The best way to learn how
to paddle is to take a lesson, but here are some tips that will
help you learn the basics of paddling a canoe.
Tandem
Canoe Paddling
Always
paddle on opposite sides of the canoe.
Canoes are much less stable when both paddlers are paddling on the same side
of the canoe, so it's a good idea to keep your paddles on opposite sides of
the canoe. The bow paddler generally chooses which side to paddle on, and the
stern paddler goes on the other side.
The canoe
will always move away from the side that the stern paddler
is paddling on.
Because of the physics of the canoe, the stern paddler will always have more
force than the bow paddler, so if the stern paddler is paddling on the left
side of the canoe, the canoe will tend to go right, and vice versa. (See the
animation on the right) This is why the stern paddler needs to use a correcting
stroke like the J-Stroke to keep the canoe in a straight line.
The J Stroke
The J Stroke can help you
move in a straight line. The J Stroke is a correcting stroke that
is done by the stern paddler. When the stern paddler finishes
a normal forward stroke, they tilt the blade of the paddle
away from the canoe by turning the thumb of the top hand
down. This pushes the stern of the boat back on track.
The animation on the right shows how this works.
The line to the left of the canoe is the top view of the
path of the paddle. As it kicks out, the canoe goes back
in a straight line. When this stroke is done properly, the
only time the paddlers should have to switch sides is when
they get tired.
