Using your craft

Paddles

You will also find a good paddle helpful. These come in various shapes, sizes and materials ranging from wood, aluminium, plastic, fibreglass to kevlar and carbon. Now if you really haven’t been on anything smaller than the Manly Ferry, stick with a conventional paddle. The fancy ones are too expensive and are tricky to get used to, so until you really get the paddling bug, save your time and money.

Make sure your paddle is not too heavy. You could be putting it in and out of the water over 40,000 times to get yourself to the finish (plus training paddles). A heavy paddle makes the job that much harder.

It is hard to unlearn bad habits

To learn how to paddle a boat properly it is best to join a canoe or kayak club where the correct technique can be cultivated from the beginning. See the list of clubs in NSW at the Paddle NSW website www.paddlensw.org.au. If this is not practical for you, then this short guide may be of some help.

Where to go

When learning how to paddle a canoe or kayak find a quiet beach with no waves and low water traffic. This will help you to develop a technique for entering your boat without falling out or damaging any of your equipment.

As a beginner, you’ll find that until you reach your balance, the boat may tip easily even in still water. Remember what it was like the first time you tried riding a bike - you will learn to balance it as you gain confidence, it comes naturally. Ideal locations in Sydney are the Port Hacking River at Swallow Rock, Grays Point (shallow, clean water – sandy bottom), Narrabeen Lakes, Woronora River at Jannali Park, Grand Flaneur Beach, Chipping Norton Lakes, Lane Cove River, the beach near the Spit Bridge at Mosman, Manly Dam and Parramatta Park to name just a few.

Of course you should not forget the magnificent Hawkesbury River.

The stroke

Place one blade in the water well forward and near the front of the boat (bow) with that arm extended to be as straight as possible.

Pull the blade past the cockpit keeping it as close to the side as practicable with the full blade just below the water. At the same time, twist your body at the waist keeping the other arm firm with hand at eye level. This will bring your back muscles into play so that your whole upper body is doing the work and not just your arms.

Once your front hand has reached the extremity of its travel, relax its grip to allow the shaft to rotate freely within your hand so that the blade enters the water at the correct angle. The amount of rotation will depend on the degree of offset of the blades (if any). That hand then grips the paddle firmly while making the pull stroke.

Direction and straight line paddling will come with practice or the use of a rudder.

Your feet and legs

If your kayak has a foot rest, push forward with your foot on the same side as the blade that is in the water.

This sequence will (hopefully) result in a smooth effortless action in which most muscle groups of the body are brought into play.

Avoid bracing against the side of the boat with your legs. This limits the efficient rotation of your body and ultimately makes you, and more so your partner in a double craft, less stable.

Turning

If you do not have a rudder, paddle on the opposite side to the direction you wish to go and use a sweeping stroke that moves from bow to stern in a wide arc. If you wish to turn faster and slow down at the same time, paddle backwards on the same side as the direction in which you wish to travel.

There are several other strokes that can be learned, for example, the draw stroke to move sideways and the slap support stroke if you start to tip over. At this stage, don’t even think about an eskimo roll, it is not a prerequisite for general canoeing and can be dangerous if not done correctly and learned under controlled conditions.

When you fall out – not if

Practice falling out - so next time it won’t be an unrehearsed drama.

Don’t panic – your boat will float if you have the buoyancy installed as per the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic rules. It may be wise to check this first by filling your boat with water and check that it floats. If not, add some more buoyancy e.g. wedge in some polystyrene foam blocks.

Position yourself on the up-current side of the craft. This is the safest way as a boat full of water is very heavy and if it runs into you, you will come off second best. Swim and tow it to shore if end loops or bow & stern lines are attached, otherwise push it to shore.

With some craft you can slide over the back of your craft to re-enter in mid steam, there are several techniques and these are best learnt at a club in the company of experienced canoeists.

Turn the craft over and let the water run out before trying to lift it - the weight of the water can break a boat.

Get back in and try again (it’s a bit like falling off a horse with less chance of bruising).

The canoe paddle

Recreational paddles are usually measured to the chin, however for long distance events, shorter paddles (chest high) are recommended.

Paddles that have their blade at a different angle to the shaft (bent) are preferred as the paddle will enter the water further forward, giving you a longer stroke.

The grip

Take the grip or handle in one hand and with the other hand grasp the shaft just above the blade.

Keep the wrist on the top (guiding) hand as straight as possible. Don’t grip the shaft too tightly while the lower hand is in the pulling (power) phase to avoid strain.

The stroke

Reach as far forward as possible by twisting the body at the waist. The stroke should be made close to and along side of the canoe.

The hand on the shaft pulls back through the water providing the power of the stroke, whilst the hand on the grip guides direction, occasionally pushing in the rhythm of the stroke.

Continue the stroke until the paddle reaches the hip and then withdraw the blade to either take another stroke or switch over the paddle on the other side.

Swapping Sides

In a canoe, the paddlers generally paddle on opposite sides to keep the boat running in a straight line. By changing sides at regular intervals, the paddlers will be able to spread the effort to muscle groups on both sides of their bodies thus not tiring as easily. There may be occasions when both paddlers need to paddle on the same side for several strokes, for example to combat the influence of wind or water on the canoe.

You can tell when a C2 is coming, by the call of “hutt” which is the signal to change sides.

Turning

As with kayaks, there are a variety of strokes to enable you to turn, move sideways, stabilize or reverse. These are called the draw, the sweep, stern rudder and the cross bow draw.

Think about attending a clinic to develop your skills in using these.