Canoeamatronation
I recently received a request to repost my combination rant/essay “Canoeing” onto a forum for canoeists; This surprised me somewhat… firstly that anyone valued what I was writing; especially as this being my blog I’m somewhat lacksidasical about making it cohesive and easy to follow; and secondly that I needed to tell fellow canoeists that they were indeed equal to those pesky buttboaters and their cheatsticks.
Anyhow, I finally took heed of my own advice; I started to push my limits in a canoe, and frankly I surprised myself(I can honestly say that all of the rapids on the Nile were less technically demanding than a run on the Ogwen at decent levels; just a hell of a lot bigger). So now my kayaks have become a combination of money and other people’s kayaks, I’ve bought a Prelude and it all feels very good.
And that’s when I got an email asking me for my honest opinions about becoming a C-Boater, and to outline the advantages and disadvantages thereof… For expeidences sake I’ve edited the email conversation and put it below, It consists almost entirely of my opinions and experiences and even then fails to encompass the full spectrum of experiences I’ve had.
Anthony: You’re the only person I know that is paddling big volume rivers in C1 and I just wanted to know what you thought to it, have you tried creeking or surfing if so how did you get on with them? Long and Short what are advantages and disadvantages of C1. Trying to find something that is better on the shoulder than kayak but warmer than OC1
Me: The Advantages of C1 are a combination of increases in upper body movement and control over boat trim; With correct technique many moves can become effortless (in appearance at least); and each stroke can be made very powerful, Rolling can become somewhat quicker and more fluid than in a kayak too, in the fullness of time.
The Disadvantages are rather easier to describe; The raised centre of gravity makes the initial learning period somewhat trying as it can feel somewhat like trying to surf a blancmange until you start to feel at home, there are strategies to get past that, but you’ll get plenty of rolling practice. Having a defined off side where bracing & rolling are difficult; and paddling is more limited in range is the major limiting factor of C1, as ultimately, it’s bad practice to swap hands in anything but the most dire of situations. Straps, (which are essential), can on rare occasion be somewhat hair raising, because once you’re already tired and oxygen deprived, finding them can be a pain, though a tennis ball with many holes attached to the release cord can improve that somewhat.
The issue of seating position and outfitting is neutral; as for some people fitting a boat comfortably for them is easy; and others find it hard. It’s all about how individual bodies feel in the variety of variations on the kneeling position the best example of this is that depending on the flexibility of your ankles and knees, you might find that you need a higher saddle for foot comfort which in turn may decrease stability, whereupon you must find a suitable compromise between them.
In terms of how I found High Volume boating in a canoe, it was thouroughly enjoyable and not nearly as hard as I had expected it to be, i did notice that it was somewhat easier to see, lift my nose over things (the seam line of massive stoppers comes to mind), and keep my boat above the water, but the limited bracing range and decreased acceleation made boils and very large waves, more trying than in a kayak.
I’ve also been Creeking today which so far proves more of a mixed bag, we did the Upper Upper Llugwy (Browns Falls) which was so very shallow, steep and narrow that I was frequently unable to get enough grip with a single blade to control my boat with confidence; though that was a fairly extreme burnbashing (or should that be Nant bashio?) example; On a more sane note running the Ogwen at what can be described as a stout medium, or maybe even high level, was absolutely fine… and took much less effort than I imagined it would, and I would highly recommend the experiance to anyone willing to try. Not actually sure how helpful me response has been; so do fire back with more questions.
Anthony: Very useful What I really want to know is do you paddle these things because you feel you get a better performance, is it more fun or do you do it (as I suspect) because it is even harder and therefore more satisfying when you get it right?
Me: In all honesty I started paddling C1 because I found it much easier to pull most of the playboating moves; this has now evolved somewhat and I’ve found that I’m naturally more at home in a C1; I wouldn’t say it was easier or harder, but the approach that you use to paddling rapids is often very different to how you’d use a kayak, and to me at least this way of paddling is more enjoyable.
That concludes today’s wall of text.
