Double kayak operation skills

2022-06-16

The main difficulty in double kayaking is coordination. In the case of full communication, there are 2 basic points to master:
1. The people behind control the bigger picture
The person at the front controls the frequency. The person sitting at the back should control the direction of the kayak and make fine adjustments to the direction at any time (you can use the rudder of the kayak, sweep the paddle, etc. But in order not to affect the speed, it is recommended to use the paddle sweep technique). The frequency is controlled by the person in front.
Therefore, the person sitting in the back cannot urge or complain about the person in front (this is often the core problem encountered by tandem kayaks. The person in the back feels that the person in front is too slow or lazy, and the person in front is constantly You suspect that the latter is lazy), but adjust your rowing rhythm according to the rhythm of the rowing in front.
The only requirement for the person in front is that they must row alternately left and right, and don’t see the wrong direction, just click left and right a few times. In this way, the rowers at the back cannot cooperate, and it is easy to stroke the paddle, And, the more you draw, the more chaotic it gets.
The front rowers should keep in mind that it is your responsibility to maintain the rhythm and alternate left and right, other directional adjustments should be repeated in detail for the rear rowers.
2. Control of direction
Steering is a major cause of confusion in rowing for many tandem kayaks.
This is a technical problem. There are many ways to control the direction of a single-person kayak, but there are generally three effective control directions for a double-person kayak: center of gravity adjustment control; stern rudder control; paddle sweep control.
The center of gravity adjustment and control direction requires the cooperation of 2 people. If the direction shifts to the left, it needs to be adjusted to the right. In this case, the 2 people shift the center of gravity to the left at the same time, and at the same time paddle the left normally, the kayak will naturally move to the right adjusted.
The advantage of this method is that it is simple. There is no need to disrupt the rhythm at all, and the small obstacles that appear in front can be bypassed by adjusting the center of gravity 1-2 times.
The stern rudder of a kayak is simpler and is controlled by the rear paddler alone. It is desirable to steer there, and to place the paddle behind the boat over there to form a rudder.
It should be noted that when the paddle is put in, the rear hand needs to be straightened, and the paddle page is placed at a right angle.
This method is also very practical and effective for deviation correction. But the disadvantage is that it will slow down the speed.
Sweeping paddle control can be operated by two people together or by one person.

In short, tandem kayaking requires more communication and trust between 2 paddlers. At the same time, it also requires more practice on some basic techniques. I believe you will succeed!




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