Boating and Sailing.pdf - Moja ladja

Chapter 10: Paddle Power: Canoes, Kayaks, and Rowboats
◆ Don’t attempt to board while holding a heavy object. It sounds obvious, but many
people have gone swimming because they couldn’t wait for someone on the dock to
hand them that case of their favorite beverage
after they were in the canoe.
Boat Bytes
◆ Grip the center of a thwart to steady the
boat as you step in and sit down immediately.
◆ Once you’re in the canoe, keep your center
of gravity low—avoid standing.
◆ Keep passengers centered relative to the
beam.
◆ Add cargo weight for increased stability.
◆ Balance the load fore and aft when possible.
Different Strokes for Different Folks
As any beginning paddler soon learns, there are some tricks to paddling a canoe.
With two paddlers aboard, one in the forward seat and one aft, it’s not difficult—one paddles
on each side, pulling as near straight back as possible. If the strokes are about equal in
power, the boat goes straight. The stern paddler controls direction by dipping his paddle
as needed and using it as a rudder, or by using the J-stroke, which we’ll look at in a
moment.
Paddling solo is more challenging. If you paddle straight ahead on the starboard side from
the aft seat, the usual position for a right-handed paddler, the boat persistently turns to
port and you go around in a never-ending circle.
The beginner’s first response is to keep switching sides with the paddle. It works, but it’s
slow and wet. Once you become a more experienced paddler, you’ll learn a better way: the
J-stroke, which alternately pushes then pulls on
the stern and hopefully keeps the bow going
fairly straight. All while you keep paddling on
your “strong” side of the hull—the right or
starboard side, for right handers.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Start with a conventional stroke from well
forward, but as you come back even with
your hip, turn the blade by twisting your
Some canoes are
equipped with oarlocks
and can be rowed even
more easily than paddled.
Rowing lacks the silent
grace of paddling, but it puts
two blades to work rather than
one and requires less skill than
solo paddling.
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Boater-ese
The J-stroke is a paddling
stroke that roughly follows
the outline of the letter J if viewed
from directly overhead. It’s used
most often by the stern paddler to
keep a canoe going straight.