Whitewater technique for sea kayakers...

[SWriverstone]

Someone asked me once if there are whitewater slalom techniques that could be applicable to sea kayaking? I had a few ideas, but I'm still pondering this—as well as trying things out in my sea kayaks. I'm not a highly experienced sea kayaker (I'd call myself a solid "advanced intermediate") so I'm still learning. And because I was a whitewater slalom canoeist who only started kayaking in a sea kayak, I don't approach paddling a sea kayak like a kayaker.

It's not that I'm trying to ignore kayaking technique (or sea kayaking technique)...but rather when you've spent well over 10,000 hours paddling a canoe in whitewater, you can't help but be influenced by that! (And there is definitely a lot of overlap between kayaking and canoeing technique.)

Anyway, I do think there are whitewater slalom techniques that can work (and work well) in a sea kayak. So I thought I'd occasionally post my thoughts here. I'm not suggesting any of these techniques are "better" than what most sea kayakers do, but they might be in some cases?

I'll start with turning strokes. Ever since I started sea kayaking, what I've noticed is that sea kayakers often tend to rely on two things to turn the boat: leans and the low-brace turn. (I'm not counting rudders for now!) In whitewater kayaking (and in slalom) the #1 tool for turning a boat is a sweep. I recognize whitewater boats are built to turn easily...but I've found that good sweep strokes work as well to turn a sea kayak as any lean or low-brace turn. Maybe better, because done well, they're fast and powerful. (I can even get my 95% turn-resistant Tsunami 175 to turn with a powerful sweep!)

Here's a good video (from a slalom kayaker) about the right way to do a sweep. You can do everything this guy talks about in a sea kayak, and the concept of using your core to power the sweep is critical. (All in the "for what it's worth to you" category!)

The concept he talks about of "winding up...then unwinding during the stroke" (which is really about your core) is a common one in whitewater slalom, and really good because it removes the emphasis from your arms.

At one point he mentions not wanting any forward motion during the sweep stroke. Sometimes this is true, but just as often you want to keep the boat moving forward while turning. So this is when you'd just drop a strong sweep right into your forward paddling without missing a beat.

One of the issues I've always had with the low-brace turn in a sea kayak is that it's a "braking" stroke. You can't do it without slowing your forward momentum (because you're essentially dragging your blade behind you). If your goal is to slow down or stop while turning, that's fine. But just as often, you want the boat to keep moving forward—in which case a sweep is much better.

As a racer, always "on the clock," I had it pounded into me that you almost never want to do any stroke that will slow your forward progress (because then you'll have to make up that loss of time). But it's not just about losing time: often in rough water, the boat is more stable and less influenced by currents, boils, eddylines, etc. when you're moving forward.

 

[cougarmeat]

Corrected "Lean" to "Edge" as a more appropriate term.

One thing I didn't see in the video was any edge of the kayak during the sweep. Somewhat paradoxically, you edge the kayak away from the direction you want to turn - so the bow can slide in that direction without catching an edge. Maybe that's not an issue in WW boats because they don't have much keel in their design.

When you say you aren't counting rudders, I think you mean mechanical rudders. There's a move called a "bow rudder" that can be added to the forward stroke to encourage the boat to turn without losing too much speed.

 

[CPS]

I think it'll really depend on what your doing in a kayak. Going point A to B my turning is not required to be very agile. I'm more focused on whatever is efficient. Generally that's accomplished with a touch of edge or using my rudder if so equipped. It's a subconscious, tiny adjustment.

In more dynamic paddling, which is not super common for me, I'll use a lot more complex turning strokes. Bow rudder is nice, I usually prefer the cross bow rudder, personally. Lean turns work well when crossing an eddy, incorporating either a high or low brace with a lot of edge.

 

[Peter-CKM]

I agree that many people use a braking stroke (perhaps could be described as a low brace turn, but I think it is more of just a reverse stroke) as a way to turn. What they do is not normally taught by instructors, but is what comes naturally to people. Not that efficient for many reasons (such as the braking aspect you mentioned), but works. I suspect this is also done in white water, but not as obvious as just a little reverse tap in the water could cause a short WW boat to turn, where a sea kayak takes more turning effort to make a turn.

Edging (not leaning - they are different) is something that is taught at a higher level, and isn't something that comes naturally (so needs to be taught). It is a way to make a long boat act like a shorter boat/more rocker boat, so they would turn (or go sideways) easier. Most whitewater boats are flat bottom, so you want them to stay flat when you turn so you don't catch edges. Sea Kayaks usually have hull that digs deeper into the water, so putting them on edge can release the keel effect and usually makes them turn easier. Most of the time edging is done as a way to make your sweep stroke, draw strokes, rudder strokes, etc. more effective. So it is done in conjunction with these other strokes.

Just holding an edge while paddling forward can provide some slight turning momentum. Most commonly taught as a way to offset some weather cocking. If the edge can offset the turn caused by the wind, you can focus on padding forward and do less correcting sweep strokes to maintain that direction. More efficient for you to hold your speed.

In the sea kayak classes where I teach (which roughly follow the ACA sea kayak progression), we teach sweep strokes as turning strokes early in the first day-long class. Edging is mentioned and shown toward the end of the day, but mostly to give them a feel for what to be looking at and to give them some ways to practice it. The second day long class is when we cover low brace turns (among other new strokes, like rudders) and also get more into edging and bracing. So if they took classes they should be doing sweep strokes right from the start, and only working on edge in more advanced classes.

BTW - a true sea kayak low brace turn is one of the times you actually do some lean, not just edge.

 

[SWriverstone]

One thing I didn't see in the video was any lean of the kayak during the sweep. Somewhat paradoxically, you lean the kayak away from the direction you want to turn - so the bow can slide in that direction without catching an edge. Maybe that's not an issue in WW boats because they don't have much keel in their design.

When you say you aren't counting rudders, I think you mean mechanical rudders. There's a move called a "bow rudder" that can be added to the forward stroke to encourage the boat to turn without losing too much speed.

Yep. In whitewater slalom, you do often lean while sweeping. And yes, leaning away from the direction you want to turn (and toward your sweeping blade) works because it gives you a LOT more power in your sweep. He probably talked about keeping the boat flat because it's a slalom boat with sharp, thin edges—and driving those edges underwater (by leaning) can slow you down.

And yes, I've used bow rudders probably half a million times (literally!) in races and running whitewater.

 

[SWriverstone]

I think it'll really depend on what your doing in a kayak. Going point A to B my turning is not required to be very agile. I'm more focused on whatever is efficient. Generally that's accomplished with a touch of edge or using my rudder if so equipped. It's a subconscious, tiny adjustment.

In more dynamic paddling, which is not super common for me, I'll use a lot more complex turning strokes. Bow rudder is nice, I usually prefer the cross bow rudder, personally. Lean turns work well when crossing an eddy, incorporating either a high or low brace with a lot of edge.

Totally! I agree re: not really needing powerful, dynamic turning strokes when sea kayaking longer distances. I mainly mention sweeps as an alternative to low-brace turns. I've seen lots of sea kayaking videos that hype the low-brace turn (talk about how important it is to learn to do it), and never understood why you'd ever want to do one? LOL (Maybe in rock gardening and surfing, but that's about it.)

Crossbow rudders are much easier on your arms because it's easier to hold the blade in position when you're "wound up" like that. You can do them just as effectively without crossing...but it definitely takes more arm strength (especially if you do them up near the bow of the boat).

When crossing an eddyline, I always want to do whatever keeps the boat moving forward the fastest, because the eddy will turn your boat (unless it's a tiny eddy on a river). I'd never do a low-brace turn entering or exiting an eddy (and I see even sea kayaking instructors do this) because it dramatically increases the risk of stalling on (or near) the eddyline, which can be bad if it's a big, nasty boiling eddyline.

 

[SWriverstone]

@Peter-CKM agree with all you said. Whitewater boaters definitely do stern rudders and reverse sweeps (which is pretty much the same thing as what sea kayakers call low brace turns because many whitewater paddlers also lean the boat while doing it).

It makes sense that people default to reverse strokes (anything where the blade is behind you) because all of these require much less arm and core strength. And as you said, they do work—at the cost of speed and glide. In slalom racing, you learn to turn the boat from the bow, because this is always faster (and speed & momentum are the goal). Faster because strokes near the bow "preserve" forward speed better.

Sometimes in slalom you bang out a huge reverse sweep—and this is done 100% of the time because you want to stop the boat, sink your stern, get your bow up and out of the water, and pivot the boat quickly to a new direction. (But slalom courses that require doing this are often frowned upon...and the top racers usually find a way to avoid having to do the reverse sweep which makes them faster.) Obviously not applicable to sea kayaks, LOL.

This video shows about the only case where slalom paddlers do reverse strokes—fun to watch, and being able to do this is what makes slalom boats a blast to paddle! (C-1s can do this even batter.)

Edging (not leaning - they are different)...

Not sure I understand why they're different? Do you mean different in degree? If edging means getting your cockpit rim in the water, then I'd say you can lean that far too. (In slalom, we only ever use the term "lean," and sometimes will say "get the boat up on edge by leaning hard.")

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

what I've noticed is that sea kayakers often tend to rely on two things to turn the boat: leans and the low-brace turn

You're hanging out with the wrong crowd of paddlers.
You are correct - 'people in kayaks' (I won't call them sea-kayakers yet ) who haven't had any instruction will use the braking strokes to try to steer the kayak, as @Peter-CKM mentions. And, often the need for those course corrections arises because every stroke is a low angle 'arm paddling' sweep stroke.
Check out some sequenced instructional video DVDs (not just short YT clips) or books or online lesson sequences to see what is taught in sea kayaking classes. The Nigel Foster and Wayne Horodowich USK (University of Sea Kayaking) videos are good. I think the Paddle Canada Kayak skills levels are online somewhere, ACA may have something similar.
Sea kayakers certainly have a lot to learn from WW paddlers, so I appreciate your comments. It's impossible to watch Jessica Fox in K1 and C1 action and not be impressed.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

I've seen lots of sea kayaking videos that hype the low-brace turn

Really? I thought I'd watched every video 'out there' and I've never seen that.
I have seen emphasis on learning the low brace, but not as a basic turn. And if taught properly IMO the low brace needs to be taught both as the 'slap' version and the way you'd do it if the boat is moving.
And, as has been mentioned most sea kayakers talk about 'outside' and 'inside' edges, 'leans' less often.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

Not sure I understand why they're different?

From: https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/basic-strokes-skills/

 

[CPS]

I've found a low brace turn to work really well when crossing an eddy with the intention of turning down the current. You've gotta have enough speed and an appropriate angle to not get stuck on the line.
Having that low brace ready lets me show my butt to the current while the bow starts getting pulled down "stream". I'm not really doing the turning, just getting myself and my kayak into a position where the current does the work for me.

Similarly I might use a high brace turn when peeling into an eddy as I can sort of reach into the eddy with the blade and let the boat swing around that point. It's a kind of tricky thing to explain without visuals.

Online Sea Kayaking has some great videos with awesome breakdowns of these moves. You've gotta pay for access to the videos, but I usually find it worthwhile. Especially in winter when I need a bit of inspiration.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

I've found a low brace turn to work really well when crossing an eddy with the intention of turning down the current

Me, too.
That's the way I was taught by all my instructors/coaches - Yves Aquin, Leon & Shawna at BodyBoat Blade, Wayne Horodowich and others.
I usually try to 'set' what will be the downstream edge while still paddling forward toward the eddy line, then put down the brace as the current grabs the bow. Having that low brace makes the edging a lot more stable. Once the boat is more parallel to the current I resume normal paddling.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

the boat is more stable and less influenced by currents, boils, eddylines, etc. when you're moving forward.

And waves and wind, too.
One characteristic of most beginners is that they slow or stop paddling when things get rough (the extreme example also involves lifting the paddle into the air, just before capsizing) instead of continuing to power forward. Rough conditions is one situation where I tend to use a lower angle stroke as the brace is quicker to 'deploy'.

 

[SWriverstone]

Really? I thought I'd watched every video 'out there' and I've never seen that.
I have seen emphasis on learning the low brace, but not as a basic turn. And if taught properly IMO the low brace needs to be taught both as the 'slap' version and the way you'd do it if the boat is moving.
And, as has been mentioned most sea kayakers talk about 'outside' and 'inside' edges, 'leans' less often.

Oh they're out there—either videos with instructors talking about what a great way to turn it is...and more videos showing people doing it.

I don't have anything against low brace turns. (I said in my original post above that the whitewater strokes aren't "better" than sea kayaking strokes.)

In your case @CPS I would never use a low brace turn when exiting an eddy. Not because it's "wrong"—it'll work fine. The way I learned to do it is to paddle forward hard (get some speed), then lean downstream (when crossing the eddyline) while planting a bow draw out in the current way up by the bow of the boat. This is because planting a draw by the bow gets your blade into the strongest current sooner—which in turn pulls your boat out of the eddy and downstream with the current. Not theory, it works (and works in a sea kayak too). When you do that well, you can feel an enormous pull from the current on your arms and shoulders, and you hang on! (But as I've said above, this technique is from racing, where the goal is to go fast.)

Edited to add: in whitewater, one of the most common times people flip is doing a reverse sweep (low brace turn) when exiting an eddy into really strong current. What happens is they paddle toward the eddyline, and when their bow enters the current, they do that reverse brace/sweep which slows them down. They spin on (or right next to) the eddyline and often flip upstream in the process. A sea kayak probably does this better since it's not as likely to spin.

 

[SWriverstone]

From: https://terrybolland.wordpress.com/basic-strokes-skills/
View attachment 19040

Okay, that makes sense. Thanks!

In my mind, I don't really differentiate much between the two because almost every time you might lean, edging will work just as well. Put differently, I'll lift a knee whether I want to lean or edge, and the net result of both is rotating the boat around its central axis.

About the only time when I'd lean rather than edge is in peeling out of an eddy into into really swift current. leaning works there because if you plant your blade in the fastest part of the current, it's like leaning on solid ground—the current will hold the weight of your upper body as you lean.

But in pretty much every other situation I'll edge. (In slalom boats, edging is the default, meaning you literally can't paddle them unless you edge.) Even sidesurfing the backwash of a breaking wave on a beach I'll never lean but edge—there's no reason to lean if you're bracing into the backwash. (That's been my experience anyway.)

 

[SWriverstone]

And waves and wind, too.
One characteristic of most beginners is that they slow or stop paddling when things get rough (the extreme example also involves lifting the paddle into the air, just before capsizing) instead of continuing to power forward. Rough conditions is one situation where I tend to use a lower angle stroke as the brace is quicker to 'deploy'.

I'm smiling because in the world of open canoeing on rivers (at least back East) we had a great term for people who froze as soon as they entered a rapid: we called them gunwhale grabbers. Because that's what they often do—drop their paddle and grab the gunwhales and hold on for dear life! LOL

For many of us, gunwhale grabber becomes a general (insider) term used to describe anyone who panics unnecessarily over just about anything.

 

[CPS]

I would never use a low brace turn when exiting an eddy. Not because it's "wrong"—it'll work fine. The way I learned to do it is to paddle forward hard (get some speed), then lean downstream (when crossing the eddyline) while planting a bow draw out in the current way up by the bow of the boat.

I'm with you 100% of the way until the bow draw. My kayak is 18 feet long. My paddle is about 6 feet long. By the time my paddle can reach across the eddyline the current has already grabbed the bow of my kayak, which has a surface area much larger than my paddle blade, and shoved it downstream.

I am having a hard time visualizing a sequence of events incorporating a draw stroke that would be more efficient, as I can transition to that low brace position pretty swiftly from a forward stroke. So I just paddle forward, out in some edge (maybe an upstream sweep just as my bow is getting the shove) and then low brace.
The name "brace" is perhaps a misnomer. That blade is barely skimming the water, if at all. It's basically giving me the feedback to know that I can really commit to the edge, and if needed I can brace.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

while planting a bow draw out in the current way up by the bow of the boat

EDIT: @CPS was quicker and had a better answer than mine. ....
Not easy to do exiting an eddy with a 16-17-18 foot boat.
By the time that draw is planted, the bow is already turning, usually, if you got the boat moving smartly .
But, I agree that 'planting' the blade in the correct part of the current definitely helps get things moving.

 

[JohnAbercrombie]

this technique is from racing

.....in boats with quite different shapes and sizes when compared to 'average' sea kayaks. It's a lot harder to try to 'muscle' a loaded tripping sea kayak or even a typical day paddling sea kayak, though my memories of WW boats date back to when the Perception Dancer was 'the latest and greatest'.

 

[Chris_Bolton]

Like @SWriverstone, I'm also a former C1 slalom racer, although my sea kayaking has been in parallel, not following. When I first heard of using a cross bow rudder in a sea kayak, I tried to do it as I would in a slalom boat - near vertical shaft, top hand high. That's quite awkward with a 210cm kayak paddle from a seated position, and as above, the blade ends up a long way from the bow so doesn't do much. Then I saw a video, and they way it was done there was with the shaft almost horizontal, top hand low, reaching the blade forward as far as possible, which works better. It's useful in my Virgo (14'6") which I use for day trips rockhopping, but doesn't get far enough forward in my Rockpool GT (18'+) that I use for multiday trips - a sweep is better.

On a training session, we had a competition to see who could turn 180º with a single reverse sweep. It was also good for setting up unprepared rolls!

One reason sea kayakers use a low brace exiting an eddy is that it feels safer if you're entering a strong flow. If you use a bow rudder, you can't plant it until you can reach the flow, and your bow hits the flow first while your paddle is in the air. When the flow grabs the bow it tries to flip you upstream - so as normal for whitewater, you lean downstream - and you feel you want to lean, not edge, because you want your centre of mass downstream of the boat so that it doesn't end up upstream when the flow grabs the bow - but you can't lean because your paddle is still in the air waiting until you can reach across the eddyline into the flow. On a more gentle flow, you can edge, anticipate the tilt and plant the bow rudder, but if you don't feel confident about that you get some speed to ensure you cross the eddyline and lean on a low brace.

The other thing you can do if the eddyline isn't too chaotic is to exit on a fine angle, as if you were going for a ferry glide, in which case you can reach the flow for your bow rudder by reaching out, and the grab of the flow isn't trying to flip you.