Thank you so much, Pete! As always, such valuable information to help us newbies. And of course, ones hoping to generally improve their paddling skills. Hope you have a wonderful week! As a side point. I received the merch! I look forward to rocking the shirt on the river. And of course, I know my kayak will eddy so much better just because I have a River Kings sticker on it. 😎👍🏼
One other really important consideration is your absolute position to the eddy. As a much wiser boater than me once said, "you aren't in the eddy until your (behind) is in the eddy." Your center of gravity has to be across the line before you are actually in the eddy. This made me really consider how and when I was dropping my edge going into eddies. A lot of newer paddlers think that they are in the eddy when the front of their boat is in it, when the reality is that they are still almost fully in the current.
On the missing the top of the eddy point ("not high enough") another factor is that the beginner doesn't appreciate that the main flow will be speeding up as it 'races' past the restriction ('rock'), so they get washed down stream much sooner than they expect. They should, essentially, be aiming for the top of the rock (rather than the bottom of the rock) in the expectation of that last moment rush of the flow which will place their bow neatly into the top of the eddy. The joy of the algorithm - the gift that keeps on giving - Great work!
Yep, #5! I say to folks they should be a boat length away (sideways distance) from the eddy as they come down the river (remembering these are folks learning on an easy broad stream/river), so that they can 'attack' at a 45 degree angle to really hit and cross the eddy line right at the top of the eddy. The other aspect is getting folks confident with a bow rudder to cover that dynamic balance as they turn rapidly. It's real fun in a canoe (Canadian) as well ;-)
@@RiverKingsKayak Extra one for the edging, I now teach 'buttock posture' even at the very beginner level. By simply sitting on one buttock, left and right, like on a bar stool, the student gets to edge the boat rather than leaning, and can see how the opposing knee starts to come up and hence what the 'raise the knee' is all about (it's the posture that matters, not bruising the knee;-). Teaching it that way completely avoids the need for any scary dynamics...
Absolutely magnificent!!!! 😀 Pete since I started watching the videos and listening to you just over a year ago I’ve went from paddling basically flat water to comfortably paddling grade 3/4. I can only thank you for passing on your knowledge of w/w kayaking 😁😁🤙👌👍🙏
All great pointers. It's wild how a packraft can glide right over an eddy line seam, and almost float into that slack water. I've been pushing myself to edge more into the slack and use the paddle to anchor in the water and it helps me stay high up in there.
@@RiverKingsKayak Very well! Getting a roll down in the pool is one of the best feelings ever Once I can get it reliably on my left and right sides, I'll be taking the wavesport ACE to an easy river. Still love my packraft, but this boat is really helping me learn the power of edging.
These are great reminders Pete! One thing I would like to see are any tips on catching micro eddies or must make eddies? I also see new paddlers nervous, so I say paddle with intention, meaning plan ahead what you're going to do.
Speed and edging were the things that tripped me up when learning. You got to be comfortable on edge to properly catch eddies. Paddling flat isn't going to work out well. If I had to a "do-over" I would find a safe place to practice edging over and over and over again.
I like catching eddies more than surfing. Pete you are right on, cannot be lazy about getting in the Eddie, and the funnest Eddie’s to catch are always the the ones you try to avoid. Got two great boofs yesterday using that good boof stroke as well! Use the river to your advantage, best part of paddling.
I find it helpful to think about cross-current momentum when catching eddies. That is to say, you need more speed moving laterally across the current, and ultimately the eddy line, than speed moving down stream. A lot of boaters will miss or fade out of an eddy, simply because they did not carry enough cross-current momentum to punch through the eddy line; they then, instead, simply "bounce" off the eddy line. These 5 mistakes are about not creating enough cross current momentum to get across the eddy line. As soon as you target an eddy you want to catch, you need to be building that cross-current momentum. Just before the eddy is too late. Good job with this Pete!
Bow draw is easier to say and remember. But in doing the stroke properly, you are looking back over your shoulder(of the lower arm) to let your body rotation assist in the rotation of the kayak into the eddy into the eddy As a trained engineer I learned a lot about kayaking by applying physics theory to the actions and reactions. The pro's of the duffek are 1) Uses the down river current to push the stern into the eddy, 2) It allows the paddler to come into the eddy at the top and STOP, not drift across the eddy, possibly into trouble on the other side, 3) I always thought it kept me in control of the kayak. I'm not sure how it would expose yo0u to injury, as there is no potential for extraordinary force on your top hand. I hope you didn't get that misinformation from ACA. I enjoy your videos and river selection.
Thanks, Pete. Another great video. I just finished a three-day class II trip and got my first two combat rolls. I had no idea I was ready but when the time came I gave it a shot and it worked!
Thanks Pete! You called out all my noob mistakes. Going out in my Remix today to practice on my Eddy skills. Your videos have been a great supplement to on water instruction and I have shared your channel with my fellow classmates. Would also love to see an updated video on good beginner boats/paddles and their pros and cons for those starting out. 😀
Hey Solo! I see you are really all about that duffek stroke! The duffek as I learned it had the non power hand up over the head and the power arm outstretched to the side and is actually a race move that gives slalom racers an incredible leverage but leaves a paddler exposed to injury....is that how you learned it? The more common non-race application of this stroke is what we now call a bow draw. There is definitely a time and place for it for sure. However, if I am making a video for beginners on how to catch Eddies, I want to focus more on getting them to achieve proper boat placement, angle, attitude and speed. This way they will break through the eddy line and into the eddy in the first place instead of focussing on what already comes natural to a paddler and that is to try to turn the boat. Usually they will turn the boat too soon without the other mentioned attributes in place and simply bounce of the eddy wall or simply float past the eddy. Here is an article written about this very subject... www.endlessriveradventures.com/2019/05/05/a-sad-lament-for-kayakers-using-the-bow-draw/
@@RiverKingsKayak (Not mine. Douglasls Adams'. From the book "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detection Agency," (or maybe its sequel) which is not at all like the tv show. Better. Waaay better.)
Angle and speed perpendicular to the current were busted in nearly every example. The boof stroke and pivot stroke discussion can probably be handled after correcting angle, speed and edging.
yeah, I kind of alluded to that before I got into things. while the angle shouldn't be truly perpendicular to the current, having some cross-current drive is a must.
I like the common mistakes shorts, complimented by your earlier ‘How to catch Eddies’ video. Do you think newbie paddlers are reluctant to lean/edge upstream when crossing the eddie line?
Thanks macfawlty! I think most newbies try desperately not to lean or edge in any direction! Flat is their happy space, and what leads to the problems!
@@RiverKingsKayak Some really good points in the video, although I disagree regarding edging. It's often desirable, particularly with strong and wide eddy lines to keep the boat hull flat as you cross them. This also goes for smaller eddy lines as well. In fact, edging is optional if you know what you're doing. Having the skill to be able to edge or not edge as you enter the eddy, or edge just a little allows you to be in control. Why would you keep it flat? Well, an example is if you're on a river with a must make eddy that is quite small. I've been on rivers where you really need to drive into the eddy and up to the bank to get out and make way for buddies to get in as well and an edged eddy turn would slow things down or cause an obstruction. If you edge a little bit downstream as you approach the eddy line (another mistake beginners make is to pre-edge upstream, which catches current and makes it harder for them to stay on line), place a power stroke on the downstream side right on the eddy line, flattening your boat off as you cross it, then immediately put another power stroke in on the upstream side. This second power stroke is extremely important because it can be turned immediately into a stern squeeze, controlling the carving arc if you want to edge, or to make the boat go straight towards the bank if you want to keep it flat. You can make the eddy turn as tight or as wide as you like using this method. If you want to keep the turn tight it means you can keep momentum if you want to immediately paddle back out of the eddy. So in short, beginners keeping the boat flat isn't the problem. Instead it's that they haven't been taught those all important key strokes plus stern squeeze.
Nice one - recognize many things that happen to me in there, but I start to know/feel many of the mistakes right after the eddy(attempt). How tight should you be wedged in on the hips, seen the analogy of "ski boot tight", tried to go more narrow, felt good on my latest hip snap practice session? BTW, tried to send you a mail about sending stickers, fear it was classified as spam :( (sorry, I don't use Facebook)
I like the hip pads pretty tight, but not too tight that it causes the legs to go numb etc... Oh no! I will look through the email folders to see if it is in there.
Im trying to follow you here. So what do you think is going to happen to a new paddler when they start spinning into the Eddy without edging their boat?
Thank you so much, Pete!
As always, such valuable information to help us newbies. And of course, ones hoping to generally improve their paddling skills.
Hope you have a wonderful week!
As a side point. I received the merch! I look forward to rocking the shirt on the river. And of course, I know my kayak will eddy so much better just because I have a River Kings sticker on it. 😎👍🏼
Right on AE & M!
One other really important consideration is your absolute position to the eddy. As a much wiser boater than me once said, "you aren't in the eddy until your (behind) is in the eddy." Your center of gravity has to be across the line before you are actually in the eddy. This made me really consider how and when I was dropping my edge going into eddies. A lot of newer paddlers think that they are in the eddy when the front of their boat is in it, when the reality is that they are still almost fully in the current.
On point!
On the missing the top of the eddy point ("not high enough") another factor is that the beginner doesn't appreciate that the main flow will be speeding up as it 'races' past the restriction ('rock'), so they get washed down stream much sooner than they expect.
They should, essentially, be aiming for the top of the rock (rather than the bottom of the rock) in the expectation of that last moment rush of the flow which will place their bow neatly into the top of the eddy.
The joy of the algorithm - the gift that keeps on giving - Great work!
Thanks Philip!
Yep, #5!
I say to folks they should be a boat length away (sideways distance) from the eddy as they come down the river (remembering these are folks learning on an easy broad stream/river), so that they can 'attack' at a 45 degree angle to really hit and cross the eddy line right at the top of the eddy.
The other aspect is getting folks confident with a bow rudder to cover that dynamic balance as they turn rapidly.
It's real fun in a canoe (Canadian) as well ;-)
Right on Philip!
@@RiverKingsKayak Extra one for the edging, I now teach 'buttock posture' even at the very beginner level.
By simply sitting on one buttock, left and right, like on a bar stool, the student gets to edge the boat rather than leaning, and can see how the opposing knee starts to come up and hence what the 'raise the knee' is all about (it's the posture that matters, not bruising the knee;-).
Teaching it that way completely avoids the need for any scary dynamics...
Absolutely magnificent!!!! 😀 Pete since I started watching the videos and listening to you just over a year ago I’ve went from paddling basically flat water to comfortably paddling grade 3/4. I can only thank you for passing on your knowledge of w/w kayaking 😁😁🤙👌👍🙏
Thats what it is all about James!!!
All great pointers. It's wild how a packraft can glide right over an eddy line seam, and almost float into that slack water. I've been pushing myself to edge more into the slack and use the paddle to anchor in the water and it helps me stay high up in there.
Right on! How is the hardshell working out?
@@RiverKingsKayak Very well! Getting a roll down in the pool is one of the best feelings ever Once I can get it reliably on my left and right sides, I'll be taking the wavesport ACE to an easy river. Still love my packraft, but this boat is really helping me learn the power of edging.
These are great reminders Pete! One thing I would like to see are any tips on catching micro eddies or must make eddies?
I also see new paddlers nervous, so I say paddle with intention, meaning plan ahead what you're going to do.
Indeed trifilmer!
Speed and edging were the things that tripped me up when learning. You got to be comfortable on edge to properly catch eddies. Paddling flat isn't going to work out well. If I had to a "do-over" I would find a safe place to practice edging over and over and over again.
Thats right!!
I like catching eddies more than surfing. Pete you are right on, cannot be lazy about getting in the Eddie, and the funnest Eddie’s to catch are always the the ones you try to avoid.
Got two great boofs yesterday using that good boof stroke as well! Use the river to your advantage, best part of paddling.
Right on Troy!!
I find it helpful to think about cross-current momentum when catching eddies. That is to say, you need more speed moving laterally across the current, and ultimately the eddy line, than speed moving down stream. A lot of boaters will miss or fade out of an eddy, simply because they did not carry enough cross-current momentum to punch through the eddy line; they then, instead, simply "bounce" off the eddy line. These 5 mistakes are about not creating enough cross current momentum to get across the eddy line. As soon as you target an eddy you want to catch, you need to be building that cross-current momentum. Just before the eddy is too late.
Good job with this Pete!
Yes!
Bow draw is easier to say and remember. But in doing the stroke properly, you are looking back over your shoulder(of the lower arm) to let your body rotation assist in the rotation of the kayak into the eddy into the eddy As a trained engineer I learned a lot about kayaking by applying physics theory to the actions and reactions. The pro's of the duffek are 1) Uses the down river current to push the stern into the eddy, 2) It allows the paddler to come into the eddy at the top and STOP, not drift across the eddy, possibly into trouble on the other side, 3) I always thought it kept me in control of the kayak. I'm not sure how it would expose yo0u to injury, as there is no potential for extraordinary force on your top hand. I hope you didn't get that misinformation from ACA. I enjoy your videos and river selection.
Right on Solo!
Thanks, Pete. Another great video. I just finished a three-day class II trip and got my first two combat rolls. I had no idea I was ready but when the time came I gave it a shot and it worked!
Thats what Im talking about!!! Right on GLM!
Thanks Pete! You called out all my noob mistakes. Going out in my Remix today to practice on my Eddy skills. Your videos have been a great supplement to on water instruction and I have shared your channel with my fellow classmates. Would also love to see an updated video on good beginner boats/paddles and their pros and cons for those starting out. 😀
Thanks Nikki!! Sounds like I need to make a video!
I think that pivot stroke use to be called a duffek! Not self taught, but better learned in an organized instruction enviroment.
Hey Solo! I see you are really all about that duffek stroke! The duffek as I learned it had the non power hand up over the head and the power arm outstretched to the side and is actually a race move that gives slalom racers an incredible leverage but leaves a paddler exposed to injury....is that how you learned it? The more common non-race application of this stroke is what we now call a bow draw. There is definitely a time and place for it for sure. However, if I am making a video for beginners on how to catch Eddies, I want to focus more on getting them to achieve proper boat placement, angle, attitude and speed. This way they will break through the eddy line and into the eddy in the first place instead of focussing on what already comes natural to a paddler and that is to try to turn the boat. Usually they will turn the boat too soon without the other mentioned attributes in place and simply bounce of the eddy wall or simply float past the eddy. Here is an article written about this very subject...
www.endlessriveradventures.com/2019/05/05/a-sad-lament-for-kayakers-using-the-bow-draw/
Very Informative thanks pete!
Thanks Brian!
"Eddies in the space-time continuum."
"Is he?"
LOL
@@RiverKingsKayak (Not mine. Douglasls Adams'. From the book "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detection Agency," (or maybe its sequel) which is not at all like the tv show. Better. Waaay better.)
Thankyou AGAIN!!
You bet DO!
Boom I made a RK video.
You know it Shane!!
Angle and speed perpendicular to the current were busted in nearly every example. The boof stroke and pivot stroke discussion can probably be handled after correcting angle, speed and edging.
yeah, I kind of alluded to that before I got into things. while the angle shouldn't be truly perpendicular to the current, having some cross-current drive is a must.
oops, I'm 5 for 5 ....thx for the lesson(s)
he he! LOL
Great ❤
Thanks!
Good stuff, Pete!!
Thanks Dan!!
Good info as usual!
Thanks Shannon!
I like the common mistakes shorts, complimented by your earlier ‘How to catch Eddies’ video. Do you think newbie paddlers are reluctant to lean/edge upstream when crossing the eddie line?
Thanks macfawlty! I think most newbies try desperately not to lean or edge in any direction! Flat is their happy space, and what leads to the problems!
@@RiverKingsKayak Some really good points in the video, although I disagree regarding edging. It's often desirable, particularly with strong and wide eddy lines to keep the boat hull flat as you cross them. This also goes for smaller eddy lines as well. In fact, edging is optional if you know what you're doing. Having the skill to be able to edge or not edge as you enter the eddy, or edge just a little allows you to be in control. Why would you keep it flat? Well, an example is if you're on a river with a must make eddy that is quite small. I've been on rivers where you really need to drive into the eddy and up to the bank to get out and make way for buddies to get in as well and an edged eddy turn would slow things down or cause an obstruction.
If you edge a little bit downstream as you approach the eddy line (another mistake beginners make is to pre-edge upstream, which catches current and makes it harder for them to stay on line), place a power stroke on the downstream side right on the eddy line, flattening your boat off as you cross it, then immediately put another power stroke in on the upstream side. This second power stroke is extremely important because it can be turned immediately into a stern squeeze, controlling the carving arc if you want to edge, or to make the boat go straight towards the bank if you want to keep it flat. You can make the eddy turn as tight or as wide as you like using this method. If you want to keep the turn tight it means you can keep momentum if you want to immediately paddle back out of the eddy.
So in short, beginners keeping the boat flat isn't the problem. Instead it's that they haven't been taught those all important key strokes plus stern squeeze.
@@simonwyndhamI think you forget this is for beginners
Hi Pete, cracking video as ever but could you send me the links to the invisible videos at 0.26 sec and 0.36 secs 😁
Cheers
Graeme
Hey Graeme! just click the info card pop up link on the top right of the screen!
@@RiverKingsKayakHaha, I I must get that eye test appointment booked 😂
@@gw6797 lol!!
Nice one - recognize many things that happen to me in there, but I start to know/feel many of the mistakes right after the eddy(attempt).
How tight should you be wedged in on the hips, seen the analogy of "ski boot tight", tried to go more narrow, felt good on my latest hip snap practice session?
BTW, tried to send you a mail about sending stickers, fear it was classified as spam :(
(sorry, I don't use Facebook)
I like the hip pads pretty tight, but not too tight that it causes the legs to go numb etc...
Oh no! I will look through the email folders to see if it is in there.
👋😎👍
Ugh I gotta stop connecting to my Xbox through my phone...can't engage in the live chat when I do
Right on Jason!
@@RiverKingsKayak also got my merch, wore a piece on the maiden voyage of my new yak on Saturday!
You absolutely do not need edge to catch an eddy that is a crutch for not having your boat angle correct coming into it
Im trying to follow you here. So what do you think is going to happen to a new paddler when they start spinning into the Eddy without edging their boat?