Date: Wed, 31 May 1995 17:47:33 -0400 (EDT)
From: Kirk Olsen <kork@imagelan.com>
To: baidarka mailing list <baidarka@imagelan.com>
Subject: Re: Using the 5.6 meter baidarka
In-Reply-To: <abf2493e010210047f30@[132.177.128.6]>
Message-Id: <Pine.SV4.3.91.950531173359.711A-100000@baidarka>
On Wed, 31 May 1995, Paul R. LaBrie wrote:
> >However, I'd also done quite a bit of canoeing, with an interesting note.
> >I can not be comfortable sitting on the seats in a canoe. I am much more
> >comfortable sitting on my knees. Lower center of gravity at play here?
> >My wife and kids both like the seats just fine.
>
> Maybe that's it. I too have done a lot of canoeing and also prefer
> kneeling, usually with my butt just along the edge of the seat, when
> paddling double. It makes the canoe more stable. I often paddle solo as
> well and often use the technique where I'm kneeling near the center/side of
> the canoe; paddling the canoe fairly heeled over.
I rarely if ever kneel. It is more stable but I paddle canoes with
sliding seats so they are not conducive to kneeling. I don't know if it
is the lower center of gravity so much as the wider stance at the hull
level that gives you more control. You haven't shifted your center
of gravity all that much. Your torso is still pretty high. If your
butt is on the edge of the seat the only change in center of gravity is
the adjustment made by moving your legs.
> In both cases, the lower
> (and better positioned, fore and aft) center of gravity makes the canoe
> perform better. This also indirectly suggests that we could perhaps benefit
> from a bit of ballast (ballast stones, ala the Aleuts?), something I've not
> yet tried. (20lbs? 30 lbs? placed along the keelson).
> Out of curiosity
> though, I'd STILL like to see some videos (head on) of a person paddling a
> "rolly" baidarka just to study the paddler's body action when taking a wave
> broadside.
Well if you have a video camera and are willing to let me play in your
baidarka I would be happy to do my best imitation of a baidarka paddler ;-)
> Like riding a bicycle, I would assume that an experienced
> paddler's movements would be more subtle and fluid than that of a beginner
> (like me). I can still painfully remember my first bicycle rides...
>
> >I also find that I can get a better ride if I just settle into a rhythmic
> >paddling, and unless bracing or making a tight turn, just let my lower
> >body relax and "mould" itself into the hull. This means the entire
> >body from the waist down. And this is, IMHO, the key...
>
> I agree. My best paddling in the baidarka has been when I've
> established a good rythym and a clear head (look at the scenery, etc.).
With a steady rythm you have momentum in your favor. I'm told olympic
flatwater canoes/kayaks are fairly stable once they are moving but
brutal to sit still in. Sort of like sitting still on a bicycle.
> It's those boat wakes from the curiosity seekers that are a killer!!!
Cool. I usually have to chase the boats to get onto the wake. I'm not
used to them bringing the wake to me.
> p.s. to Kirk -- did you say in the last posting that your baidarka is ready
> for fitting out?? You can't have spent ALL of your time at the office...
> ;-)
Yup. pathetic isn't it. I'm due for an award as the SLOWEST modern
baidarka builder.
kirk