School me on sit/hit-and-switch in a short solo

[Tsuga8]

There's lots of discussion all over this forum about hit-and-switch (sit-and-switch), pros and cons, yeas and neas, which is more efficient, which is more aesthetic, who amongst us is an ungodly cretin, double-blades are the answer and/or the worst blasphemy ever uttered near a canoe, etc.

I'm not looking to revisit those discussions, but rather to get better at this stroke and it's application. I searched for a post on this specifically - if it exists already, and I missed it, please feel free to point it out.

I'm decently proficient with a relaxed stroke in the realm of Canadian/pitch/J/underwater-recovery/what-have-you style, and I love this stroke for toodling along, bird-watching, day-dreaming etc. It's second nature now and I don't have to think about it much - I go pretty straight with minimal yaw and correction, and can do so while even while soloing a poorly trimmed tandem.

But, I recognize how sit-and-switch could be a faster stroke. I often get up a bit of momentum using three powerful stokes (right, left, right, and then switch to underwater recovery etc. However, the few times I've tried purely hit-and-switch, upping the stoke rate and putting anything near full power into a forward stroke turns the boat a fair bit. To avoid zig-zagging excessively (i.e., it seems I'm loosing any speed gained by virtue of the longer path traveled zig-zagging), I'm switching sides every other stroke. Is that normal?

Here are the variables:
Northstar Phoenix
Load: me+dog = ~275lb load
Trim: assumed decent, the kneeling seat is at the factory default, the dog is sitting between my knees
Heel: none
Wind: minimal
Paddle: wood, straight-shaft, I've tried ottertails, beavertails, and sugar islands. I tried a bent-shaft once but didn't notice a difference in tracking.

Here's my list of potential issues/answers - please tell me where I'm going wrong here.

1. A short, agile river boat won't ever be that good at going straight. Get used to switching every second stroke, if you want to hit-and-switch in a boat that short and rockered. (1a. Load the boat heavier so it tracks better.)

2. I'm kneeling in a high, canted, contoured seat, and there's something about sitting with foot braces in a low tractor seat a-la Wenonah that makes this better.

3. I'm missing something in my technique- sit-and-switch isn't just a full power forward stroke - doing it properly requires me to _________ ? Do a bit of a draw (like a 'C-stroke') at the start? End the stroke sooner? Make the stroke length much shorter?

What am I missing?

Thanks!

 

[Mason]

Here's my list of potential issues/answers - please tell me where I'm going wrong here.

1. A short, agile river boat won't ever be that good at going straight.

2. there's something about sitting with foot braces in a low tractor seat a-la Wenonah that makes this better.

3. I'm missing something in my technique-

Yup on 1 and 2. Possibly on 3. The slowest boat I've ever soloed with sit and switch is an OT 16 Penobscot with a solo seat. I was on a short multi-day trip, and made sure I was trim (namely, the fairly sleek bow was in the water contributing to tracking). It wasn't what I was used to, but it was decent (I had some whitewater to deal with, so I didn't take a fast boat), and I could maintain pace, with some effort, with an experienced couple in a 16'6" Kevlar Explorer, which has similar lines. Maybe my 14'10" MR Courier would work ok, but I shiver at the thought of sit and switch. I've only paddled it empty, though.
Wenonahs, with their tractor seats and footbraces, are designed for sit and switch. See Brian Day's blog https://kitchi-gami.com/2021/11/02/bent-shafts-and-bucket-seats/.

As I mentioned earlier, effective sit and switch takes some practice. The strokes are shorter, ending about at your hip, and are of higher cadence. You won't be racing with your Phoenix and your pup, but there's always room for improvement (when I was working on my straight shaft technique, we had a month's worth of food and gear with us).

Here's a video I just came across, with a fellow switching in a river boat. He gets 1-2 strokes per side. He has a clean switch, and has obviously spent some time in a canoe. But something about switching instead of steering stokes gets me. It takes all kinds.....

 

[Foxyotter]

I kneel 95% of the time and 100% of my sit and switch or hit and switch. Bent shaft paddles for kneelers are best suited around 6 degrees not what the sitters use. Straight shafts work fine and I use straight shafts more often then my 6 degree.

The catch is the most important part of the paddle stroke. Plant full paddle blade under water, a comfortable distance in font of you before you begin to pull. If you pull early you will hear the gurgling sound of air cavitation causing significant loss of power.

The actual stroke usually comes pretty natural to many. Your hands should not go above your head. You top hand will push down and forward while your lower hand pulls. The more important part is to work your hands as a lever and to tie your shoulder and waist rotation so more muscles are lining up to power your stroke.

The stroke should not go much if any past your hips. The faster my stroke rate the shorter my stroke. With my Trillium I can do 7-10 strokes per side if I am at 65-70 strokes per min range. As the strokes go down to 40 strokes a min I might be doing 2-4 strokes per side. I have a little flick at the end of my stroke that seems to add to the power. It is as if I am throwing a metaphorical ball of water and as far back as I can in a short distance stroke
Hope that helps some. I would guess there are some more experience paddlers who can maybe refine or add to some of this.

 

[Foxyotter]

John Puakea does a great job explaining the catch.

 

[Alan Gage]

I haven't spent a lot of time paddling shorter, more maneuverable boats, like the Phoenix, but I do remember some good old conversations from some highly skilled moving water paddlers that spent a lot of time in twisty-turny boats.

Their advice for covering flatwater was to trim the canoe bow heavy so the bow would pin and be less likely to turn. They would then heal the canoe slightly to the outside (if I'm remembering correctly) and use very short strokes that ended before the hip.

I've tried it some and while I've never gained proficiency with the technique I've seen enough success to believe it works with more practice.

Essentially what you're going to do is paddle on the right side (for instance) until the boat starts to veer to the left. You then begin paddling on the left side with those quick, short, strokes. The bow will be dug in (because you're trimmed bow heavy) and will resist turning. You won't be going arrow straight but rather you'll be paddling in a very wide arc to the left. Eventually your left side strokes will overcome the canoe's tendency to turn left and it will begin turning in a wide arc to the right. You'll then switch sides and repeat the process.

I didn't find it to be a very enjoyable way of paddling but sometimes, often because of wind, weather, or other circumstances, you just want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible and you don't care how it looks or feels. I'm sure, as with most things, it becomes easier and more natural with practice.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Awful lot of talking in that catch video . Technically correct and a bit much to handle starting out..

The full extension of the arms and the windup of torso is important and the placement of all the blade in the water. But not bobbing.

Note how short the stroke is.. He can't go past his hip in his paddle box( neat idea) and you should not either. Ideally reach as far as you can and end mid thigh when sitting. Kneeling again as far forward as you can and end about six inches in front of your body.. The forward stroke is very short! And the vertical stroke as shown is important to avoid sideways torque.. Using your abs you avoid much lean over.

The finishing part of the catch is of course the POW DOWN. Its been the hardest for me to master. (keeping that dang shaft hand a little behind and directing the blow forcefully down)

I can do 8 strokes one side and six the other keeping the yaw within five degrees. I paddle a Colden WIldFire ( very similar just a wee bit shorter than the Phoenix).. Yes hit and switch can be done with a river boat..Equipment save for a dedicated whitewater canoe or kayak doesn't preclude keeping straight on track with hit and switch.It may be eight strokes per side and not 12.

What usually trips most folk up with this exercise is not having arms extended( we call bent elbows chicken wings) and not keeping the paddle stroke forward enough..

 

[stevet]

Catch as far forward as possible without lunging forward, apply power in the first 12 inches or so of the uncorrected stroke. Stop before your hip and repeat. Switch when direction starts to change. As with all strokes, correct practice and time will improve results. Simplistic explanation but it will eventually come to you. As YC said, vertical shaft is critical.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Catch as far forward as possible without lunging forward, apply power in the first 12 inches or so of the uncorrected stroke. Stop before your hip and repeat. Switch when direction starts to change. As with all strokes, correct practice and time will improve results. Simplistic explanation but it will eventually come to you. As YC said, vertical shaft is critical.

Steve were you there when this was part of our recert program..CEW was at his finest( critic time). Tsuga 8 we thought initially hit and switch in the FlashFires and WildFires was sheer madness..(We had to follow a buoy line)
Thanks I did forget to mention that water time is key. Don't be discouraged at the first.

 

[stevet]

Not in attendance for years now. CEW would no doubt explain the “inside circle” to teach uncorrected forward stroke but thought that too tough with words as it is difficult enough for most of us in person!
I am a kneeler so I paddle 99.9% on one side of the boat in flatwater, with the primary exception being a cross forward to start from a complete stop. Hit and switch is useful to me only when sustained top speed is required, which is not why I paddle so I am semi proficient, if that.
It really is as simple as my explanation but takes time to get right. Paddling efficiently on one side of the boat is more difficult to master and if you can already do that, which it seems you can, time and practice will get you where you want to go.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

John Puakea does a great job explaining the catch.

In my opinion, John Puakea knows more about stroke mechanics that anyone I've ever encountered in U.S. flatwater or whitewater instruction. As an outrigger paddler and racer, he is of course not frequently switch stroking a la CanAm marathon canoe racers. However, his explanations of how to get the most power out of the forward stroke should apply to any technique.

I agree with his primary advice, which is to fully immerse and load the blade at the catch so it does not cavitate and slip through the water. This does not require much of a forward reach. Torso rotation is not emphasized. Note also, from the last three minutes of the video, that he takes the paddle out when his lower hand—not the blade—reaches his hip; the blade is way behind the hip. Maybe he would take the blade out sooner in a more turny boat than one that is 19'-22' long and usually (in Hawaii but not Tahiti) has a rudder.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here is another video of John Puakea, the mentor of many top outrigger and SUP racers, discussing what is now called the Tahitian canoe stroke technique.

Again, he emphasizes fully loading the blade immediately upon insertion for a catch without cavitation. Turning the body, torso rotation, is de-emphasized. What is important immediately upon the catch and throughout the pull is downward pressure on the paddle from body weight. The paddle should pivot (fulcrum) from near the top hand, not the middle of the shaft. Speed and glide are maintained more by maximizing in-water pull time and minimizing air return time, and not necessarily by increased stroke rate. The end of the stroke should be soft and not a hard pull.

Most of the top outrigger and SUP racers are now using the Tahitian forward stroke technique, a technique that was developed in the relatively calm waters of Tahitian lagoons in outrigger canoes without rudders. Switching is done but not as frequently as in CanAm marathon canoes.

 

[Mason]

It appears that outrigger racing technique is quite different from marathon canoe. Watch this clip from the Au Sable Marathon, one of the preeminent marathons Au Sable Marathon. Paddles are held lower, less lunging forward, higher cadence, smaller blades. This doesn't seem to have changed in over 40 years when I was racing.

 

[yellowcanoe]

the Science of Paddling..Shawn Burke on Amazon
Glenn the question was hit and switch in a short solo not a long skinny one.. Techniques may need to be adjusted for shorter river boats.

 

[pblanc]

I have paddled hit and switch frequently in whitewater canoes much shorter and with much more rocker than a Phoenix. Obviously, your switches will not need to be as frequent in a longer, straight-keeled canoe. A shorter paddle will allow you to make the switches more quickly and easily and a bent shaft paddle will clear the gunwales more easily than a straight shaft paddle. A pear grip is less awkward when switching than a paddle with a T-grip.

Two key points have already been mentioned:

1. Keep the stroke short and plant the paddle as far in front of you as you comfortably can. When kneeling take the power off the forward stroke when the blade reaches your knee and the paddle should be leaving the water as the blade reaches your hip. Keep the paddle shaft as vertical and close to the boat as possible and follow the line of the keel, not the curvature of the gunwale.

2. Keep the stroke cadence as high as you can comfortably maintain for as long as you need to maintain it.

One other technique that I have found extremely helpful in reducing the frequency of switches especially when paddling a short, highly rockered canoe is to combine hit and switch technique with hull carving. Hull carving might also be known to some as paddling an inside circle or using on offside pinned bow wave to resist the tendency of the power stroke to turn the canoe. You need to achieve and maintain some momentum for this to work and the boat will need to be heeled at least a little to the on-side. The 'circle' can be tuned to a nearly straight path by adjusting the heel of the canoe, the angle of the paddle shaft, the distance of the paddle blade from the canoe, and the length of the stroke excursion.

If you can get the hull carving you can significantly increase the number of strokes that can be taken on one side before switching.

 

[yknpdlr]

I get as many strokes on one side as I like with a couple of techniques that do not involve ruddering or finishing with a full "J". Unless I am racing with full power hit and switch, I solo using the power pitch stroke, which is essentially an early J without needing to finish beyond my hip with a J kick. And if I heel the canoe slightly to the offside, the tendency for the canoe to yaw toward the onside nicely counteracts the power stroke yaw. Unwinding my torso rotation on the stroke recovery also tends to rotate canoe toward onside. I watch my bow yaw only a couple of degrees per stroke.

The way to keep a high cadence without making sloppy strokes begins at the end of stroke retrieval flip, while rotating the shaft for feathering the paddle quickly through the air for a smooth but firm and quiet sliced in catch.

 

[lowangle al]

Here is another video of John Puakea, the mentor of many top outrigger and SUP racers, discussing what is now called the Tahitian canoe stroke technique.

Again, he emphasizes fully loading the blade immediately upon insertion for a catch without cavitation. Turning the body, torso rotation, is de-emphasized. What is important immediately upon the catch and throughout the pull is downward pressure on the paddle from body weight. The paddle should pivot (fulcrum) from near the top hand, not the middle of the shaft. Speed and glide are maintained more by maximizing in-water pull time and minimizing air return time, and not necessarily by increased stroke rate. The end of the stroke should be soft and not a hard pull.

Most of the top outrigger and SUP racers are now using the Tahitian forward stroke technique, a technique that was developed in the relatively calm waters of Tahitian lagoons in outrigger canoes without rudders. Switching is done but not as frequently as in CanAm marathon canoes.

That's a great video Glenn, I had seen it a few years ago and when I recently rewatched it I found I forgot what the lessons were. It's not only worth watching but it's worth watching again.

I took a trip with a friend who happened to be Hawaiian years ago. He was my bowman and when I explained how I wanted him to perform his stroke he said, " Oh brudda, you mean Tahitian style." He told me that he learned to paddle in high school, I think he said it is a required course.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

It appears that outrigger racing technique is quite different from marathon canoe. Watch this clip from the Au Sable Marathon, one of the preeminent marathons Au Sable Marathon. Paddles are held lower, less lunging forward, higher cadence, smaller blades. This doesn't seem to have changed in over 40 years when I was racing.

Glenn the question was hit and switch in a short solo not a long skinny one.. Techniques may need to be adjusted for shorter river boats.

I don't think the boat or its length matter that much for the forward propulsion technique (Tahitian) that John Puakea now teaches. As he says, all upper body paddling is the same even if you are standing up, and he teaches the same forward propulsion techniques for champion 20' outrigger canoe (which are highly rockered) racing, champion 10'-11' SUP board racing, and his own Olympic K-1 racing career, for which he spent one year just perfecting his fully loaded catch.

Let's look at the technique of some acknowledged champion CanAm marathon racers: Serge Corbin, Jeff Kolka, Andy Triebold and Matt Rimer as they are all-out sprinting in the closest Ausable Marathon finish in history (2005):

I'm sure they are all fully loading their catch.

But what you can see, especially if you slow the video down to 0.25 speed and stop the action, is that none of the four paddlers takes the blade out of the water at mid-thigh or the hip. They all bring the blade somewhat behind their hip, which doesn't "lift" much water back there with a 12° bent blade and is hence is still propulsively pulling a pocket of water. Also, none of the paddlers is lunging forward at the catch or twisting their torso during the pull. The action directly after the catch is downward body pressure on the blade with a sort of stomach crunch, which is best executed with a short paddle. There are high speed air returns to maximize sustained glide between strokes. All of this is generally consistent with what Puakea is talking about.

The differences between CanAm marathon and Tahitian outrigger seem to be that outrigger paddlers do use slightly larger blades because they are in the buffeting ocean, they now favor double bend paddles, and they don't need as high a stroke rate or as frequent a switch in their generally longer solo canoes. But the application of propulsive power during catch-to-exit should not differ much, except the Tahitian technique emphasizes more power at the beginning of the pull than traditional switch paddling.

I would tend to agree that if one is in a short, turny canoe, the stroke length may have to be shortened more so than in a longer, less turny canoe. However, this may have more to do with yaw prevention than proper racing power application. On the other hand, as mentioned, Puakea says he teaches the same forward stroke technique to his 11' SUP world champions as his 20' outrigger world champions.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

If you can get the hull carving you can significantly increase the number of strokes that can be taken on one side before switching.

Yes, in fact you will have to get the hull carving in the other direction before you are able to switch. This is sometime difficult because, unless you are well practiced with this carve balancing/bow pinning/inside circle forward stroke, you may overly carve and start turning too much toward your on-side. I've also found that some canoes carve better with an off-side heel than an on-side heel, and in some canoes I can do it heeling either way.

 

[lowangle al]

One thing I'll add Glenns previous post is. After you get that good catch and you're pulling your boat to your paddle, your abs need to give your upper body a rock solid connection to your lower body and the boat, or you'll get more "slipping."

 

[Tsuga8]

Thank you all - great info and discussion, and lots to try out when next I'm on the water!