Who needs a stick?

new big boat to hand paddle

Rob — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:47:31 +0000

Later this week I hope to be the new owner of a LL Remix 69.

Since taking up hand paddling 2 years ago, I’ve been quite happy with my river runner (Dagger Juice 6.9). However, my larger volume boat (I won’t say creek boat, since I’m not a die hard creek boater) just doesn’t like to turn with hand paddles! It is a Jackson Super Hero (old version, 2006). It is not surprising, in that it goes fast and straight, and has little rocker.

I’ve had a slow winter (paddling about every 3 weeks), but at a lower level than I’d like. So I’m not going to hit the Ocoee for its maiden voyage yet — I want to get a feel for how it hand paddles in pushy current, especially ferrying and catching eddies.

Paddling with Kids

Rob — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:59:04 +0000

Right now I paddle 2-4 weekend days/month. However, the kids are getting older, and I want more time with them before they get so old that hanging out with dad is “not cool.” So I’ve made a resolution for the next year to “back off” from the number of “me” paddling trips per month, if it means spending more time on the water (any type) with the kids.

I’ve got my older daughter on her first river trip. It was in a tandem rec boat on the Hiawassee. She had a great time.

However, even in the tandem boat, the paddle is too large and shaft too thick for her to use.

Last week I bought a used Dancer XS. Very old school, but cheap enough to start taking out on flatwater and seeing how she likes it. If she’s hooked after a few outings, maybe a Fun 1 is in her future ….

I never intended to become a hand paddler …

Rob — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 05:45:14 +0000

In June 2006 I decided I should try hand paddling an entire river so I’d have a better feel of how they worked (they always just stayed in the back of my boat as backups). It was the mighty Hiawassee. A common class II run in the southeast, it has enough playspots to help me really get used to the dynamics of hand paddling. and by the end of the day, I was hooked.

I kept with my stick for any III-IV rivers the rest of that summer, using my hand paddles for the class II runs to get more used to the different dynamics of hand paddling. By September 2006, I made “the switch” and now only use a stick for attainment workouts on a local river and when helping to instruct in a group setting.

This blog is nothing more than a self-centered web-archive for me to blab and share some aspects of these hand paddling experiences when I think about it …