The Canoe Roll
The paddling season has just finished for most of us. Time to pull out the videos and enjoy viewing the highlights on the river! And you notice that maybe you should practice your roll technique a little more.
Well luckily pool sessions are likely beginning soon and what an opportunity to practice in a controlled area!
Below is an article on how to execute a canoe roll. Grab a hot beverage of choice and read on….
Having a strong canoe roll increases your confidence to try more challenging moves on the river knowing you can independently recover from a capsize.
The Step and Flipper (Modified Low Brace Roll)
The roll begins with a setup position that protects the body from hazards in the water, followed by a sweeping motion with your paddle during which your legs step up the canoe on its side. The roll is completed with a brace-like stroke called the flipper that pushes the body back into the upright canoe. The following is a break-down of the individual steps.
Set Up
Flipping upside down can be both disorienting, and risky as you might strike the river bottom. A standard set up position ensures you are protected when your world turns upside down.
To set up, tuck forward and place your paddle along the offside of the canoe to protect both you and your blade from being pulled out of position by the current.
As soon as you feel yourself falling into the drink, tuck your paddle along the off-side of the canoe and tuck your body down to the airbag.
Step
After the set-up, the canoe needs to be tilted, or stepped onto its side.
First, swing your body out perpendicular to the canoe with your paddle skimming the surface of the water. Finish with your shoulders nearly flat on the surface and your paddle parallel to your shoulders
Next, use a leg action similar to stepping up a set of stairs. This stepping motion extends your offside leg and pulls up your onside leg to tilt the canoe on its side.
The key here is to get the canoe on its side, your shoulders flat on the water and paddle held parallel with the shoulders.
Flipper
With the canoe now half way up, use the flipper stroke along with a torso twist to rotate your body over the canoe.
Align the paddle parallel with the shoulders and follow the body movement into the canoe. Begin the stroke with the t grip extended downward, then pull it forcefully upward making the blade act as a strong flipper. This provides resistance against the water to help push you back into the canoe.
Keep your legs locked from the step phase by maintaining knee pressure on your outfitting.
A rigid core locks the upper body and legs. Crunch the abdominals at the same time as the flipper to bring the body back into the boat. Now, sit upright ready to paddle forward.
Stroke
The final move for the roll is to center yourself over the midline of the canoe ready with a powerful forward stroke for stability.
Plus, a forward stroke, in addition to adding stability, also moves you where you need to go next.
Offside Roll
The onside roll is just half the story, next let’s look at the offside roll – just in case..
The trick here is to move yourself and your paddle from the offside to the onside while under water. One method is to try and throw yourself to the offside once you know the game is up. Literally throw yourself into the movement and use momentum to carry you beneath the canoe over to your onside, so you can roll up normally.
Sometimes the buoyancy of your lifejacket may put the brakes on the off-side role. If this happens, use your paddle to reach underwater to your onside and scoop to pull yourself around under the canoe
To do a scoop stroke, start the paddle blade pointing at the bow and pull your head around and under the canoe to your onside. Recover the blade by slicing it back to your onside and complete the roll to right the canoe.
Troubleshooting
No one’s roll is 100%, so here are 2 common mistakes to help you troubleshoot a missed roll.
First, after the flipper you may fall back over. Often, when you perform the flipper your legs relax. If you are not purposely pushing your offside leg away, and lifting with your onside leg, your canoe roll will flop back upside down.
The solution; once the canoe is on its side, lock your core and legs so your body movement continues to right the canoe.
The second common problem is not lowering your grip hand for the flipper stroke. Without it, the stroke has no “push”.
The solution; focus on lowering your grip hand to give you the stroke range to pull up on the handle to develop the propulsion needed to “push” you back into the canoe.
Having a reliable canoe roll is one of the building blocks that opens doors to tackling more challenging moves.
Click on the link below to view our video on Rolling a Canoe: