Re: [Paddlewise] Sculling Brace

I wrote:
>> There is a point
where you know you just don't have the time or right angle to throw that
needed brace. At times like that, I don't even try; I just commit over to a
sculling brace which renders immediate stability in most situations.
Typically, once stability is encountered, I'll either high brace back up by
bringing the scull to center right angle or simply scull powerfully so I am
vertical again. There are variations.>>

Jerry asks:
>If you don't have time to throw a quick brace, how do you have time to
>scull?  Is your body in the water?  I start sculling from a high brace, so
>that if I need a low brace behind, I cannot easily convert to a sculling
>brace.  There is now at least one scull in even my quick high braces as it
>seems to give more support.  Don't know if this is correct or not.

Well, this gets into the whole issue of context, as in what boat does a
person paddle; what freeboard and how much apparent secondary stability
does the kayak have;  is the paddler top-heavy; how much leverage can the
paddler exert given their torso/arm length; the type of paddle and blade
used; off-side or not; etc. For me, obviously, a scull has been employed
for whatever reason, rather than a high brace. If it were not so, I
wouldn't have stated it earlier. And yes, I sometimes use a scull in my
high brace under the heading "variations".


>>I use sculling for surprise "knock-overs", poor eddyline crossing mistakes,


>If you err on an eddyline crossing and are getting tipped up stream, can you
>scull up stream where you should have braced down  stream?  What did I say?

This all falls under the heading of confused seas. Between recirculating
multiple-eddylines, standing waves, acute wind gusts, etc, I simply
sometimes end up sculling, and am thankful for the skill. I know the
different tactics for upstream and downstream lean usage, but my boat
doesn't :-)

>>The only time my sculling got me _into_ trouble was during the onset of my
>>trial Island incident. I had too much faith in my sculling ability, held on
>>too long
>
>If you were hanging on a sculling brace, what prevented you from coming back
>up?

6 foot seas with a 3 foot curl trapped in a standing wave pattern with a 4
to 6 knot current and a full gale blowing all day. Water was churning
wildly and I couldn't get into the correct position required to scull or
brace back up. Sinuses were filled with water. It happens some days. That's
why I keep my back-ups. BTW, I have a _very_ vigorous scull -- not at all
smooth or graceful, but at least I can do it consistently. Well usually!

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd

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