From: "Fernando Lopez Arbarello" <kayak_argentina_at_yahoo.com> > > Michael Daly says a kayak with sponsons is not a kayak ... and he is right. > > Michael Orchad says the majority of paddlers don't know how to roll and he > is probably right too. Other way around... > But considering sponsons and paddle floats as true alternatives to the roll > is in my opinion a grate mistake. Rolling is not that hard to learn and > doesn't require any special ability neither physical shape. Well, I wish I could agree with you but I can't. For some folks, rolling is hard to learn. Having taught lots of skiers and several kayakers, I can tell you that _most_ adults don't have the essential observation skills, motor skills, coordination etc. to develop some athletic tasks to a competent level (meaning: able to do the thing over and over correctly). You can demonstrate till you're blue in the face, manually force their arms and legs into the right position, work through the motions over and over and they just don't get it. (Hey, I'm that way with music!) If they're good athletes in youth, they tend to learn well as adults. Otherwise they are and remain marginally skilled at some tasks. That won't stop them from paddling and enjoying it. But a more difficult task like rolling is beyond them. Consider a current thread on Paddlewise where folks are commenting on how changing the knee position affects their roll. I consider a competent level of rolling skill to mean that you can get into almost any kayak and roll it (we'll ignore the ultrawide or oddball kayaks). I've rolled kayaks without even setting the footpegs in position (i.e. feet free and not braced). I hate to sound nasty, but if a small change in your kayak affects your roll, you need to develop the skill more. You should be prepared for accidental changes (I practice odd scenarios in the pool). Hence, even those trained in rolling need a backup. There's no such thing as a bombproof roll either. Some folks have extremely good rolling skills, but there will come a time when they're out of the boat. They need a backup too. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Dec 30 2001 - 15:34:56 PST
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