C-Forum

We were talking in the office today. How much back ferrying do you do in solo and c1? I' m not asking for paddling advice, more curious how commonly it is used in smaller boats.

sometimes just for fun - but never because I would need it

I actually needed it once, avoiding to get stuck in an outer curve in the roots of a tree.
I also used it once to move down through a rapdid, but at the water level we had, you could get down with the regular paddling.
Other then that I backferry on a regular basis since I think it adds a lot of boat feeling and paddle finesse.

A FullGnarlz Perspective...

Back ferrying is something that I think every "Canoeist" should have in their arsenal. The be a master of ones craft is to be able to control it in every possible way. Aside from that, the move is extremely effective in many situations.

Anytime your buddys in front of you are taking a little too long, and are starting to make you a little uncomfortable about the upcoming line... bust a back ferry. This will slow you down slower than the current, thus YOU are still in CONTROL of the boat, and NOT the river. With practice, you can stop your boat in current with 3 strokes (xD BackStroke, followed by onside BS with a J at the end, then one more, and you are now successfully backferrying).

The narrower the river/creek, the more important the move becomes. Sometimes there is no time to turn the boat around, or turn the boat in general, and a backferry can not only buy you time, but side slip you as well to the other side of the creek. Back ferrying is also very effective with avoiding upcoming strainers. This is when you know your backferry is where it should be...when you will use it to avoid a deadly feature. Good practice is backferrying above a waterfall, where the water is slow, but puts ur nerves into play. Or if you don't have a waterfall, backFerrying in front of a big hole will also put nerves into play and most likely put ur roll skills into play as well(as u wont always make the move). So in turn, you'll end up bombproofing your roll and get more comfortable getting trashed by holes. IE you won't freak out, and you'll TUCK, SETUP and HIT THE ROLL.... Remember, practice builds confidence. And confidence is often the difference between success or failure, death or victory.

If you are not very familiar with the BackFerry, or think it is something stupid and not needed with todays short Designs... I urge you to reconsider. Spend the time to perfect it. If anything if will give you something challenging to work on (pretty awkward leaning the correct way when your ferrying backwards). But I almost garuantee you will find this move useful, and will find that you use it often.

I wouldn't go FullGnarlz with it. But maybe that's just me.

Very, very, rarely for "real" - then just for a few strokes slowing things down. Occasonally for the challenge. Sometimes in a long boat of challenging flat water (yes, there is such a thing, say, the Edisto at flood).

In practice, its 180, front ferry, 180, resume...

All the time (no joke implied) - most definitely on every single trip... all of what FullGnarlzOC said.

It's perhaps the easiest way to avoid an obstacle. It's much quicker-easier to do than spinning around into a forward ferry (even in the shortest canoe). It just might be the reason someone may appear to paddle better than the next guy... because if it's done with a little slight lean, and a couple slow back strokes - it's hard to tell how he even got over there! This may be one reason why a back-ferry is not as common, as it can be used so imperceptibly.

Using it to Go Slow is real cool... and is one thing beginners-n-intermediates need to do more, since it allows you more time (room) to make a move. Instead of plunging 'full steam ahead' when there's not much room, or when things are already happening too fast, this could make a big difference. When coupled with using the upstream pillow of a feature (rock-bank-compression wave), it's an incredibly potent low power move. Providing a most excellent way to conserve energy, while staying in complete control. On top of a ledge or drop - up can move to that exact spot (while seeing it), and you're ready to go (without spinning around). I'd never go steep without one.

OK, enough said - although I could go on and on.... you did ask how often and not for instruction.

I gotta agree I use it alot I think the more hard water you run the more it is needed

If you are traveling at the same speed as the current you are floatsam. Hull design features engage when there is a difference between the hull speed and the current. Using back ferries and back strokes to go slower than the current allows time to adjust your line at the top of drops or rapids and helps keep you from overpowering the line.

depends on the water. easy stuff, not so much. hard stuff, yes-what phil and richard and tommy said sums it up.

Seldom... but that's one of Paul Mason's "signature" moves

Now and again I guess I use the back ferry mechanics to either slow down or line up for a feature but with todays shorter and quicker turning boats one can generally turn the boat around and perform the ferry facing upstream in a normal manner which imo is generally safer and faster.

I actually use a side slip or quick skulling draw quite often and I don't know why... but it works.

The back ferry (no offense to anyone) seems to be one of those forgotten long boat techniques of yesteryear. Then again... so is the sideslip, skulling draw and actually hitting eddies.






Edit... I do feel it's a good skill for people that paddle trippers and longer tandem boats (boats that don't turn quickly) to be taught... but with whitewater boats it's just not as necessary.

In my 5'10" play boat never....kinda. I used a back ferry/back surf technique to surf myself out of a hole the other day. I thought I could paddle through the hole but instead of paddling i just floated into it. After realizing I was going no where I through a back ferry/surf and surfed my way out. When I first learned how to whitewater paddle some 20 years ago it was in an Old Town Tripper, front and back ferries was right up there with high and low braces. But now boats are so small with so much rocker spinning them around and doing a strong front ferry is very easy. So except for surfing and occasionally when creeking I very rarely back surf.

Every Run, Every River, I will back ferry somewhere. I don't even think about it, it's just another skill like a peelout or eddy turn or a low or high brace ect, ect.

Like Gnarlz said, it's great to have in the arsenal, especially if you've got yakers in front of you who are just flotsam.

I use it mostly when I'm tandem in a big tripping boat, but I've used it in my solo boat to avoid turning in-river spectators into roadkill.

Back ferry's really are best and easiest for bigger boats. And kayakers. But it's a good skill to (try to) have.
I'll backferry once in a while in my c1, but it's usually only for practice. Like Craig, the most I ever do is sometimes slow down or move sideways a smidge to line up...
It's way down there at plan C or D in my rapid running.

I use backferries to a small degree, particularly in technical water where it might not be wise to spin and face upstream. For must make moves in most other cases, a Prelude spins so fast and easily, it makes much more sense to do an upstream ferry.

Another time I use backferries is to enter an eddy backwards, usually coming off a surf wave.