Three Common Mistakes Canoeists Make

Canoeing is complicated. Wind and rapids are complicated. There are many hundreds of variables and lots of opinions flying round from people who have learned things based on their own experiences all of which are very different. Here I'll try and address some ot the things I see regularly done poorly and try to de-mystify and offer some clarity (and my own opinion) on some of these subjects.

1 - Kneeling

'Canoeists always kneel' I think this comes from the definition of canoeing from a competetive sporting point of view. Kayaking is sitting with a double bladed paddle and canoeing is kneeling with a single bladed paddle. Recreational paddling need not be so constrained, we can mix things up according to the situation/environment.

Sliding Scale

Imagine that your position in the boat is on a sliding scale between comfort and performance. There is no doubt that kneeling gives us more points of connectivity, a lower centre of gravity and better flexibility but if it causes us too much discomfort then it isn't sustainable for long periods of time. Its important to be able to move up and down this scale as we change what we're doing and where we are; maybe we kneel for the rapids and sit on our bum for the flat sections between, this prevents us from becoming cramped and stiff after a long paddle.

Certainly at the comfort end of the scale but my rotated lower body still nods towards performance (see below)

2 - Sitting Square in the Boat

You wouldn't sit side on to a desk to write or type as it's uncomfortable and difficult to reach. However the seats in our canoe face the front and we (generally) only paddle on one side. Sitting square in the seat with our pelvis facing the front makes it physiologically difficult to do a powerful stroke, particularly steering strokes.

Seperating the lower body

Whether I'm sitting or kneeling, I generally angle my lower body to about 45 degrees to the side in the boat, this gets me halfway there and then I rotate my torso around this according to the stroke I'm doing. This gives me much more power and effectiveness. When I paddle on the other side, either switching or cross-decking I first alter my lower body to allow myself the same range of movement.

Lucy facing her workspace for a superb cross-deck stroke

3 - Using The J-Stroke For Everything

The J-stroke, and I know there are many variations of this, is just one method of moving a canoe forward. I often hear the alternative termed the 'goon stroke' I really dislike this as I think that to accellerate the boat or to start moving the boat forward then this is much more effective as it puts much less strain on the wrist in the steering element of the stroke. I profer to call this the G-stroke, like the J-stroke but more gangster! It is also commonly called the power-pry.

Gears

I think of the G & J stroke as gears in my car. I start with low gears (G-stroke) and as I build momentum I can move into the higher gears (J-stroke). Whitewater paddling is alot like driving on a country road however and I may need to drop into a lower gear for a short while to get some additional power or accelleration for a particular move.

Abi choosing a G-Stroke / Power Pry to keep control on a powerful rapid

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