Why to Embrace Multi-discipline Paddling
Words and Photos by Rob Dale
From my experience, both whitewater canoeing and rough water sea kayaking will equal a great day on the water. Both boats have rocker and thigh braces for extra control. Boil it down to basics: One boat is more versatile; the other boat is the open-water specialist.
Section A:
I will never understand why my canoe-friends won’t kayak. They always reply with some banter about being trapped in a claustrophobic cockpit or seating in a pool of bilge water. So why should they embrace sea kayaking? Because it will make them a better canoeist.
1: Understand and Respect the Big Lakes
Even on a river trip you may be exposed to open water. Canoeing down the Dog River will require a few days of paddling on Lake Superior to reach road access. You will face high winds, swells, reflecting waves, breaking waves, surfing landings (and changing tides if it was the ocean).
Why not practice these dicey conditions with a sea kayak. You will benefit from the decked hull and low center of gravity.
Get a feel for the swells and keep your hips loose. Swing extra wide around headlands and cliff faces to avoid reflecting waves. Listen to the marine radio reports and feel the difference between a 10 and 40 knot wind. Pay attention to the fetch and how it affects the sea state.
Plan to launch at sandy beaches. Here breaking waves release their energy slowly at a more even rate. Cobble beaches, on other hand, will produce steep dumpy waves.
Canoes can handle open water but are seriously affected by the wind. It will dictate when you can travel. Be prepared for 5am start times for calm water, before localized winds pick up.
2: Master your Edges
Edge work in a canoe takes good coordination and timing with your partner. A kayak lets you practice edging on your own time. Push the limits of your boat without the fear of dunking your partner.
Furthermore, a well-fitting sea kayak is very responsive and provides instant feedback for learning. In the cockpit you have 6 points of contact: 2x foot-pegs, 2x thigh-braces, a contoured seat for two butt cheeks. When you move, the boat moves. For a moment, pay less attention to your paddle and focus on what’s happening “under-the-hood”.
Keep your weight, including your skull, over the centerline. Thighs and butt lift the boat edge. This creates a shorter waterline on the hull allowing you to carve a tighter turn.
3: Master your Braces
In the whitewater canoe world, braces are critical for eddy-turns. Also, a good brace can recover a canoe from the brink of capsizing in big waves or twitchy boils. However, bracing is a skill that takes time to drill in.
To cement your braces to muscle memory, hop in a sea kayak for a surf season. First off, it’s a lot of fun. Secondly, you will be bracing nonstop. The waves just keep coming. Even with waves hitting broadside, loose hips and well planted braces will keep you upright.
Section B:
I will never understand why my kayak-friends won’t canoe. They always banter about it paddling like a barge or quote something from the ‘Deliverance’ movie. So why should they embrace whitewater canoeing? Because it will make them a better sea kayaker.
1: Experience Currents on a Smaller Scale
Get comfortable canoeing class 2&3 rapids on the river. Learn the physics of eddies. Master your boat edges to work with the current. Get confident with ferry angles. A capsize here is just part of the fun. There is a good chance someone is close by with a throw bag on the riverbank.
This is your steppingstone for sea kayaking. When large ocean currents are forced between islands it creates river-like currents with eddies and boils, often on a massive scale. Currents can reach speeds of 10 knots. Mistakes out here can require a timely rescue for a swimmer.
A tidal bore, such as the Shubenacadie in Nova Scotia, is both a fun play spot and a dangerous hazard. The rising tide water collides with the river current to create an intense sea state. There are great surfing opportunities. However, if you’re in touring-mode and need to play it safe, time your crossing at slack-tide.
2: Keep your Strokes Vertical
We all have those lazy days. When our double-bladed kayaking stroke gets sloppy. The blade angle gets too low. The motion becomes half turning-stroke and half forward-stroke. It’s a loss in efficiency and risks the kayak meandering side to side.
Canoeing with a single blade is a reminder to keep the paddle shaft vertical for maximum forward power. Pool-and-drop rapids often only require a few good, well timed, well placed, vertical strokes. This could be to punch an eddy line or ride a class III wave train. A few good solid strokes are better than dozens of flailing sloppy strokes.
3: Masterclass on Paddling Styles
Mastering your sea kayak is a combination of textbooks, instructional courses, and time in the saddle. However, there is much to be gleaned from sharing a canoe with a variety of partners.
Pairing a novice with a seasoned canoeist… that’s too obvious for this discussion. I have experienced something akin to ‘Greater than the sum of all parts.’ It’s when two good whitewater paddlers are paired up and turn into an unstoppable dream-team.
Personally, when I was partnered with a talented river-reader, we were running technical lines which I thought impossible. Our draws, pry strokes and edges were all synced up to turn on a dime and lace through the rocks with finesse.
When I was partnered with a skilled brute-force paddler, we were running my first class IV rapids. Loose hips and ready to brace. Planting our power strokes right into the crest of the wave and going for a wet ride. It gets the heart pumping.
I’ve partnered with calm and calculating veterans who had a talent for finding the dry-line. The river was a chessboard; they were thinking 3 moves in advance. There was never a tense moment because the plan-B escape route was already mapped out.
These white-water canoeing partnerships will boost your confidence and prepare you for your next sea kayaking challenge. How will you approach your next surf zone or that headland with exploding boomers? Will you calculate the perfect timing between wave sets? Will you paddle with finesse, or will you trust your brace and punch through it?
The Bottom Line: The fundamental skills of advanced canoe/kayak paddling are transferable: generating power from the core, loose hips for balance, confident edging, environmental awareness, and knowledge of currents.
From coast to coast to coast, Canada is far too vast and varied to explore in just one lifetime. Don’t limit your travels to just one type of boat.
Rob Dale is a multi-discipline paddler in Toronto. Urban or wilderness, canoe or kayak, he’s just happy to be on the water.