C-Forum

Well I spent a few hours in the stern of Kelly-Rands orange creamcicle


Considering it was the first time I've tandemed in 10 years and Jim's first time in the bow it went pretty good. Only thing is my knuckles are sore from repeatedly busting them on the back of Jim's helmet
Don't worry Jim, the ringing in you ears will go away in a few days.

Anyway I was wondering how folks who do this more than once a decade deal with the close quarters?
Also if anybody could link me to video of C2s in action I might see for myself. I looked quick on the vid board but all I could find was dead links

Thanks,
Tommy

Check the NBC Olympics site where you should find a couple C2 heats under Canoe/Kayak coverage.

First the distance between cockpits can vary between boats depending upon what distance was selected by the first team to set-up the boat. I would guess that Rick and Casey probably selected a fairly close spacing.

However, no matter what your spacing, C-2 is best paddled when both paddlers are in sync, paddling in unison. Not only does this better ensure that the sternman isn't flailing away at the bowman, but it also reduces the amount of correction strokes used for steering. When both paddlers apply power simultaneously it minimizes the need for the sternman to "J." There will be times when you get naturally out of sync (e.g. bowman does a duffek entering or leaving an eddy, sternman needs to do a strong [long] "J," etc.). what is important is to get back in sync as quickly as possible. While matching strokes is mainly the responsibility of the sternman, the bowman also needs to be careful to set a uniform pace that is manageable by the sternman, who will take longer per stroke when actively engaged in steering.

Second, contrary to what was common practice back in the mid-70s to mid-80s when "close cockpit" or "center cockpit" C-2s were first being paddled, today's C-2 teams tend to avoid using cross strokes in the bow. In part because modern teams are often even closer together, and also because it better maintains speed in off-side turns, instead of a bowman using a cross-draw for offside eddy turns and peel-outs the sternman typically executes the off-side draw reaching forward from the stern while the bowman keeps the boat moving forward with a series of quick bow sweeps.

This avoidance of cross-strokes also helps to eliminate the paddle/paddler collisons that sometimes occur when a bowman comes over to the sternman's side on a cross. If you're both primarily C-1 paddlers, this is a hard habit to break as you are used to using cross-strokes for off-side moves. Recently my daughters raced C-1W for the first time and after doing so, the daughter that I paddle C-2M with almost took my teeth out when she threw in an unexpected cross-draw for the first time in C-2M! Developing trust in your sternman's abililty to handle the off-side will take time. Sideways surfing holes in C-2 can be extremely exciting for this same reason!

Finally, after C-2 teams have paddled together for awhile, they learn to anticipate what their partner is going to do in any given situation. This helps alot in getting the team to work together and inherently lessens the occurence of the kind of paddle/paddler collisions that you experienced.

BTW: You might want to consider switching positions on your next outing. Given Jim's longer torso and longer arms, you would probably make a stronger team if he was in the stern. It would be easier for Jim to see over or around Tommy than vice versa and his longer reach combined with the sternman's need to do correction strokes could be put to best advantage in the stern.

Have fun; C-2 is a great boat!!!

John

Another good source is the canoe world series site:
http://www.canoeworldseries.com/gallery/videos
Within each race they are organized by category. Lots of different styles seem to go fast....edg

Well Tommy certainly has the opportunity to sit up front. I really enjoyed my stint there. A lot of the comments here we actually put in practice on this run and it is good to here the reinforcement. I nor Tommy ever crossed over. We were very relaxed in the saddle. This was something I have been focusing on since the first slalom I attended where I had a tendency to lean on the left knee. There is a post here to an UK site that displays some C2 moves, I think it is in the same post that linked the ICF videos.

Gettin late, gotta get up early to vote

till next