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Sea Kayak Trips Bulletin Board
My 2 cents' on paddling technique
Posted By: Pete Roszyk In Response To: Whale Watching.... (Pete W. P.)
Date: Sunday, 14 November 1999, at 9:59 a.m.
>At anyrate, 12 miles, in one
>breath seems so close, till you have to think about going back! Is that
>too far out for the averege guy??24 miles is an extended paddle session, no doubt about it. While I am able to go that distance, at the end of the day I want nothing more than to shower off the salt and flop on the TV couch for the rest of the evening. And take aspirin.
For what it's worth, though, I'd say take a good look at your paddling style. With all the talk, or print, about proper paddling technique, one might think most paddlers train themselves to use the back and long torso muscles, but I have yet to observe anyone else using them.
Everyone I see out there (and I admit I normally solo) uses their arms and shoulders exclusively to paddle. Their heads always face forward, and their back is held rigid. And I think that after 5-6 miles (statute) they have had enough. Particularly those over 40.
Part of it may have to do with ruddered boat designs. Most footrests in those boats are not locked into the hull because you are steering with them, so you can't push off them. I've read that some designs have taken care of this, but I just haven't seen any yet myself.
If you look around in the literature, you'll find that holding your shoulders and arms more rigid and twisting your torso uses muscles that you can use all day long once you get the hang of it. This, I think, is how you can 'push' with your feet; you have to transmit the force all through the length of your body. By putting it all on your shoulders, you effectively shorten the load to more of a point.
Besides using muscles that will endure the effort, this also puts a lot less stress on the shoulder assembly. To my way of thinking, the shoulder will accept either motion or force, but not together, at least for very long. But if you can pass that on to your spine, the forces and the twisting motion are spread out over many joints rather than one, and that doesn't seem to bother it.
One of the nicer moments I have paddling is when I'm in the 'groove' and it feels like I'm pushing the boat with my feet rather than pulling with my paddle.
Anyway, it's not difficult to learn, but it's not intuitive; you'll have to work at it for a while until it feels more natural. I don't think it takes exceptional physical ability, either: I'm 46, 6'2" at 185 lbs.(and growing, to my dismay!), only recently quit smoking cigarettes, and I don't work out with weights. I jog when it doesn't bother my back, but other than paddling, I'm pretty much a layabout. But I try to paddle once a week regularly, and generally I'm able to get in a 16-20 mile day trip by the second half of the season. At least in good conditions; wind and waves can cut that considerably.
Also, given the geography of the Pungent Sound, I'm never anywhere near 12 miles from shore, so think about what others have said about being far, far from anything that might help if you get in trouble.
So, yeah, you can do it.
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