I'm just a beginner but believe the instructions I was given were "reach forward to plant, then rotate your body as your sweep all the way back to the stern..." I'm sure someone more expert out there could add something about adding some bracing capability--like changing paddle blade angle a bit?--to keep you upright? *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 07:40 AM 1/7/02 -0800, Jolie Smilowicz wrote: >I'm just a beginner but believe the instructions I was given were "reach >forward to plant, then rotate your body as your sweep all the way back to the >stern..." That's something that we teach beginners learning a sweep stroke. If you place the paddle in the water and think of rotating the boat with your torso rather than pulling the paddle through the water it works well but it's a lot easier to do from a stationary position. There are a couple of other things to think about. Keep a low paddle angle and extend the outside arm to draw a "C" in the water. Finish the stroke by making sure that the paddle blade comes all the way back near the stern. > I'm sure someone more expert out there could add something about >adding some bracing capability--like changing paddle blade angle a bit?--to >keep you upright? Probably the most effective addition to a sweep stroke is a good amount of edging. That usually involves tilting the blade back just a little to provide a little bracing support. On exercise that I like is to do a forward sweep with the boat edged toward the side with the paddle in the water. At the end of the sweep flip the blade over to a low brace position and skim it across the surface toward the bow for another sweep without changing the boat edging. Personally, I don't use a sweep stroke by itself when traveling forward and expect it to turn the boat much (especially when I'm in my 18'6" long Northbay). If I'm paddling toward a destination and find myself drifting off to the left (for example), I'll maintain my cadence but throw in a sweep on the left and edge to the left with each sweep, turning the boat slightly with each stroke until my bow is pointing at the destination again. If done well, the forward momentum is maintained throughout the course change. While it is always useful to make all your stroke efficient, there are other turning strokes that are more effective if you want to make more than a minor course correction. IMO, a forward is most effective as a setup stroke for other turning strokes. When paddling through a narrow winding waterway I like doing a forward stroke followed by a bow rudder turn for nice carving turns. For a sharper turn, a forward stroke followed by a low or high brace turn can turn a maneuverable kayak 180 degrees. If I want to do a quick about face I'll initiate the turn with a sweep stroke with the boat on edge to get the boat starting to turn, then edge the boat the opposite way aggressively and do a high brace turn. Starting the high brace with the blade a bit back toward the stern and bringing it forward as the boat turns usually gets me around 180 degrees. If not, I just keep the boat on edge and scull back and forth with a bit more forward pressure to finish the turn. There's another method that I'm still working on but haven't been able to do it as effectively as I would like. Chris Duff uses this method to turn around 180 degrees when he's teaching classes. He'll initiate the turn with a sweep stroke then plant in a stern rudder and edge the boat aggressively. I think he starts the stern rudder with the blade almost under the boat but I haven't quite figured it out yet. In any case, it's a real pretty and effective turn. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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