Strokes to go sideways
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If you want to go a few metres sideways in a sea kayak, it is often faster to reverse five or ten metres and then paddle forwards to the new location. However a sea kayak can be dragged sideways through the water quite quickly by the correct stroke.
A beginner is likely to feel unstable when trying draw strokes for the first time and may do better if rafted up with another kayaker.
Instructions for a draw stroke on the left:
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1. Hold your paddle in the basic paddling position. 2. Bring your right arm up and across your face until your right elbow is in front of your nose and your paddle shaft is almost vertical. Keep the left blade just above the water. 3. Twist your control hand if necessary so that the power face of the left blade is towards the side of the kayak. Keep sitting comfortably upright, rotate your upper body to the left, and reach out to the side with your left blade as far as you comfortably can. 4. Plant the blade in the water about 60 cm from the side of the kayak. Look in the direction you want to go. Pull the blade towards the kayak. 5. Repeat. Your kayak moves sideways through the water. If you find that the front end moves sideways faster than the back, lean backwards a little so that the blade applies its power a little closer to the back of the kayak. If the back end is going faster than the front, lean forwards a little. For best control, always make the paddle blade move through the water at a right-angle to the centre line of the kayak, rather than pulling the blade towards your body. If you go sideways fast, water will pile up on the leading edge of the kayak and may trip you. Consider edging your kayak (raising the leading edge). |
At the end of each stroke, don't let the paddle hit the side of the kayak because it will trip you. Just before the blade reaches the side of the kayak, twist the shaft so that the power face is pointing towards the back of the kayak. Then when you lift the blade, it will slice up through the water like a knife. |
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Not an essential stroke except in one unusual situation. If you find that your kayak is moving fast, parallel to a vertical cliff and too close for you to get your paddle in the water on that side, a hanging draw stroke will get you out of trouble.
The position is as in 4 above, with the paddle almost vertical, out to the side of the kayak, on the side away from the wall you are trying to move away from. Twist your wrists so that the leading edge of the blade in the water is angled slightly away from the kayak. You don't need to pull the blade towards you. Because you are moving fast, the angle of the blade will pull your kayak sideways.
Probably you will need to lean forwards and reach forwards when doing this stroke, so that the blade in the water is about as far forward as your knees. If you don't do that, the stroke may send the front of your kayak into the wall rather than away from it.
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Again, this is not an essential stroke but it is powerful, elegant and good practice. The effect is the same as the ordinary draw stroke, but the blade stays in the water the whole time. Thank you to Alan Byde for permission to reproduce this illustration from his book Living Canoeing (A&C Black, 1969). Rather than pulling the blade towards the kayak, you make it move forwards and backwards along an imaginary straight line parallel to the kayak. The leading edge of the paddle is always angled away from the kayak at about 45 degrees, and this pulls the kayak sideways towards the paddle. |
Instructions for a sculling draw stroke on the left:
1. Hold your paddle in the basic paddling position.
2. Keeping your left hand where it is, bring your right arm up and across your face until your right elbow is in front of your nose and your paddle shaft is almost vertical.
3. If necessary, twist your wrists so that the power face of the left blade is towards the side of the kayak. Keep sitting comfortably upright, rotate your shoulders to the left, and lift your left blade out of the water.
4. Reach out to the side with your left blade and plant it in the water about 30 cm from the side of the kayak.
5. Twist the blade so that the front edge is angled away from the kayak, and move it forwards parallel to the kayak until it is level with your shins.
6. Twist it so that the rear edge is angled away from the kayak and move it backwards, twisting your upper body to the left until the blade is just behind you.
7. Twist your wrists again so that the front edge is angled away from the kayak, and move the paddle forwards as in 5 above.
8. Keep the paddle moving backwards and forwards on an imaginary straight line (not a figure 8 or an arc) parallel to the kayak. The kayak moves sideways. You can experiment with different blade angles and speeds.
Go to next page for:
• Hip flick
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