Left or Right

[John Coraor]

I'm right-handed and, although I can paddle either side when paddling open boat, when paddling decked boat I'm strictly with Beyonce - "To the LEFT, to the LEFT..."

John

[C1Dub]

I'm right handed and paddle c1 and OC1 as a righty.
I paddle either left or right in c2 or oc2 (either stern or bow)depending on what my partner wants. I'm stronger on the right though and my cross strokes are better there.

Natalie

[Nate]

I'm a righty for everything except paddling. I paddle on my left. I never switch sides except for fun on flatwater. Switching sides is slower than cross strokes, but it is applicable in downriver racing where you don't want to wear out specific muscle groups.

Aaron, surfing on your offside will become easier with practice. It was only in the past year that I really developed a cross forward stroke/brace which I felt comfortable side-surfing on. You can also brace on your upstream side when sidesurfing, just make sure the upstream edge of your paddle stays above the surface of the water. That later technique is a little bit awkward though, and you can't really paddle forward like that.

Oh yes, and a final comment, lefties are known to be better


Nate

[cmnypny]

I paddle OC1 both sides. Stronger on my right side.

[the great gonzo]

Colin, switching sides is lame... ...

martin a.k.a. the great gonzo!

[Taniwha]

...... right ..... - ..... right .... - .... either side
manual work - whitewater - flatwater/tandem

...and I have to support sbroam: well put!

[Deb R]

I'm a right-handed lefty paddler who really prefers using offside crossover strokes. Did everyone get that? It's ok, I don't get it either...

Deb

[Open Gate]

Wot up Cboats,
Assuming that we all have a favourite side and that one side is better than the other, which is the best side?
I am a Lefty and think that Left is the best side to paddle canoe, probably just because I paddle on the left.
I support my logic by thinking that if a J stroke is a really J stroke then it was invented by a paddler who paddled on the Left. If it was invented by a righty then it would be called the unfinished b stroke.

James

???

It doesn't depend on the side you're paddling but the line on the river you're running !!!!

All moves are better on our strong side, some lines are better for a lefty some are better for a righty. THAT'S IT !

I'm a lefty in hard rapids, and a righty everywhere else.

I hate the fact that our sport is not symetric in the effort(baseball pitchers look like handicapped people, same with tennis). So I try to balance the effort to keep symetric in the effort.
I can roll both sides and working hard in improving my weak right side, this way, in a near future, I'll choose the appropriate side to paddle on the hardest runs.

Gaétan

[philcanoe]

started on right side, being right hand dominate... but decided learning the left would be beneficial, as my cross-strokes were not where they should be... after learning to paddle lefty, it became my preferred side

my theory is that once you develop the muscle memory and strength on your non-dominate side, the tee-grip/control hand will be in your normal dominate side… that way you have a more refined control of the paddle ... just my theory

[Roger]

As I said before, natural righty, paddle lefty. Have been told that offisdes strokes weren't really needed (to any real degree, I think I remember that right) if your technique was right. Glad I got that offside stroke on the right since my technique must suck!

Actually, once I started working on those strokes, they got stronger and more reliable and I rely on them. Wouldn't want to be without them. Changing sides in the middle of a crux move? Don't think so.

[watrwzrd]

Most open boaters I know if right handed paddle left such as myself and left handed paddle right and yep its got to do with t grip control
And yep cross stroke is where its at nice fast nudge to keep you in line at that nasty must make spot

[sbroam]

We discussed this a long time ago - I think there was even a poll - and I realized what a small vacuum I was in when I started to paddle. There were a couple of us in college that borrowed some canoes and we went to the lake - I am a righty and I just was more comfortable pulling on the paddle with my strong arm. Then when my father-in-law to be gave me my first "instruction" it was "get a paddle that comes to your nose and you will need to paddle on the right cause I paddle on the left" (he's a lefty). That was the last time I thought about it for a long time and by then the roots of that tree had grown deep. It makes a lot of sense that you would use your dominant hand for the fine control of feathering now, but when I paddle lefty, it is only on the flats between rapids (or on flatwater trips). I think what keeps me from being comfortable in whitewater on my left is largely (but not only) the muscle memory in my lower body that keeps my balance in the boat. I have been trying to push my envelope there, though - in the OC Nats last year I did switch sides to make an offside ferry and it worked - not that I won, but I didn't flip!

My left hand is steadier, though - it is the one I drive with one handed and ride a bike with one handed. Maybe I am not paddling backwards after all.

[Aaron M]

Nate, thanks for tip. That position does seem a bit awkward. I've seen it done but it seems like the blade is going to get sucked under the canoe.

[kanur]

Always right. Most of my paddling is in the winter and early spring and I like to use poggies so switching hands on the fly is not an option (plus I just can't make a boat perform on my left) One move that I know of that sucks to be a righty on is the big slide at diaper wiper below baby falls on the tellico. I have hit the micro eddy on the left and surf out offside to keep from slamming that curler offside.

[Alden]

I have to admit -- I paddle right, but lefties always look so much more deft to me, for some reason. I don't know why. Lefty QBs in football always used to, too, but I just can't take them as seriously anymore. They look more like curiosities. Despite this, I've always pictured being a lefty as some type of asset, just because it's comparatively rare, like being a c-1er amdist K-1ers. It's like Rafael Nadal -- doesn't Federer make it a point to practice against lefties to get ready for him? It's an identity, while being a righty isn't. And even though in boating it's not that rare to be a lefty, still it carries that aura to me.

I paddle on the right, but sometimes I like to warm up at Dickerson here in DC by trying to catch every single eddy while paddling lefty. A little shaky.

Alden