Canoe Drill: Carving

Paddling is a dynamic something. Changing the tilt of your boat has great impact on the behaviour of that boat in the water. These drills will help you to develop a feeling for this behaviour.

Exercise: Various circles; onside and offside

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Use following combinations to improve your carving

• Paddle circles of varying sizes

• change the boat tilt to change the radius

• Use stroke variations (more or less sweeps)

  

Goals:

•  Training on the finesse of your carving

• get to know the natural carve of your canoe

Focus points for this drill:

• Don't lean out of your canoe, tilt it!

• Keep the paddle vertical if your goal is to work on tilt

• Try to isolate stroke and tilt variations

Tests:

• Can you narrow the circle by varying canoe tilt

Exercise: Carving figure-8

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Use following combinations to move the canoe forward

• Use carving to paddle a figure 8

Goals:

• Training to improve the efficiency of your carving

• Training to develop a feeling for changing tilt

Focus points for this drill:

• Use a clean carve, no body lean

Tests:

• Can you always get your canoe out of his carve by changing canoe tilt?

• Which stokes can you pull in for further assistance?

 Exercise: Weaving carves

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Use following combinations to improve your direction change

• Paddle the zig-zag by changing from carve to carve

• Try the variation with static correction strokes

Goals:

• Training to improve switching carves

Focus points for this drill:

• Take out the speed to be able to make clean tilt changes

• Clean tilt, no body lean

• Do short stern corrections when needed

Tests:

• What's the minimum number of strokes you need?

• How fast can you go