learning to roll

[hazardharry]

my old boat seems to eject me at 90 deg. plus i don't think i'm strapped in like most who can roll. i would try a pool session but don't want the clorine eating at my old ash. is it easier with a longer paddle say 66" over a 54"?

[philcanoe]

I'd say 66inches would be way long... and for most 54 is rather short. Wow - that's a foot difference.

Search for methods of selecting correct length, this has been covered several times.

[hazardharry]

my first whitewater paddle was 72" with a 27" blade. i miss her sometimes.

[ian123]

eating at my old ash

That's funny.

It's easier to be roll with bad technique if you have longer paddle. The extra leverage makes it easier but it also puts more strain on your shoulder.

[Craig Smerda]

Let me begin by saying thank [insert your favorite deity here] for video cameras of all kinds and free places to host videos as well as people looking for help that are willing to post themselves and where they are at while asking for help. I remember the old days like they were a year ago [LOL!!!] and trying to help people with their roll without actually seeing what they were doing or weren't doing was like trying to explain to a seeing eye dog what driving a motorcycle in the rain is like.



Here's a few things I noticed...

You are mostly doing more a back deck roll... that's how I started in a C1 but in the OC I found more and much faster leverage sweeping/righting while going from the bow to the middle more than the back to the middle.

Turn/rotate your torso faster... get your t-grip elbow to 90 degrees-ish with your t-grip knuckles facing up like you already are (this also helps get your blade at a better angle as your blade angle looks pretty flat)... then really snap your shaft hand, torso, hips and knees. (this takes a little time to dial in) It looks to me as though you are doing a pretty good job as it is and your head is coming up when it should for the most part. Once you get into the river and 'combat' scenarios you're going to need to go from mechanics to speed and confidence.

Phil's videos are a good learning tool... study them... and thanks for posting those Phil so I didn't have to... we need more of you 'round here.

Everyone's roll is a bit different but yours seems similar to my own... hence my comments.

Maybe these will help... maybe they won't.
http://vimeo.com/20908206" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://vimeo.com/26362295" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Smurfwarrior]

http://vimeo.com/26611427" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://vimeo.com/15826039" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just a few vids of me rolling, if you can take anything from them, cool.. if not oh well

[gumpy]

my first whitewater paddle was 72" with a 27" blade. i miss her sometimes.

she sounds like an old battle axe

[Robert van den Hoven]

Thanks again you guys for all the great advice, I have been trying to make some changes to my roll and have posted it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrhRjuHD ... ture=g-upl

I am rolling now in my esquif zephyr, the outrage in the last video is from my brother...
it feels different to roll

I have tried not to sweep as far back as I did before and to keep my shaft hand closer to my forehead, I noticed that this was part of the reasons why i was going so far back.
I also tried to speed thing a bit up.
And I tried shoveling myself to the other side when i kept floating on the offside.

Thanks tokebelokee for your clear explanation in you video's!!!

This has happend to me regulary when I was trying to roll on a slalom course in germany... where I tried to roll each time before the takeout at the bottem the course... now I know what to do about it!

[Craig Smerda]

nice job...

[ian123]

That's much better.

[Todhunter]

Thanks again you guys for all the great advice, I have been trying to make some changes to my roll and have posted it on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrhRjuHD ... ture=g-upl

I am rolling now in my esquif zephyr, the outrage in the last video is from my brother...
it feels different to roll

I have tried not to sweep as far back as I did before and to keep my shaft hand closer to my forehead, I noticed that this was part of the reasons why i was going so far back.
I also tried to speed thing a bit up.
And I tried shoveling myself to the other side when i kept floating on the offside.

Thanks tokebelokee for your clear explanation in you video's!!!

This has happend to me regulary when I was trying to roll on a slalom course in germany... where I tried to roll each time before the takeout at the bottem the course... now I know what to do about it!

The very last roll in your video very clearly shows the underwater stroke that Phil was talking about in his video - nice.

[marclamenace]

Good job!

"I am rolling now in my esquif zephyr, the outrage in the last video is from my brother...
it feels different to roll"

It does. The zephyr isn't the easiest boat to roll out there, the gunnels being quite high. We can see in the vid how you hit them all the time. You could try to put your paddle higher on your body, t-grip closer to the pecs then the gut.

[tokebelokee]

Glad to hear the videos were of use! Hopefully I can get some pool time in the spring for a little more detailed look from the beginning. The New River is clear, but not that clear...and it depends on the behavior of cattle upstream.

[Paddle Power]

two thumbs up, you got it.

[Robert van den Hoven]

Good job!

"I am rolling now in my esquif zephyr, the outrage in the last video is from my brother...
it feels different to roll"

It does. The zephyr isn't the easiest boat to roll out there, the gunnels being quite high. We can see in the vid how you hit them all the time. You could try to put your paddle higher on your body, t-grip closer to the pecs then the gut.

When i bought the zephyr it had vinyl gunwhales, and I replaced them with wood and trimmed off about one inch at the middle of the boat and nothing at the bow/stern.... and still feels high.