Expedition Rolling

A kayak instructor and guide Adam Vallance from Powell River Seakayaks is taking the Expedition 'Dolphin' through a few rolling and bracing maneouvers. This kayak was custom built by Jurgen Koppen - check out some of his custom kayaks.
The cockpit felt spacious and comfortable... In a forward stroke, the kayak tracked very well. Adding a forward sweep allowed for an easy adjustment of the heading... In a basic draw stroke, the kayak moved swiftly through the water. Overall, I felt the kayak paddled well. - Adam Vallance - Canada
 
Ready for righting. Paddle is held close to the surface and parallel to the kayak. With the paddle on the surface, the blade can travel a long path under the water, giving the paddler the necessary leverage to turn the kayak upright.
Using the leverage of the far reaching blade Adam emerges from the water
A hyperextended lean backwards brings the paddler's center of gravity closer to the center of rotation of the kayak. This move not only makes the recovery nice and fluent but it also reduces the amount of force Adam needs to exert to right himself.
Last stage of recovery
Note the lean back
 
Carving a turn
Greenland sculling brace. With a properly sized kayak, most of the paddler's body (center of mass/ gravity) is under the surface so he doesn't need to rely so much on the power of the paddle to maintain this position. The kayak is nearly capsized but the paddler 'floats' and he can still breathe since his face is above the surface. Oversized kayaks that float too high will prevents the hips to be even with the trunk. This will make it more difficult to keep the head above the water and more paddle effort is necessary to maintain the position.


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Last page update: 11 January 2020