This episode of Paddle TV is brought to you by the ACA—improving the paddlesports
experience for over a century. Learn more at American canoe dot org
When an experienced pair of tandem canoeing paddlers are working together, it can
almost look effortless. On the other hand, when the two paddlers of a tandem are
out of sync with each other, it can be a challenging and sometimes frustrating
exercise, which could lead to an unexpected capsize. And so in this video,
we're gonna look at how to work together as a team to make your tandem canoe trip
memorable for the right reasons. The first thing you need to decide is who
will sit where. As a general rule, the most experienced and competent person
should be in the stern, as they have the most control over the canoe and that's
where most of the turns are initiated from. Although the bow paddler has
less control of the canoe, they still play a key role in setting the paddling
pace, providing propulsion and helping make adjustments for any turns or
maneuvers being performed. Now that you know who will sit where, there are a few
different ways to get into a canoe as a tandem pair. Whether you're launching
from a dock or the shore, you'll get into the canoe one at a time while the other
person stabilizes the boat. If you're launching from shore, position the canoe
bow first out into the water. The stern person can stabilize the canoe as the
bow person enters from the stern and walks to the bow, keeping their weight
low and centered in the canoe. Once they're in place and ready, the stern
paddler can step into the canoe and assume their position while the bow
paddler keeps the boat as steady as possible.
When it comes to paddling, the biggest challenge for tandem canoeing is that
the bow paddler can't see what the stern paddler is doing, and that's why it's
important that you have good communication between each other. This is
also why the bow paddler sets the pace and the stern paddler does their best to
match that pace, because paddling in unison and working as a team allows the
canoe to travel the most smoothly and efficiently through the water. Working as
a team is also important if you ever find yourself needing to re-enter
your canoe in the case of an unexpected capsize. There are a few different ways
to do so, but it'll be much easier if you have another canoe around to help out.
That's why it's a good idea to paddle with others, it makes a rescue situation
so much easier to handle. With that being said, if you do capsize take a moment to
check in with your partner make sure they're okay and collect any gear that's
close at hand, especially the paddles. If the canoe is
upside-down, the first order of business is flipping it upright. Assuming there's
another canoe on hand to assist, the canoe-over-canoe rescue is the best
option. This rescue involves having the rescue
boat drag the upside-down canoe across their canoe to empty out the water
before flipping it back upright.
The rescue boat can then stabilize the canoe while the swimmers re-enter from
the side one at a time. If there isn't another canoe around to help, then
re-entering your canoe from the water is going to be much more challenging, and so
you need to practice before you head out on the water, or you have to stay close
enough to shore so that if you do end up capsizing you can confidently swim your
gear and yourselves to shore. That being said, to upright a flipped canoe
from the water, both paddlers should position themselves on the same side of
the canoe, grab the closest edge by the gunnels and lift and flip the canoe
upright, getting as much of the water out as possible. While you do so, you'll then
move to opposite sides of the canoe alongside the appropriate seat. With a
firm grip on the gunnels and your legs out on the surface behind, you you'll
count to three and in unison use a strong kick of the legs and pull with
the arms to get your bodies over the gunnels and into the canoe. The trick is
doing it together so that one person doesn't pull the canoe back upside down.
Well, I hope you found this video helpful and if you did enjoy it, please subscribe
to our Paddle TV YouTube channel and stay tuned for lots more canoeing tips and tricks.