Richard from Wisconsin
Friday, June 09, 2006
Brent, I'm Richard, the old guy who lives out by Dodgeville and who was fortunate enough to be a part of your clinic last Saturday. It was one of the best clinics on anything I've ever attended and I want to take another of your courses next year. I had the whole wrong approach to paddling and you surely set me on the right course. I've been out twice since and had no confusion as how to go about paddling properly. However, I seemed to get so much power from the strokes that the front of the boat whipped back and forth especially when the wind was behind me. I felt like I was driving a muscle car. Is this bad and, if so, how might I correct it? I have a 30 pound kayak, by the way. Any advice would be appreciated. Richard Zimmer, Blue Mounds, Wisconsin
Hey Richard, First, Thanks for the Kudos’s on my teaching results! Now to your issue: The “dragster” feeling you are having is more than likely, a result of initiating The Catch too far away from the side (gunwale) of the boat. In other words, you need to try to get the blade in the water with a vertical bladeface and have it enter the water right next to the side of the boat. Due to the torso rotation, the blade’s “flight-path” tends to move it away from the side of the boat as you rotate. If you start with the blade a ways away from the side of the boat at the beginning of the stroke, by the time it gets to the end of the stroke it’s moved too far away from the side of the boat and has transformed from a POWER Stroke to a TURNING Stroke. Additionally, your boat is pretty short, (if I recall correctly). That aids in its light weight, but it does not do a lot for its Tracking Ability. So, the combination of initiating the stroke to far away AND having a short boat that may not track really well, will create the Side-To-Side issue you are experiencing. Try out my suggestion and then let me know how it’s going! It was great to have you in my Class Richard. I always love turning folks on to my sport! Cheers, b
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