, and found them in pitch darkness just a hundred yards
north of the point where they'd put in at Smithfield Beach.  The couple had
been dropped off that morning and instructed to head downstream to Kittatinny
Point.  They had instead paddled upstream against the current, covering about
three miles in six hours of steady paddling.  According to the woman: "When
we reached the fourth set of rapids and the water was still going the wrong
way, we decided we had probably been going the wrong way."  They turned
around and paddled for 90 minutes, then pulled over to the shore to wait for
morning - not realizing how close they were to the boat ramp where they'd put
in seven-and-a-half hours previously.  Both were okay and in remarkably good
spirits."


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From: Reeves, Debbie (Debbie) <"Reeves,>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:44:03 -0400
John,

Whenever I am learning a new skill, I try it on one side and then the other
and just keep flopping around.  That way I don't have an off-side.  That
advice won't help you now that you have an off-side for sculling, but the
next time you start working on something new, give it a try.

Debs

> ----------
> From: 	John Fereira[SMTP:jaf30_at_cornell.edu]
> 
> Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right
> side.
> Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
> better?
> 
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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 14:52:47 -0400
At 01:44 PM 10/12/99 -0400, Reeves, Debbie (Debbie) wrote:
>John,
>
>Whenever I am learning a new skill, I try it on one side and then the other
>and just keep flopping around.  That way I don't have an off-side.  That
>advice won't help you now that you have an off-side for sculling, but the
>next time you start working on something new, give it a try.

Fortunately I did that when I started working on a bow rudder turn.  My
left and right side are pretty even.

In a few weeks the outdoor club that I'm affiliated with is going to do 
their first pool session.  Last year I really got my onside roll solid during
those pool sessions.  Although that was in a whitewater boat I think I
only missed two rolls all summer.   This year I'll work on my offside roll,
sculling, and my re-entry roll.

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From: Patrick Maun <pmaun_at_bitstream.net>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 11:59:30 -0500
Something that helped me when learning to re-enter and roll was to 
use an extended (Pawlata) roll to get back up. For some reason, I had 
a really difficult time getting a screw roll to work with the 
re-entry, but once I tried an extended roll I got up every time. With 
some practise, I was able to slowly convert this to my usual screw 
roll. Now I use the extended as a back up if my first attempt at a 
screw fails.

-Patrick Maun
St. Paul, Minnesota

> >Whenever I am learning a new skill, I try it on one side and then the other
> >and just keep flopping around.  That way I don't have an off-side.  That
>>advice won't help you now that you have an off-side for sculling, but the
>>next time you start working on something new, give it a try.
>
>Fortunately I did that when I started working on a bow rudder turn.  My
>left and right side are pretty even.
>
>In a few weeks the outdoor club that I'm affiliated with is going to do
>their first pool session.  Last year I really got my onside roll solid during
>those pool sessions.  Although that was in a whitewater boat I think I
>only missed two rolls all summer.   This year I'll work on my offside roll,
>sculling, and my re-entry roll.
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From: Shawn W. Baker <baker_at_montana.com>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 09:15:54 -0600
Debbie Reeves wrote:
>>John,
>>
>>Whenever I am learning a new skill, I try it on one side and then the other
>>and just keep flopping around.  That way I don't have an off-side.  That
>>advice won't help you now that you have an off-side for sculling, but the
>>next time you start working on something new, give it a try.

Agreed.  I learned to screw roll with an onside only.  It took me until
this summer (over 2 years) to learn the offside screw roll.  However, I
learned to hand roll (whitewater kayak) and C-to-C roll on both sides at
the same time.  I actually had an offside handroll for 2 years before I
got all the mechanics of an offside screw roll down.

John Fereira wrote:
>Fortunately I did that when I started working on a bow rudder turn.  My
>left and right side are pretty even.
>In a few weeks the outdoor club that I'm affiliated with is going to do 
>their first pool session.  Last year I really got my onside roll solid during
>those pool sessions.  Although that was in a whitewater boat I think I
>only missed two rolls all summer.   This year I'll work on my offside roll,
>sculling, and my re-entry roll.

I learned in a whitewater boat too.  (Too hard to get a sea kayak into
my local U pool!)  I still need to work on a re-entry roll.  Are you
planning on doing it with or without a paddlefloat?  My problem is in
re-attaching my sprayskirt while inverted.

Speaking of cold water, I rolled the CD Extreme when I was demo'ing it. 
It is really an easy boat to roll.  I have a harder time relaxing in
that 45*+ water, but instincts take over, and then rolls happen pretty
quick, and without much thinking.

Shawn
-- 
                      0
© 1999          ____©/______ 
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^\  ,/      /~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
Shawn W. Baker     0       http://www.missoulaconcrete/shawn/
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From: Bob Volin <bobvolin_at_bestweb.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 11:27:02 -0400
John wrote:
>I've worked on my sculling brace and can finally get my head completely
>wet.  It took awhile to feel comfortable getting my left elbow down so
>I'm holding the paddle like I would a pull-up bar.  Once I did that I was
>able to get a nice, slow, sculling motion.
>
>Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
>Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
>better?
....Why not use a slightly inflated paddle float on that side until you feel
comfortable with the movement?
    -Bob

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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 13:40:59 -0400
At 11:27 AM 10/16/99 -0400, Bob Volin wrote:
>John wrote:
>>I've worked on my sculling brace and can finally get my head completely
>>wet.  It took awhile to feel comfortable getting my left elbow down so
>>I'm holding the paddle like I would a pull-up bar.  Once I did that I was
>>able to get a nice, slow, sculling motion.
>>
>>Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
>>Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
>>better?
>....Why not use a slightly inflated paddle float on that side until you feel
>comfortable with the movement?

I have used a slightly inflated paddle float to practice a roll but I'm not
sure
how well it would work for a sculling brace.  It would seem to me that it 
make it really difficult to get a feel for the blade angle.  
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From: <rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Mon, 18 Oct 1999 14:20:06 -0700
John Fereira wrote:
> 
> At 11:27 AM 10/16/99 -0400, Bob Volin wrote:
> >John wrote:
> >>I've worked on my sculling brace and can finally get my head completely
> >>wet.  It took awhile to feel comfortable getting my left elbow down so
> >>I'm holding the paddle like I would a pull-up bar.  Once I did that I was
> >>able to get a nice, slow, sculling motion.
> >>
> >>Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
> >>Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
> >>better?
> >....Why not use a slightly inflated paddle float on that side until you feel
> >comfortable with the movement?
> 
> I have used a slightly inflated paddle float to practice a roll but I'm not
> sure
> how well it would work for a sculling brace.  It would seem to me that it
> make it really difficult to get a feel for the blade angle.
> ************************************************************

You might try the Gaia Swell Ultralite paddle float.  It has only one
air chamber with the other side made of a mesh material.  The inflated
side inflates with a bit of articulation.  The combination does give you
some paddle feel through the mesh and the articulated inflated side
flows smoothly over the water.  This particular paddle float folds down
to next to nothing and has a thin webbing strap with snap buckle.  You
can very comfortably fold the paddle float down and shove in inside your
PFD next to your chest with the webbing strap to make certain it won't
come loose from you.  It also takes hardly any puffs to inflate.

So, in all, you do get some blade feel for sculling and even paddling,
something that is hard to do with an ordinary paddle float; it is easy
to keep handy on you rather than under deck bungee; and, unless you are
extraordinarily heavy or clumsy, will give you more than enough
flotation for a self-assist paddle float rescue.

I am seeing more and more paddlers around here with them.  They do work.

ralph diaz
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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From: Patrick Maun <pmaun_at_bitstream.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] What would you do differently?
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 12:47:39 -0500
A good way to learn a good sculling brace if you don't have a 
reliable roll is to start practicing with a paddlefloat attached to 
the non-submerged paddle blade. This way if you take a dunking, it is 
pretty easy to roll back up using the float. Another thing that 
really helped me when learning is to concentrate on your body 
position, I think most people start off leaning too far forward. You 
need to lean back quite a ways to go down deep. One other thing that 
helped me, was simple doing very deep high braces, going down until 
my head was under water and using a quick high brace to get back up. 
After doing this for a little while, I was able to hold my self down 
longer and longer and convert the brace to a scull. Be very careful 
of your shoulders when practicing high braces, easy to dislocate.

-Patrick

>At 11:27 AM 10/16/99 -0400, Bob Volin wrote:
>>John wrote:
>>>I've worked on my sculling brace and can finally get my head completely
>>>wet.  It took awhile to feel comfortable getting my left elbow down so
>>>I'm holding the paddle like I would a pull-up bar.  Once I did that I was
>>>able to get a nice, slow, sculling motion.
>>>
>>>Unfortunately I've only been able to do a real good scull on my right side.
>>>Can anyone suggest some tricks how to make my offside sculling brace
>>>better?
>>....Why not use a slightly inflated paddle float on that side until you feel
>>comfortable with the movement?
>
>I have used a slightly inflated paddle float to practice a roll but I'm not
>sure
>how well it would work for a sculling brace.  It would seem to me that it
>make it really difficult to get a feel for the blade angle.
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