[Paddlewise] Rolling problems

I am a roller wanna be but I have gotten advice from
several teachers and have experimented to see if the
advice works.  Also I am a short, senior woman so may
have some different issues than a younger, bigger man.

Here are some things that keep me from rolling.

1)Falling off the brace inside my boat when I'm
upside down and therefore not being able to do a hip snap.

Fix by customizing the cockpit so knees and hips
don't lose contact with the boat. I fit pretty good, side
to side but not from top to bottom.

2)Having the foot petals too far down and thus not
sending the energy from the hip snap to the boat. Fix
by shortening the petals, especially when learning.
They you can relax a little as you get better.

Going into the roll too soon and too fast.
Especially in a sea kayak this is a problem because the large
amount of inertia makes the boat lag behind your
movements if you are going too fast.

Using a sweep roll or a screw roll keeps you slowed
down enough to coordinate with your boat.  Also I
think the screw roll is the best to learn because you
have many opportunities to come up without having to
start all the way over.

Most seakayak teachers are not teaching the C to C
for this reason. However I started learning it and now
have to unlearn it to do the screw.

I am currently at the stage where I must make my
kayak cockpit much smaller. I really need another boat
because I can't lean one way and work on the other
side.

But ruling out these problems should help you roll.
I also think it is why you can roll one boat but not
another.  And after you learn to roll well, you don/t
need to fit as tightly. As you perfect your roll, you will
get more able to roll in less tight boats and in boats that
fit you different.y.  But I have seen
instructors change boats because they can't do a
particular roll in a particular boat.

Marilyn Kircus

=====
Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.
John Cotton Dana

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