Can "playboating" make you a better paddler?

Decked Canoes, Open Canoes, as long as they're canoes!

Moderators: kenneth, sbroam, TheKrikkitWars, Mike W., Sir Adam, KNeal, PAC, adamin

I go into "playable" holes with my canoe...

Poll ended at Tue Oct 22, 2013 3:38 pm

quite often.
28
78%
sometimes on rare occasions.
5
14%
hardly ever if at all.
3
8%
 
Total votes: 36

User avatar
Craig Smerda
L'Edge Designer
Posts: 2815
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 3:59 am
Location: WaUSAu Wisconsin USA North America Earth, etc.

Can "playboating" make you a better paddler?

Post by Craig Smerda »

Can "playboating" make you a better paddler?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWISe5xu2MU

In the video you'll see Bryan Kirk who is by all accounts a very good paddler and excellent playboater get stuck in an ugly hole. Then you'll see another paddler get pistol whipped in the same hole. Bryan is able to control the boat and paddle out... the second fellow... well... not exactly.

Personally speaking I feel the best thing I ever did for my overall paddling skills and the one thing that gave me more confidence to run harder rivers was spending a lot of time playboating... especially in holes. First of all it teaches you a lot about the harmony of balance in your boat when combined with the rivers hydraulics. Secondly it teaches you how to exit a hole or hydraulic when you want to. Lastly... if you play in enough holes you will learn to roll.

Playboating doesn't make you any better at running over waterfalls or speeding through slalom gates but in time on most any river or creek at some point we all encounter holes that we end up in no matter if it's by choice or by preference. Knowing what to do when that happens is from my perspective another important skill to have in your toolbox... and one that might save you from a bad swim or something even worse.

So... in closing... yes... I strongly feel that playboating can make you a better "overall" paddler.

Fire away... :lol:
Esquif Canoes Paddler-Designer-Shape Shifter
User avatar
Smurfwarrior
C Maven
Posts: 1491
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:09 am
Location: Utah

Post by Smurfwarrior »

Agreed!
OC1er
CBoats Addict
Posts: 284
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:29 pm
Location: Southwest Virginia

Post by OC1er »

Totally agree. Best way to get your roll dialed - get chundered, roll up, repeat!
Its not about the approach. Its about control in the hole.
User avatar
Shep
CBoats Addict
Posts: 851
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 12:17 am
Location: Fayetteville, AR

Post by Shep »

Wow, this is a well-timed post to make me feel less guilty about the unplanned purchase of a CUFly on wednesday. :)

Thanks!
Larry Horne
C Maven
Posts: 1447
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2004 2:39 am
Location: Northern California

Post by Larry Horne »

you hit that nail on the head. Gotta keep up on it too!
i've not been playboating much lately and am definately loosing some skills and (most importantly)confidence.
Larry
User avatar
Todhunter
Ridge Spirit Outfitting
Posts: 768
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:42 am
Location: Chattanooga, TN

Post by Todhunter »

I said "sometimes" because I don't get into really churny holes, but I do like to get in ones I think I can surf. Still don't have that roll...
Matt Todhunter
Ridge Spirit Outfitting - Custom Bulkhead Canoe Saddles
User avatar
Mr.DeadLegs
CBoats Addict
Posts: 435
Joined: Wed Feb 14, 2007 8:31 pm
Location: Marietta, Georgia

Post by Mr.DeadLegs »

HAHAHAA That video is halarious. Wistle Wistle Tweet Tweet TWeet Rope Rope Rope hahah
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to slide in sideways totally worn out, shouting "Holy large steaming pile of dog doo what a Ride" " Nolan Whitesell
Einar
CBoats Addict
Posts: 398
Joined: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:02 pm
Location: British Columbia

Good timing

Post by Einar »

Good Timing on your post & winter project
Yesterday I just finished tricking out an OC hull with bigger bags, more foam and a new pump to take hole hunting. Been to the pool 5 times this winter to tune up and expand the roll, going agin Friday, then just waiting for some local park and play water.
You don't have to be a glory paddler to work on your defense game, just find some easy 3 recirc and drive in there... and stay a while. Then go back in.
User avatar
Craig Smerda
L'Edge Designer
Posts: 2815
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 3:59 am
Location: WaUSAu Wisconsin USA North America Earth, etc.

Post by Craig Smerda »

One other noteworthy thing to mention is that after you've learned to get comfortable in a hole on your on-side... is that we're really most vulernable on our off-side. If you have a hole you are comfortable moving back and forth in the next step is to start working on paddling forwards and backwards out of the hole on your wierd-side.

An important thing that I was taught is that you are most likely to get upstream edge flipped when you get into a hole and just park the boat... as long as you are moving backwards or forwards (left to right) you are less likely to get locked in where the hydraulic can latch on to your edges and give you a toss.

Signing off for now...
Captain Shuvit

:lol:
Last edited by Craig Smerda on Thu Jan 27, 2011 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Esquif Canoes Paddler-Designer-Shape Shifter
Lappie
C Guru
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri May 07, 2010 1:07 am
Location: whitehorse, yukon

Post by Lappie »

+1 on the yes playboating help my paddling overall!!
Paddle Power
C Maven
Posts: 1041
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2002 2:18 am
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Contact:

Post by Paddle Power »

Great stuff. I concur.
Brian
http://www.JohnstonPursuits.ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
the great gonzo
Paddling Benefactor
Posts: 1718
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2003 2:03 am
Location: Montréal, Québec

Post by the great gonzo »

Craig's rigft, playboating really helps getting comfy in holes.
When practicing in holes work also on what I call 'alternative escape tactics' if paddling out laterally doesn't work.
These include filling up the boat intentionally to get out (had to do that just the other day when I intentionally hit a hole in the Grand Canyon for a siode surf that in the end was a bit bigger than what it had looked like from shore... :roll: ) or trying to ender out of holes (last time I used it on the Ottawa after ending up surfing Sattlers out of stupidity it did not work 100%, I endered out of the hole, but ended up swimming anyway as the pressure of the water ripped the front airbag right out of my boat and I found out that a Prelude without front air bag is just about impossible to keep upright... :roll: :( ).
The key thing is to stay cool when stuck in a hole and keep thinking and try something different.
TGG!
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing - Henry David Thoreau
RodeoClown
BlackFly Canoes
Posts: 631
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:54 pm
Location: New Hampton, NH
Contact:

Re: Can "playboating" make you a better paddler?

Post by RodeoClown »

Craig Smerda wrote:
Playboating doesn't make you any better at running over waterfalls or speeding through slalom gates
I disagree. Obviously, running slalom gates is a much better way to get good at running slalom gates, but if you don't have the opportunity to run waterfalls or gates, I'd say going for a play session or stopping to surf waves on you way downstream would make you better at those things. Playboating will improve you boat control, balance, edge control, confidence, general fitness, understanding of how water flows, etc, better than NOT playboating.

I put this video together a couple of years ago. It's geared toward kayaks, but the concepts are all the same for C-1 and OC. "Remedial Hole Surfing"
http://www.vimeo.com/4287708
Jeremy Laucks
Owner, Blackfly Canoes
http://www.blackflycanoes.com
User avatar
Smurfwarrior
C Maven
Posts: 1491
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:09 am
Location: Utah

Post by Smurfwarrior »

Excellent vid! You should do that for advanced OC1 playboating.. :)
User avatar
Craig Smerda
L'Edge Designer
Posts: 2815
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2002 3:59 am
Location: WaUSAu Wisconsin USA North America Earth, etc.

Post by Craig Smerda »

Smurfwarrior wrote:Excellent vid! You should do that for advanced OC1 playboating.. :)
Ditto...

I forgot you did that video Jeremy.

A little POV camera on the bow/stern would also help show folks body angles as well as blade/shaft positions during the transitions one makes from side surfing to moving forward and backward in and out of the hole.

Chapter #2 could show the same on the offside
Chapter #3 simple spins and discusses edging and techniques
Chapter #4 HARD CORE FULL GNARLZ DEATH HOLE PLAYBOATING

:lol:

Where your eyes go... the boat goes... usually
Esquif Canoes Paddler-Designer-Shape Shifter
Post Reply