C-Forum

Ok, I don't paddle nearly as much as I would want. When I do, I'm the only canoe.

Watch this and tell me what is obvioulsy wrong.
Also, river was low, and drops approaches were scrapey but i'm shite at boofing it would appear: any suggestions.
Finally, would you have had another angle for the last drop? It was painless and relatively easy (ran it twice), But I did not feel much in control... bear in mind I must have ran about 3 drops before that day and much smaller (although possibly with more technical approaches).

all feedback welcome, i'll take banter and slagging alike.

Cheers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmmPDAExvWM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You look pretty in control to me. At least more than the kayaker in the yellow boat....

It is hard to get a good boof on low volume scrappy runs like that. Fortunately, I've always found that no matter what approach to a drop a Prelude will boof well if you get a good stroke at the lip. Doesn't matter if your stroke is on water or rock, just get a hold of something with your paddle, take a strong stroke and lift with your knees.

On the final drop, I'd go where there was the most water going over the lip and take as much of a boof stroke as I could, which honestly probably wouldn't be too much.

totally lacking the use of good scotts'ale. open boat seemed fine to me.

I was sort of hoping to get more pointers than that (ta TN). I know there's not a lot of footage to go by but surely something get be pointed out?

Unless obviously my boating is perfect.... I would have to admit that it does not feel like it by a mile (and the rest). It would make me glow inside if someone said it though! Despite knowing it's a blatant lie

Regarding boofing - speed is your friend.

Also, try to keep your paddle more vertical when taking regular strokes instead of angled away from your boat. This also applies to boofing - speed, vertical paddle strokes, and time that last stroke to grab the lip. If the lip of the drop rolls away, you need to delay the boof stroke slightly more than the horizon line.

Ta Matt,

I think I do it all the time that way, I will try to concentrate on that on the water.
Do you think that paddling in shallow water makes a difference in that regard?

Yes, I do think it makes a difference. If your blade is angled away from the boat, some of the force you put on the paddle will propel you forward, and some of the force will turn you. Depending on how far your blade is away from the boat (how angled your stroke is) will determine how much of the force you put on the paddle causes a turning motion, and then you have to make a correction after you take the stroke. With a vertical paddle stroke that is right next to the boat, nearly all of the force you put on the paddle goes into propelling you forward.

You do look pretty well in control in the video, but I know how you feel sometimes where it looks ok, but doesn't feel right.

It's not so much that I doesn't feel right... it's just I'm not quite dooley-ing it, am I?
And that's pretty much where I would want to be

french erick wrote:It's not so much that I doesn't feel right... it's just I'm not quite dooley-ing it, am I?
And that's pretty much where I would want to be

I feel you, brother.

a paddle in the air won't help you boof . your last stroke is just way too soon, that's all. you just need to get one more stroke in, or wait a little longer for it. you don't always want to approach full speed. better to be in control, and save just a bit for the boof. be patient.

not a lot of room on those drops, so try to angle so you can get a paddle in the water (grind the wall with the bottom of your boat rather than with the paddle, if that makes any sense)

Larry Horne wrote:a paddle in the air won't help you boof . your last stroke is just way too soon, that's all. you just need to get one more stroke in, or wait a little longer for it. you don't always want to approach full speed. better to be in control, and save just a bit for the boof. be patient.

I'm with you there... defo something I can visualise.

Larry Horne wrote:not a lot of room on those drops, so try to angle so you can get a paddle in the water (grind the wall with the bottom of your boat rather than with the paddle, if that makes any sense)

You've lost me here, though. If my boat is against the rock top or bottom, surely I won't have room for a paddle? It would be on the other side, whichever off/on? Would you have some footage showing me what you mean?

Thanks for the pointers anyhow. Starting to hate watching that vid but apparently it's good for the soul (a bit like hearing one's voice recorded).

I like Larry's advice.

If you want to boof, you have to plan your approach around the boof stroke. Be patient- a little late is alot better than a little early. It really helps if you re carving toward your paddling side.... especially if you don;'t have a lot of speed. Except for maybe the last drop, it didn't look like you were even trying to put a stroke in at the lip of the drop. I would start the there.

It looks like you low brace more than you actually paddle. If you want to be in control, you need to paddle the boat. I always try to be going somewhere.

Exactly Ian. While I did not feel uncomfortable, I did not hit any of the lines the way I thought I would. Need to be more active with that paddle for sure. Although I did not realise it at the time there's far too much low bracing in there.

As for the boof stroke, well I found I had no idea where I'd be able to do it and therefore never did one really. That'd be why I never felt in control on those drops, more a matter of pointing the right way and stay upright. I could have been paddling a bathtube... thankfully the prelude seems to be a very forgiving one.

Frenchy

some tips:

body position- drive it like you stole it. you are leaning back and as a result your paddle strokes are less aggressive.

Paddle strokes- forget the pry, kills speed and makes you lean back. learn a good pitch stroke and work on edging and paddling against the arc. Develop your cross stroke and forward and you will need less corrective strokes anyway. you only use your cross forward once in this film.

your homework:
go to a river you are comfortable on and do the following-
Warm up with edging routines- circles and figure eights (use forward and cross forwards only)
paddle all flats with forward/ cross forwards (no correction strokes) this will get you leaning forward
Catch eddies using edging and forward strokes only, no turning strokes, no corrections.

extra credit: watch Olympic slalom twice, watch the paddler, then watch the boat on the second time.


remember the best boaters make it look easy because they use the water to put the boat want to be, their body to drive the boat, and the paddle is just there to give forward momentum.

John

Talk to Kelvin Horner. He knows the Etive, lives in the UK (though abroad quite some time) and knows how to paddle these short boats (prelude, zoom, L'Edge, ... ).
Ken Hughes is another small-canoe-coach in the UK, worth a recommendation.

As mentioned by others, it's probably a good idea to step back and spend a bit more time on your fundamental skills to max out the fun on things like the Etive. Low levels don't necessarily make things easier in every perspective.