Canoe Demo 2001
by Sharon Lapham
LaurenceLapham@aol.com

On August first, the SWRA hosted a canoe handling demonstration at Pomps Pond in Andover.   Bob Rauseo, Ken Duran, Jack Brady and Bob Katz and his wife presented the material.

Bob, Ken and Jack guided the audience of around twenty people through a basic understanding of the boat, its components and terminology, proper seating for one person vs two, getting in and out of the boat, paddle variations and uses, and the all-important PFD (personal flotation device or "lifejacket") and its proper fit and use.

Ken gave a concise stand-up demo of the basic paddle strokes; J-stroke, Draw, Sweep, and Hourglass as well as some commonly seen variations that are less efficient (stroke & drag etc.). He also showed us how to carry the boat to and from the car correctly using the center thwart.

The guys then got aboard and paddled out to demo the "Titanic," that inevitable event that will befall us all if we do enough canoeing, a double "swamp and flop."  They rolled out and swamped two boats at "over their head" depth then proceeded to walk us through the steps of using one canoe as a fulcrum while drawing the other perpendicularly across it, like a see-saw, while rolling the water out of it, then after showing us how to re-enter the canoe from the water (remember to reach all the way across to the opposite gunwale when pulling yourself up) reversing the procedure with the other boat using the now dry (and slightly higher and more difficult to "mount") first boat as the fulcrum.

Bob Katz and his wife then gave a demonstration of tandem freestyle paddling, which uses precision timing and coordination to produce maximally efficient, graceful maneuvers. Bob also gave a demo of solo freestyle in his sleek one-person wooden "air and water" canoe.

The demo was well received by an enthusiastic audience. It was an eye opener to many.

Many thanks to all the brave paddlers of the SWRA.