fleckbass wrote:Those using the goon stroke. Are you prying of the gunnel?
When I do a stern pry I lever the paddle shaft off the gunwale. But I only use a "goon stroke/thumbs-up J stroke/stern pry" when I need the corrective power of the stoke. Otherwise I would either be using a J stroke or steering from the front quadrants.
Pretty much in line with Gonzo...sadly most of my paddling >75% is flatwater with 15' canoe....but the 4wd is finally tuned up...LOL. After some more so-called career-advancement Certification classes are paid for = an OC-1 of my own!
I use a sort of J flip when Im in a Conversion creeker to keep it straight.. I dont let the Paddle go past my waist and bring the T grip across the deck . A sort of J-flip instead of a full J-stroke. Works for me.
I believe the full thumb down J stroke is form the days of 16 canoes. I have to use some sort of correction all the time in todays high rockered/ short boats.
I tell students not to use a j-stroke in whitewater because it's so hard to go from a j-stroke to a low brace if you need it. Also, you can be just as efficient using a stern "rudder" as you can a j-stroke. By stern rudder I mean no pry at all. After you do your first stroke from a dead stop and correct with a stern pry, from then on you should be able to do forward strokes that end without any correction other than a pause where you hold the paddle blade parallel to the path of the boat.
The j-stroke always seems weird to me--a prescription for carpal tunnel. I don't even use it on flatwater. The one time I use it is for the pitch stroke. This is a power stroke where as soon as you reach the knees you begin your correction (thumb down) and you pull the paddle out at the hips. For that it works great.
J-stroke? almost never. Only when relaxed cruising on flatwater or real mild current...
Pitch, quite often since I know it.
Stern pry, very regular. A good from, and I mean a really good form, short and snappy stern pry is not braking any harder then a J-stroke and it's more efficient on the river for me.
Larry Horne wrote:man, those gates are nice and high around here an open boat don't fit under no gates.
Thank Goodness! The high gates were a decision made by the race organizer because the river was running about 300% of normal race level. Many moves were designed to make the closed boats work hard too, so the open boats got to sneak some. The current was so fast, and the waves so erratic, that high gates were necessary in some places to allow the open boats to get from one gate to another.
I never use a power face out J-stroke in whitewater, only a stern pry in a longer boat. If I'm in a playboat I'll almost always use a combination of C-strokes and crossbows for cruising and try to only use the pry for sudden maneuvering, that way wastes a little less power in an already slow boat plus it's easier to correct a short boat with a C-stroke than a longer one
- cruising downriver on the flats: <25>75% solo & tandem, with tandem more likely sit & switch on flatwater
- I'll carve most of the time when shorter (drop/pool) sections of flatwater intervene between the fun stuff on the river, mostly onsite, like the speed and to practice ;D
around here an open boat don't fit under no gates.
The high gates were a decision made by the race organizer because the river was running about 300% of normal race level. Many moves were designed to make the closed boats work hard too, so the open boats got to sneak some. The current was so fast, and the waves so erratic, that high gates were necessary in some places to allow the open boats to get from one gate to another.
