10 winonah aderondak as a solo canoe (Read 7508 times)
randyg
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #10 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 3:23am
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Thanks for all the input. I'm thinking that going back words will work best for me. I weigh about 190 and with the excessories probably over 200. I think my gear  will top out at about 100. I've done a lot af paddeling in my 18 ft canoe with my wife and/or daughter in the front. they are both more "boaters" then canoers and I have minamal difficulty controlling the canoe  from the stern with out their help paddeling. The few times I've been in it by myself if I was in the stern  the front would pop up and  I was tippy and had difficulty maintaining control even with a moderate wind. I'll test it out to see if the 100 pounds of gear will hold the front down enough for me to maintain controll and handle a wind.

Thanks again
  
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #11 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 7:23am
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My tandem has a sliding bow seat and a thwart behind it. I'll slide it back traveling down wind (ya like that happens much) but the thwart has never been an issue.

A bag of water in the bow is what I once used for trim when empty. Since I've gone from 130 to 160 a bigger bag was needed paddling empty. I've even had to resort to the bag o water less full when fully loaded under certain conditions.

It's hard to replace a bow paddler with dead weight while keeping a low profile. Rocker might matter some too.

Personally, I don't like paddling at the pivot point but putting weight at both ends isn't the best solution either. It's that centrifugal force and inertia thing. I just want to get from point a to b as quickly and easily as possible. I can't dance. It's just not in my DNA. I could still probably polka though if I had to.   Grin
  
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #12 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 2:54pm
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[quote author=BrownTrout01 link=1278368436/0#8 date=1278467846]The way I understand it, the closer you get to the stems the easier it is to steer. You can help overcome this by using a longer paddle to extend your reach.[/qutoe]
Untrue.  The closer to midship you are, the easier it is to steer.  With some canoes this may actually mean every stroke needs some correction.


[quote]If bentshafts are for correcting poor technique, then why do all of the racers use them? [/qutoe]
Because they correct poor technique.  
There's also a mechanical advantage, but for your average paddler technique is the main issue.  If there's someone around on the flatwater racing circuit I'd be curious to hear from them.  According to the instructors I've talked to, the forward stroke is one of the toughest to master.

None of what I'm saying about position & technique is solely my opinion or the result of anecdotal evidence.  It comes from reading & talking with instructors and builders.  Take it for what it's worth.

Here's one resource off a quick google:
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Here's a picture of Becky Mason soloing a tandem.
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solotripper
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #13 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 5:51pm
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Quote:
[quote author=BrownTrout01 link=1278368436/0#8 date=1278467846]The way I understand it, the closer you get to the stems the easier it is to steer. You can help overcome this by using a longer paddle to extend your reach.[/qutoe]
Untrue.  The closer to midship you are, the easier it is to steer.  With some canoes this may actually mean every stroke needs some correction.


Here's a little different take on the subject. Joe has a lot too say about many things. He's a dealer for SR, so bear that in mind. He's opinionated for sure, but makes a lot of sense with his arguments, for or against.

He has a whole section devoted too his experience/opinions on most every subject dealing with canoes and tripping. If nothing else you'll get a different view on some things, can't hurt too here as many opinions while looking for what fits you.

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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #14 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 6:15pm
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solotripper wrote on Jul 7th, 2010 at 5:51pm:
[quote]Here's a little different take on the subject. Joe has a lot too say about many things. He's a dealer for SR, so bear that in mind. He's opinionated for sure, but makes a lot of sense with his arguments, for or against.

He has a whole section devoted too his experience/opinions on most every subject dealing with canoes and tripping. If nothing else you'll get a different view on some things, can't hurt too here as many opinions while looking for what fits you.

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Interesting article.
There are more strokes than the forward stroke & the J.  A lot more.
The ship analogy fails miserably as a canoe is not a ship.  No room for the engines & screw.  The rudder is immediately behind the screws to direct thrust.  At the bow there are side thrusters for turning.  A ship relates to a canoe maybe in a tandem paddling situation.
Get more flat surface beneath you?  Wrong again.  Depending on the canoe you may want to heel the canoe over and get lest surface beneath you, bring more of it out of the water.  Some canoes are designed for hit&switch, some are designed to be heeled.

Quote:
To sum it all up, I DO have customers who are very skilled paddlers and understand all aspects of canoes, who do paddle solo from the back seat .

None of them with actual credentials.  Simply spending a lot of time in a canoe doesn't make anyone any more an expert than eating a lot of food makes anyone a Cordon Bleu chef.

Sounds to me like Joe is a retailler, not an instructor.


I urge the original poster to pose the question over at (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links) & I suspect you'll get answers from instructors & designers.  Perhaps one who has direct experience with that canoe.
  
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Paddle_Guy
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #15 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 7:57pm
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Preacher you asked to hear from a flatwater canoe racer so, from someone with limited race experience and plenty of bent shaft experience:

Bent shafts have nothing to do with correcting technique.  They just make proper technique more efficient, because the paddle blade is kept perpendicular to the water.  As a result, they reduce drag, increase speed and reduce fatigue.

Traditional paddles create a lift on the boat in entry , because the blade pushes down on the water and in recovery the blade forces the boat down because the blade is pulling up against the water.  Proper techinque will minimize the results, but regardless, the stroke is most efficient when it is perpendicular to the water and bent shafts allow the paddler to stay perpendicular for more of the stroke.

If that doesn't make sense, give it a try.  Get into a good strong cadence and you will probably notice when using the straight shaft that the canoe will seem to "Bob" up and down a bit or surge forward.  Then try a bent shaft and notice how the boat smooths out and seems to glide better and increase in speed.  That is why "racers" use them.
  
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Re: winonah aderondak as a solo canoe
Reply #16 - Jul 7th, 2010 at 8:34pm
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That is my experience with my bentshaft.  I use both an ottertail and a bentshaft situationally.

The bentshaft does help correct technique, maybe compensate for poor technique is a better way to say it.  Exactly by providing a perpendicular face through the power phase.  I also find that when my technique gets sloppy while using the bentshaft I notice the loss of power a whole lot more than with the ottertail.

The bobbing up & down of the boat with a straight paddle is an indicator of technique problems.  The blade goes in vertical and comes out near the hip.  If I'm bobbing then I'm either not getting a proper entry or my stroke is too long.  The latter is my usual folly.  There's something aestetically pleasing to me about a long stroke, but it's wrong.
  
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