C-Forum

When you're just cruising down the river, how much do you rely on the J stroke? My reason for asking is that the more I study the J stroke, the more confused I get as to what it is, and how it works for all the paddlers who think they're using it.

If the poll categories don't quite fit, choose one that's closest to your own practice.

Based on how all the cool kids in short boats talk these days, I wish I were more busy on my offside power, and just used a little j-stroke <25% of the time, but I'm sure if somebody were to actually watch me and count, I'm probably old school and tend to stay onside on use j's >75%.

edit: I wrote this thinking of "stern correction" generally instead of "j-stroke" specifically. While I still may use the j-stroke sometimes while cruising, I use the "whitewater pry" (sounds more legit than "goon stroke") more in whitewater.

P.

Define "J stroke." If you mean that particular stroke then the answer is never. I lack the wrist flexibility to pull it off. I use stern prys instead.

In my Ledge I almost never use a J stroke/stern pry unless I am trying to turn the boat faster than I can with a offside sweep, or I am trying to kill momentum.

In my larger boats I'll use them pretty regularly as they respond to it better.

Kyle

Depends on the boat and the difficulty/type of Water.
In a 16ft or longer tripping canoe, over 75%.
In a medium length (~12 ft) solo boat, only in the flats.
In a short boat (<10ft), almost never.

TGG!

In a short boat I'm much more likely to start the forward stroke with a short draw and finish without the "J" on the end. Pry if necessary.

I use different techniques to break up the monotony when paddling straight ahead down river on quiet water or on flat water.

With flat water boats I switch quite a bit but sometimes use a C-stroke, a J-stroke, a pitch stroke, or a Canadian stroke.

With whitewater boats I will sometimes switch to use different muscles. I usually try to get the hull carving opposite circles using only forward strokes and cross-forward strokes keeping the circles big so the canoe is describing gentle arcs. Sometimes I will combine carving circles and switching so that I am only carving onside circles with forward strokes.

I have increasingly tried to avoid correction strokes in the rear quadrants but I do use the J a good bit when I don't need a strong correction. In strong current, the "thumb's up J" aka stern pry is much stronger, in my hands.

If by J stroke, you mean a stern correction with the power face outward, then I only use that in flat water for variety. In rapids, it's either a whitewater pry (aka goon stroke for flat water snobs) or uncorrected forward/cross forward using boat carve and current differentials.

In these shorter (usual) boats, while just cruising around.... I'm more likely to add a small C-stroke than a J-stroke. But much like cheajack said , doing most of my corrections upfront rather than behind. Driving the boat around, instead of stalling it down. And rather use just the first part the 'C', on both onside's and offside. Switching hands as I go (still cross-stroking) to help keep muscle imbalance at bay (only while cruising). So would that be a backward or upside down 'J-stroke'?

Philcanoe, we could call it the candy cane stroke (or not)

.... it's sweet.

I've been using the thumb up J stroke. "pry"
For years I thought this was the correct J stroke but I've been wrong all along. But still, even now that I know the correct J stroke, "thumb down", I never use it. I would rather do a pry, it's just what works for me. Sometimes I want to avoid a J stroke all toghether so I just do a crossbow or two or three. I also find myself doing a lot of c strokes up front and that does away for the need to do the J at times.

J-stroke - love it on flatwater between more current or rapids in my Rival. C-stroke in shorter boats.

Latest Canoe/Kayak includes an article on Tandem Basics with Paul and Willa Mason. The writer says, "For Paul, using the trasditional J-stroke is just plain relaxing." I'm not sure about that for me at my level, but it does seem relaxing on the flats and on a lake.

Would like to see Paul's answer on this poll.

I don't use the J-stroke in a whitewater craft; the Goon stroke is more than sufficient for cruising, and my forward stroke/cross stroke is good enough for me to move pretty much straight with minor correction strokes when I'm on more demanding whitewater.

Those using the goon stroke. Are you prying of the gunnel?

In short boats where my strokes mainly are out in front of my knees, I still give a little J stroke flip of the wrist - it's not correcting, maybe it exits the water a little more cleanly, maybe it's just habit. Sometimes I C-stroke, often I crossforward - I don't think about it a lot, it's whatever seems right at the moment.

Cruising along in the flats where I do pull the stroke back past my knees, it's the J stroke or a "travelling C" - maybe a few "goon" strokes to get going, mainly in a longer boat but sometimes in the short boat (even if it isn't the best).