COMMON SENSE IS CRITICAL
WHEN TRAVELING BY CANOE
Fred Dyson – Dyson's Starboard View – Messing About in Boats
You can tell an experienced canoeist almost at a glance. The expert does not need to paddle on both sides of the canoe to keep it going in a straight line. Each stroke will finish with a little twist of the upper wrist that turns the paddle into a course-correcting rudder. The good paddlers also are quiet, making virtually no splashes with their paddle blades. Experienced canoeists keep their weight low in the boat by kneeling on a pad with their rump against a thwart (horizontal brace across the boat at seat height). If you like canoeing, take the time to learn the basics.
If you are going to travel wild rivers that are Class III and above, you should learn some of the advanced paddle techniques and maneuvers that will enable you to dodge the big boulders and sweepers that conspire against you.
There are draw and push strokes that allow you to move your end of the canoe sideways and in combination with a partner, to make very dramatic course changes.
Experienced river runners make constant use of a technique called ferrying, in which the upstream end of the canoe is angled slightly in the direction that they want to go and then they both paddle backwards. The result is almost like magic. The canoe seems to stop going down stream and goes sideways.
There are even ways that the bow paddler can use her or his paddle as a rudder to augment abrupt changes of direction. If you are serious about canoeing, get a book on technique from the library, a bookstore, or one of the outdoor outfitters.
Paddles themselves are individual to the paddler and the conditions. In general, make sure your paddle is long enough for you. You should be able to sit upright with your back straight and have most of the blade of your paddle in the water. The paddler in the stem of the boat will need a longer paddle because of his or her seating position and the extra steering responsibilities.
Extra-wide paddles are for racing, whitewater experts, show offs, and for shoveling snow. Many aboriginal peoples had pointed paddles, and this may be to some advantage due to some hydrodynamic principle I don't understand. Maybe they doubled as weapons.
Use common sense. Step into the middle of the bottom of the canoe and keep your weight low and in the middle at all times. Arrange the weight so it is aft (behind) the middle of the canoe if you are going downstream and the forward of the middle if you are bucking current.
Don't make sudden movements and don't shift your weight out of the centerline of the boat. Our family dog was a perfect shipmate in this regard. A simple command of "trim ship" would motivate him to scoot his fanny in the appropriate direction to keep us on an even keel (level).
Lest you think I always have practiced what I preach, let me tell you of my first trip down the Chena River. A friend had got a moose from his canoe one afternoon after work and I wanted to do likewise. I loaded the canoe on top of our Ford Falcon and off we went. We unloaded the canoe on the inside of a sweeping corner where some tourists from America were parked in their motor home.
As we pushed off into the current, I thought how impressed the tourist would be with my canoe handling skills. I misjudged.
Almost immediately we were swept into a logjam and nearly rolled under it. We scrambled out onto the logs and dragged the canoe over logs and launched on the downstream side. The first set of rips spun us around and we rode through them backwards. The tourists were not impressed. Neither was my wife.
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