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A picnic table? Got pictures?
Most any finesse stroke with a bentshaft threatens to put me in the drink. I tend to splash more waves on the recovery. Can’t beat the sheer power.
Its funny how people nowadays are extremely visual and pictures sell.
No there were no pictures. It was in the middle of a six day instructor certification exam and we were waiting out yet another thundermonsoon.
I somewhat agree on the finesse stroke, though we and other competitive FreeStylers do use bents because of the great bracing they give. Thats all about finesse strokes but there are only about three per maneuver and done very slowly. We like the bents for the power to accelerate.
And I do teach all my “canoe ballet” students how to hit and switch going upwind..no use wasting energy correcting.
@kayamedic 349 wrote:
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As for excercise Shawn Burke has written a techinical manual on training for paddling. Its quite specific and quite dedicated! He is a marathon racer and excercise physiologist. I am a cruiser! He can knock off with hit and switch some amazing distances but spends about five or six hours a day training. So it would seem that its not only the technique but the high level of fitness that makes it succeed.I will try to find a source for Shawns manual.
Doesn’t he sit? By sitting you can also use your legs more effectively using foot braces.
I’m a little bullheaded when it comes to kneeling or sitting. My a** was designed for sitting, so why would I kneel?
Shawn does sit.. the problem with most of us that we do not have the fitness program that allows us to propel our canoe at hull speed.
The ideal workout boat would be a bathtub for resistance. Shawn has a Savage Diller for a canoe.
I can better use torso rotation to make up for the lack of fitness to power my stroke from a kneeling position. I dont have much trouble keeping up with a tandem in a solo boat that way. And kneeling allows me to heel the boat to the rail without ejecting me..Sometimes thats just fun and sometimes its a useful technique.
My butt doesnt need any encouragement to get wider. Think of what the human will look like in a million years. No legs(we ride)..wide butts for the computer, replaceable or multiple eyes and about 26 fingers for Blackberrying.
“The ultimate speed stroke is a Northwoods stroke and I havent found that used in the Midwest either…its a Canadian on steroids. Used quite a bit around here.”
I am reading in interest and wanted to ask, what is a Northwoods stroke? Would be nice to see if that would work well for me. I paddle a Hemlock Kestrel both kneeling and sitting. Just added some keeper footbraces to it and do use the sit/switch with a Zav. has been much faster than straight blade use while kneeling. But I prefer kneeling and using a straight shaft. However, if I want to cross an open body of water can’t beat the Zav even when I kneel in rough water as opposed to using the straight paddle. The fastest is the double blade but too noisy and wet to be enjoyable for that extra .5 mph I get out of it.
😀 if’n i knew what a northwoods was i’d be postin it for yah….why if wenonah would just paint a canoe john deere green/yellow i’d be first in line to purchase a canoe with them tractor seats!!!!!
oba
gotta be a midwestern thing:DI’ll let Kim give you the details on the Northwoods stroke. Actually, it’s been around a long time, and there are some very ardent proponents. It’s quite common among guides and trappers who used the stroke to propel a generally large loaded canoe.
It will surely involve you purchasing a different paddle than your Zav. But I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts after you dabble with it for a while.
PK
Well, hopefully Kim will respond or send a link to a picture explaining it better. I’ve looked online and found discussions about this stroke but honestly can’t get the image in my mind.
Zav is what I use for sit/switch but I mostly use my Bell Voodoo straight shaft. Paddling in shallow coastal estuaries so a longer blade will not work well.
THe Northwoods stroke is related to the Canadian Stroke, which Bill Mason describes the Candian with pictures on pages 20 and 21 of Path of the Paddle. That should give you a better idea. Garrett Conover is one of the biggest proponents of the stroke, and you can find numerous instances of the Northwoods paddles on Rollin Thurlow’s site and Doug Ingrams Red River Canoe website.
PK
I have not heard a description of the “northwoods stroke”
More info please?
I do a considerable bit of racing and tripping and still am stuck on my Zav with a marathon stroke.
As far as kayak paddles in a canoe, never ever. I don’t even use kayak paddles in my kayak anymore.@OneBadApple 483 wrote:
😀 if’n i knew what a northwoods was i’d be postin it for yah….why if wenonah would just paint a canoe john deere green/yellow i’d be first in line to purchase a canoe with them tractor seats!!!!!
oba
gotta be a midwestern thing:DI love my tractor seat.
Here’s a direct link to Doug Ingram’s description of the Canadian or Northwoods Paddle stroke:
http://www.redrivercanoe.ca/Using%20the%20Northwoods%20grip.htmpretty interesting!
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