Paddling silently

[Rob Stevens]

Here is Marc Ornstein's latest article on silent paddling, for wildlife observation and photography.
It complements his previous article on in-water recovery technique (link included);

Paddling to the Sounds of Silence – FreeStyle Canoeing

 

[Rob Stevens]

Marc has agreed to do a demo presentation at Assembly.

 

[JClearwater]

I hope a time is posted for his demo in the schedule because we'll never hear him coming!

 

[MGC]

I find this thread interesting simply because this is one of the basic strokes my father passed along to me when he was teaching me to paddle. It's a stroke that we use pretty much every time we paddle and not just for sneaking up on things. It's a very useful stroke for positioning, docking etc. and even more so if you are paddling solo.
I recall both of us using it to approach a massive bull moose as we entered into appropriately named Moose Bay via Moose Brook on Moosehead Lake.
It's not complicated. Simply keep your paddle in the water. On your return stroke turn it more or less 90 degrees and return the paddle to the forward position in your stroke. At that point you turn the blade again and then repeat. It's a bit more of a challenge for the stern person to do this quietly through their J.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

It's not complicated. Simply keep your paddle in the water. On your return stroke turn it more or less 90 degrees and return the paddle to the forward position in your stroke. At that point you turn the blade again and then repeat.

Perhaps you're saying this, but what Marc advocates and what is taught for in-water recoveries (or returns) is the palm roll, whereby the back face of the completed stroke becomes the power face of the next stroke. The palm roll is usually done right after the correction phase of the J stroke, but it also can be done during the in-water return and just before the catch of the next stroke. Marc writes about in-water recoveries here:

In-Water Recoveries – FreeStyle Canoeing

And here is a video of Ray Goodwin demonstrating the palm roll for the Indian stroke:

 

[MGC]

I am not aware that I am doing any "palm rolling" when I use that stroke.
After nearly 60 years using it, it's pretty instinctive. Just keep the blade in the water is about all there is to it.
To keep the blade from catching water on the return you will instinctively do what is required. I think that was the extent of what my father told me to do.
Learning to steer from the stern takes a bit of practice as does using this style while standing.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Yes, you can do an in-water return without palm rolling, and if you've been doing it that way for 60 years, I'm sure you're proficient with that technique and would have no particular reason to change what you're doing. When I write about technique, I'm usually focusing on newer paddlers.

That said, I started canoeing when I was eight and wasn't really focused on palm rolling until, just for fun, I took instructional at the 2009 Adirondack Freestyle Symposium taught by Tom MacKenzie and Marc Ornstein, among others, when I was 64. Since then, I've begun using palm rolling quite extensively, not just for silent Indian strokes, but for Canadian strokes, Northwoods strokes, and turning maneuvers such as what is called a Christie in freestyle lingo. I find that the palm roll is easier, more efficient and less stressful on my wrist and forearm for certain of these strokes and maneuvers.

 

[MGC]

That said, I started canoeing when I was eight and wasn't really focused on palm rolling until, just for fun, I took instructional at the 2009 Adirondack Freestyle Symposium taught by Tom MacKenzie and Marc Ornstein, among others, when I was 64. Since then, I've begun using palm rolling quite extensively, not just for silent Indian strokes, but for Canadian strokes, Northwoods strokes, and turning maneuvers such as what is called a Christie in freestyle lingo. I find that the palm roll is easier, more efficient and less stressful on my wrist and forearm for certain of these strokes and maneuvers.

Certainly, that is a superior introduction. My father, Louis Cyr, was simply a French Canadian who lived at Bossies Boarding House, worked in the paper mill, worked for the Maine Forest Service, guided on Moosehead and the Allagash before joining the military where he made a career. As he put it, he learned to fiddle and paddle from the native Americans who also lived at the boarding house. A palm roll was probably not part of his vocabulary.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

More importantly, can you use this to control the canoe while you are holding your fishing rod in your other hand?

 

[MGC]

This is perfect for trolling but not much else. If I am still fishing or casting and need to move/steer I generally end up holding the rod between my knees or laying it across the rails.
I've also spent what seems like a lifetime trying to train my wife to paddle us around while I fish. It's lead to some tense moments. She can't seem to consistently control the stern (where I am sitting) from the bow.