What kind of paddler are you? How hard do you paddle?

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How hard do you paddle? and What is your end goal?

I like to stay in my comfort zone, and am happy with improving slowly but surely. I really enjoy the scenery.
5
10%
I sometimes make moves that are a little harder, to challenge myself. I paddle to challenge myself, and am happy getting better at a decent pace.
25
52%
I spend most of the run hitting the hardest lines I can find. Want to get as good as I can be.
12
25%
I make things as hard as I can on myself, paddle as hard as I can, and am not content unless I end up being a world class paddler.
6
13%
 
Total votes: 48

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FullGnarlzOC
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What kind of paddler are you? How hard do you paddle?

Post by FullGnarlzOC »

This has been brought up several times in conversation, so I figured I post a poll on it. I'm wondering what drives the majority of paddlers to paddle. And more so - at what pace they are working to improve.

When you answer the poll, please include a paragraph of why you paddle, what you are looking to get out of it, and what's your end game. Also, please post your age. I'm assuming age plays a good part of the answer, as well as whether you have family or not. Also - how often you get on the water... ect.
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Post by ezwater »

I don't think it is possible to paddle c-1 or OC-1 down any significant whitewater without getting a good workout.

I go hunting difficult eddies, complicated moves. But I'm 67 now, and I have to scale back a little to avoid injury.

Consistent with my handle, I now spend more time on class 1-2, enjoying the scenery. I almost always paddle solo. I'll work hard if there are opportunities, but usually I save harder paddling for SE rivers I know well. I haven't been on the Ocoee in at least ten years, but that doesn't say I wouldn't try again if I felt my conditioning were up to it.
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Post by Smurfwarrior »

Age 41, 105 days so far this year, 174 total last year.
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Post by yarnellboat »

I'm a blend of most of those, with the clear exception of the "world class paddler" goals - I'll never be that!

I'm 41 with a baby, so my time on the water is very limited now, and it wasn't huge anyway with work, family and other interests. I'm down to maybe one or 2 days a month, if I'm lucky, with the odd extra trip thrown in now & again.

I paddle to challenge myself and chose difficult lines and play in features, but I do that within my comfort zone, and I just enjoy being on the river. So, I think picked 2, I'm in the 2-3 range.

I'd rather paddle hard on class III+, with some grace, than stumble down a class IV+ in survival mode with the risk of serious consequences.

I'm not out to paddle a harder rapid than anybody else. Although I've got my eyes on a few challenging runs & rapids that I haven't achieved yet, I don't really care to exceed easy class IV, in part because I just don't put the time into it to do so confidently and safely.

I'd also like to get more comfortable paddling a C-1 in class III and learn to playboat better, in C-1 and OC-1.

On one hand, I wish I started in playboat when I was younger and had found a strong group of like-mind canoeists then; on the other hand, I don't regret all the hiking, biking, skiing, ultimate and other sports that I was doing then. So be it.

Hopefully I've got many years of class III eddy-catching, surfing and hole riding still ahead of me!

Pat.
Last edited by yarnellboat on Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by jakke »

Now that's a tough question... .

I try to hit hard lines, but I do it on easy rivers. I challenge my skills by doing hard lines on easy water most of the time. And from time to time I step up to harder rivers. But river difficulty is not my progress pointer.
So most of my time I spend on class II rivers at the moment, occasionally stepping up to III-IV. But I'm also confident that some moves I'm pulling of at class II rivers, would be tough for some people that are "regular" class III-IV paddlers.
I have the idea that if I can do those really hard moves on a class II, I shouldn't be having too much trouble on a harder section. I like knowing I definetly make plan B if I blow my line.
And for now, i've reached the point where I need additional physical training to make progress, and I need a decent roll to keep things fun and safe.

And you can even challenge yourself on flatwater, progress there, before you take it to the river.

So my answer: yes challenge myself, but not continously by paddling harder rivers.
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Post by TheKrikkitWars »

I'm somewhere between option 3 and option 4...

My stated goal has always been to keep up with my peers at university, which is proving very very difficult, and will result in me becoming a world class paddler if i manage it (two of them are currently planning a stikine trip; far beyond me at this stage), and it's something I will only manage in C1, as much as I enjoy OC1 it's a sideline to my overall progression.

The thing is, I'm losing the motivation to go boating, the environment that I'm in isn't really very supportive, and I recieve a lot of large steaming pile of dog doo just for paddling a canoe, which is beginning to really turn me off boating, because I know I'm never going to switch back to the buttboat, though it's really tempting to do just that in order to get the support I need to improve.

There are other options avaialble to me, for instance I could paddle with another group I know, but that would make me the best paddler in the group, and my progression opportunties would be very limited. I could also start to persue my freestyle and squirtboating more seriously, something which some of my current "friends" frown on too, but frell them...

And all of that is going to have to go on hold next year for my academic goals, as my lacksidasical attitude over the last two years has left me with a lot of work to do if i want to come even close to realising my potential... and if I do, then my choice of progression will prevent me from chalenging myself in the same way as my buddies (they're all going to bum round the world not using their degrees, I'm trying to get phD funding).

On re-reading, this sounds like a bit of an angry diatribe against my current paddling buddies, sorry about that, but I'm just a sad angry man at the moment!
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Post by Sir Adam »

Good post idea, but it's a bit more complicated than that for a lot of the folks who have paddled a while.

I've run (competently but perhaps not comfortably) class V water, and am comfortable in general on class III -IV.

Rather than "push harder" all the time, I do enjoy the scenery... and hop in a different boat. An Oxygen (or Maven :roll: ) can make Class II seem like class IV. Then you get in to the Mentor or Acrobat... more comfy, more stable, but then playing around trying to mystery move....

So I'd say my primary objective is to enjoy the scenery... but some of it is underwater :wink:

I'm 34, have been "actively" paddling for about 25 years now, on the water in canoes for 31. Though I did own a kayak for a very brief period of time (I didn't know C1's existed!) after OCing growing up as soon as I saw one I wanted to go that direction and have general stuck with single blades in OC's, Cs, rafts, and now a Shredder for getting my daughter out on the water:). Still a tremendous amount to learn.
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paddling types

Post by keez »

yarnell,
I'm with you with respect to age and babies = < time on the water, but I paddle mostly with yakers which has a tendency to push you into harder moves/water.
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Post by Jeffrey Ward »

I didn't vote because I cannot choose just one. I am a little bit of each option.

I started paddling kayaks about ten years ago, and picked up OC1 and then C1 about three years ago. I find single blade paddling really fun, but my skill level with a single blade is so much lower than my skill level in a kayak that I spend far more time in kayaks.

I like to challenge myself, but within reason. I most frequently boat on easy water on the Potomac or Feeder Canal outside Washington, D.C. because it is convenient to my home. I have paddled my kayak on the Lower Yough twice this year, and enjoyed it. I'd like to paddle OC1 on the LY soon.

I like slalom paddling, and think the best rivers are fairly challenging (but not too challenging) with lots of rocks and eddies.
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Post by ncdavid »

I prefer open hand. Fairly hard.
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Post by OC1er »

Pink A$$ is the end goal!
Its not about the approach. Its about control in the hole.
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Post by FullGnarlzOC »

"The thing is, I'm losing the motivation to go boating, the environment that I'm in isn't really very supportive, and I recieve a lot of large steaming pile of dog doo just for paddling a canoe, which is beginning to really turn me off boating, because I know I'm never going to switch back to the buttboat, though it's really tempting to do just that in order to get the support I need to improve"

Josh - Tell them that your grandma paddles class V in a kayak. And they are all a bunch of pansies. Don't let a butt boater pull that crap with you.

IMHO - Anything with a skirt is beyond easy. There's a whole new dimension when you add in the "open' factor in the boat. You can be as sloppy as you want in a kayak or c1, and have no consequences(that and rolling them r beyond easy). Where as in an open boat, you have no choice but to paddle dry.

Class IV-V... it's hard paddling right? So how much harder is it, when you have to be constantly deflecting waves, knocking water with your paddle thats headed for ur boat, ect...

Tell them to suck it. Sorry - I just hardly have respect for people that don't respect how much harder an open boat is. Nor respect the fact that most open-boaters do it because they want the challenge.


Adam - I figured the options wouldn't be 'absolute' in terms of how correct they are for people... But nonetheless, I tried to make them so you can pick one and it be somewhat correct. It's hard to pin point exactly why/how/what people canoe for in a multiple choice poll
Last edited by FullGnarlzOC on Thu Aug 12, 2010 6:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by John Coraor »

I'll second Adam's response. It's complicated.

When younger I pushed myself harder and would have picked either the 3rd or 4th option. For most of my paddling career I've raced slalom, and my style in running rivers when I wasn't racing was to imagine that every rapid was a slalom course and I had to make every eddy, all the hard lines, and execute the ball-buster ferries. However, like ezwater, I'm older now and find that age, extra weight, poorer conditioning, and a more conservative outlook have softened both attitude and abilities.

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Post by yarnellboat »

IMHO - Anything with a skirt is beyond easy.
FG, Have you tried paddling a C-1 playboat???

IMHO, it's something to try to make things more challenging than they are in an OC-1! Sure, you can roll them dry, but they aren't exactly confidence builders when you're looking at a big, complicated rapid.

If you get yourself in a C-1, I'll bet you (initially at least) actually back-off on the level of difficulty you're willing to paddle in your OC-1.

Not really relevant to your poll question, but I'm guessing you might be giving a strong opinion about something you haven't tried? :oops:

Don't go lumping C-1s in with double-bladin' butt boaters just becasue both wear skirts!

To reach your goals, you definitely better try the slalom gates and a C-1 playboat.

Pat.
Last edited by yarnellboat on Thu Aug 12, 2010 8:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by OC1er »

IMHO - Anything with a skirt is beyond easy. There's a whole new dimension when you add in the "open' factor in the boat. You can be as sloppy as you want in a kayak or c1, and have no consequences(that and rolling them r beyond easy). Where as in an open boat, you have no choice but to paddle dry.
Whenever you open your mouth the bullsh!t absolutely pours out of it. You don't know jack about K or C 1, you've been paddling for less than a year (you have kicked some butt in that time, i'll give you that). It's hard to believe you have paddling partners to be honest with you. As to your statement above - all these things are just different. Punching a hole in an open boat is way easier than in a 50 gal spud boat. A real boof is way harder in an open boat than in my Mystic. Put a lap belt on under a skirt and tell me theres no consequences when you have to take multiple steps to escape. Your side surfs in the Detonator are neat, but you aint even gonna ender that thing, let alone loop it (and boy you're missing out, loops are FUN!). My point is that there are neat things about all aspects of boating, from flatwater-freestyle in a tripper to rafting to squirt hand paddling. Do what you do because you dig it not because you can't wait to impress everyone with your core-ness. Get your junk out of your mouth and look around, you'd be suprised what you might learn from even a k boater, though I doubt you're capable of hearing the lesson, the snap of your cross bow J is too loud. Sorry to rant, but boy this one rubbed me wrong.

Dan P.
Its not about the approach. Its about control in the hole.
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