Tips for Paddling Class V in an OC1

[Jon]

Excellent site! Check it out. Doesn't have to be CV - true for CIII as well.

http://www.open-canoe.de/open/technique ... butt_v.html

[Jim Michaud]

Sammer Elias really knows his stuff! I totally agree with everything he mentions. It's a great article.

[Tiggy]

Im glad someone out there that thinks a short crisp stroke is good!!
At an ACA course, I was encouraged to lengthen my stroke. I get the same power out of a short stroke for less work as the blade is vertical throughout the power phase. Correction is applied sharply at the hip.
While I find a longer stroke to be beneficial in some cases such as carving or busting through a sticky hole, I find the shorter quicker , more efficient stroke to be my choice when playboating, making upstream moves and very QUICK moves. I think the power stroke is the most difficult to master, and becomes more important "when your dead in the water" and need to build momentum very fast.
His article has alot of good stuff in it!
BTW that looks like glenwood canyon in the last of his pics with the funky shades...any idea where this guy resides?

[yarnellboat]

Sammer moved to Seattle from Colorado a few years ago, there are some photos of him on the website of the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club, but he moved from Seattle over a year ago. I never paddled with him, I was too frightened; I'll have to read his stuff a few more times! I bought an OT Appalachian from him when he left, nice guy, but I don't know where he has ended up.

P.

[Jan_dettmer]

Sammer is back in Colorado, well, that was before he went sailing somewhere in the Pacific. I got an e-mail from him a while ago telling about his adventures.
True adventurer and very competent paddler.

Cheers, Jan