C-Forum

As a paddler with a tandem flatwater background getting into more serious whitewater in the past couple of years, I am amazed to find so few (i.e., no) folks paddling tandem whitewater boats. Everyone seems to be paddling whitewater solo. Every outing I’ve been on in the last year, there has not been one other boat paddled tandem. I haven't even seen another tandem whitewater canoe other than mine. I've had difficulties finding people willing to paddle tandem, and finally ended up getting a solo boat.

In my limited experience there is something compelling about paddling with a partner. Maybe it’s the shared thrill of successfully navigating obstacles together as a team, I don’t know.

Anyone have any thoughts as to why people aren’t paddling tandem ?

I started out tandem and am married to one of our club's best and most accomplished bow paddlers. But we both grew to like the challenge and spontaneity of solo paddling and the nimbleness of smaller canoes. That's not to say that tandem paddling doesn't have a lot of challenges as well, particularly with regards to teamwork and communication. The trend in our club has been towards solo canoeing. But there are still some strong tandem adherents.

i'd love to do some tandem boating, but on the good stuff. most people i know would maybe run class 3 tandem, but no more than that. i think its a natural extension of solo open boating difficult whitewater, but somehow people are satisfied with stopping at solo. i've never even seen (besides video) a tandem combat roll.

Sad but seems true, only see tandem crews on cls II an below out this way.
Lenghty and I have run tandem some, but mostly in older solo boats think HD1, one person in the saddle, one person propped up by the stern bag, good times on the Yough at beefy levels.

Or the lack of 'em could be people find it easier to suck alone

i mostly paddle solo open boat. my wife had a kayak that i couldn't get her excited to paddle.

last spring we got a tandem boat--a (heavily) used probe 14 w/ the triple saddle in it and started doing some tandem whitewater. while the mrs isn't as ww crazed as i am, she does enjoy getting out on the water in the tandem boat with me when the weather is good. although lots of folks call it a 'divorce' boat, we've had nothing but good times in it. we started out on the class I-II waters of the tuck and nanty. after our first surfing flip i came up from underwater, and under the boat to find my wife laughing her tail off. she surely didn't mind, and was eager for more. we got her a helmet at that point and have since been down the french broad (sect 9) and we're gonna tackle the noli this summer.

a few things i've noticed: being able to maneuver a boat and being able to describe how you plan on maneuvering a boat are two different skills. even with a raft guiding background, it took some getting used to. though its obvious, its worth repeating: communication is key.

that said, i've talked w/ some other solo open boaters about doing some tandem runs, just for farts and giggles. i'd like to try tandem boating w/ someone who paddles open boat as much as i do, but, it seems we always end up in the solo boats though.

Sleep Tandem, Paddle Solo

I started tandem with my son he is not interested in paddling every weekend so I learned to solo. That is what happens to most they loose their partner. They either go solo or learn to kayak

Actually, I've noticed something different wth my son. He was okay with accompanying me paddling tandem when he was younger, but when he really got excited about the sport was when he got into a solo canoe. In a solo canoe, every stroke you do affects the boat and the learing curve is much faster. There's also the element of being in control. I've noticed this with several other novices. You put them in a tandem boat to introduce them to the sport, but it's not unitl they get into a solo that they becoime really enthusiastic. I have also seen these paddlers bring more enthusiasm to tandem paddling once they come back to it after a while of paddling solo.

milkman wrote:but when he really got excited about the sport was when he got into a solo canoe. In a solo canoe, every stroke you do affects the boat and the learing curve is much faster. There's also the element of being in control. I've noticed this with several other novices. You put them in a tandem boat to introduce them to the sport, but it's not unitl they get into a solo that they becoime really enthusiastic.

This is how I feel. I paddled tandem and had fun, but wasn't as enthused as when I saw someone in a relatively short solo canoe last year, and thought "THAT is what I want to do."

I want to introduce my wife to paddling by doing some easy stuff tandem, but the goal is to get her into a solo boat paddling with me before too long.

my advice for getting your lady involved is go slow & let her dictate the pace. if you scare the (insert favorite explicative here) out of her right off the bat, you'll be hard pressed to reverse that experience.

i scared the tarnation out of my wife (then girlfriend) rafting on the new river gorge with a bunch of other guides when we were surfing the snot out of everything we could find. she didn't dig the experience, and for a while thought she didn't like whitewater period. it wasn't till a few years later that i could get her back into whitewater w/ the tandem boat and show her that the experience wasn't all about getting thrashed and beaten under a flipped raft in the big hole at lower railroad, instead it is about being out on the water, gracefully catching eddys, and yes, sometimes punching the big holes (she likes it now).

Yeah, I'm talking about tandem on something like the Chestatee (I-II) to get her started.

The NH AMC instruction trip had at least a dozen tandem students two weeks ago, so there is still hope! I tandem a few times a year... there is a powerful gracefulness to a well trained tandem team that can be very inspiring There was about a dozen solo students too that bodes well for the sport at least in New England. @ jroneil ; you should be proud of the great job you all did with the school !!

I'd love to try, but I need a lefty paddler and three airbags, (also permission to borrow work's OC2).

i beg to differ about difficulty of whitewater
http://vimeo.com/9080343

xmas0c1c1k1 wrote:i beg to differ about difficulty of whitewater
http://vimeo.com/9080343

Whadayamean?

That video is just some paddlers doing some nice continuous Class 2/3.

Relative to the size of their boat that is.