Canoe paddle strokes are the means by which a

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...

(or paddles) is used to move a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

through the

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

. Strokes are generally designated as flatwater or

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

strokes. The strokes are also combined or modified. Some commonly known and used strokes are in the table below. Names for strokes can vary between geographical regions and even between paddlers with similar backgrounds.

List of paddle strokes

In these illustrations, the bow (front) of the canoe is on the left side of the illustration and the stern (back) is on the right. The red arrow shows the paddle position at the beginning of the stroke.

Variations

There are some differences in techniques in how the above strokes are utilized. One of these techniques involves locking or nearly locking the

elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

, that is on the side of the canoe the paddle is, to minimize

muscular Skeletal muscles (commonly referred to as muscles) are organs of the vertebrate muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bones of a skeleton. The muscle cells of skeletal muscles are much longer than in the other types of muscle ...

usage of that arm to increase endurance. Another benefit of this technique is that along with using less muscle you gain longer strokes which results in an increase of the power to stroke ratio. This is generally used more with the 'stay on one side' method of paddling. The other technique is where they bend the elbow to pull the paddle out of the water before they have finished the stroke. This is generally used more with the 'switch sides often' method of paddling. There is also the Maine Guide stroke which is like The Pitch stroke but the blade is feathered as it leaves the water with a kick.

Stay on one side method

The stay on one side method is where each canoeist takes opposite sides and the stern paddler uses occasional J-strokes to correct direction of travel. The side chosen is can be based on the

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

and/or

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (stre ...

direction, so the stern paddler's forward strokes are pushing the boat in the opposite direction the

and/or

is, reducing the number of J-strokes required to keep forward

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. If is an object's mass an ...

, or sides can be chosen based on the paddlers' stronger side, since this is more comfortable and less tiring. A combination of methods for picking sides can be used, and some canoeists will switch sides after twenty to thirty minutes or longer as a means of lessening

muscle fatigue Muscle fatigue is the decline in ability of muscles to generate force. It can be a result of vigorous exercise but abnormal fatigue may be caused by barriers to or interference with the different stages of muscle contraction. There are two main ca ...

, when changing the direction of the boat, or in response to new

weather conditions Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the tr ...

. Both paddlers must paddle on opposite sides from each other except when trying to turn the boat quickly, or in high winds or strong currents.

Switch sides often method

The switch sides often method, also called ''sit and switch'', ''hit and switch'', ''hut stroke'', ''

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

switch'' or ''North American Touring Technique'', can be described as the paddling technique where one uses the switching of paddling sides to go straight or maneuver. The spoken command "Hut!" is sometimes used by the stern paddler to alert the person paddling the bow to switch sides, giving rise to the term "Hut stroke". This technique is intended to avoid correction strokes after the forward stroke to make a very high stroke frequency possible thus enabling paddling with high speeds for a long time. Maneuvers are generally performed by switching paddling sides (e.g., for a turn to the left, the solo/stern paddler paddles on the right side of the canoe and vice versa.) For this method, in certain situations, two tandem paddlers may paddle on the same side. This method is one of the fastest on flat water and mostly used by marathon canoeists in the US and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

References

{{Reflist Canoeing