FOREST AND STREAM 
1042 
Photo by Pathe’s Weekly 
A Veteran Four. 
minds this is theoretically right 
but in reality is wrong as experi¬ 
ence has shown many that have 
graduated from the realm of the¬ 
ory. Get the regular crew out in 
the right canoe and take good 
long “hikes” against the current 
and you will be on edge but not 
too fine at all times. 
Let us pick a quad crew. The 
“fours” are by far the prettiest 
races of a regatta. Coming down 
the course, they resemble the 
graceful rush of a flock of ducks 
as they trip along the surface of 
the water just before flying. Four 
well trained men make a fine nu¬ 
cleus for a war canoe crew, as¬ 
sure two good tandem crews and 
at least two fine individual pad- 
dlers that a club can depend on 
to score many points in a regatta. 
The crews, both in single blades 
and double blades, ought to be 
regular fours in order to get as 
used to each other as possible. If 
there are several good men trying, 
they should be given a steady po¬ 
sition in the crew they are best 
fitted for and allowed to substi¬ 
tute in the other style whenever 
possible. Especially in the single 
blade crew, there should be sub¬ 
stitute paddlers for each side of 
the boat. In both crews the men awarded the 
positions of stroke and stern should remain there 
throughout the season, if possible. Both of these 
positions break about even in importance. The 
stroke or bow man should be a natural paddler, 
steady in the boat, fearless, regular in practise 
and one that paddles so well that the others will 
naturally follow his stroke and work. It is quite 
necessary to have the stroke man a left side pad¬ 
dler as this brings the fourth or stern man on 
the right side for the reason that there have sel¬ 
dom been stern men that were anything but fair 
on the left side. So much depends on the clever 
work of stern men that it is best to have them in 
the most natural position to paddle in an angle 
that seems to be the right side. It is up to the 
stern man to keep a straight course that wins 
races, to prevent collisions with the crews to 
right and left of him, to guard against shifting 
of the canoe in its course due to currents, wind, 
waves and the possibility of one side of the crew 
paddling stronger than the other side. I have 
often seen a good crew lose a race by the stern 
man knocking down his mates through bad steer¬ 
ing and altogether poor work. He will find that 
by using the outward turn of the blade at the end 
every other stroke, letting the water run off the 
blade at a slight angle, he will keep a canoe on 
a straight course and also get in his full amount 
of work in pulling water. Some stern men are 
too powerful. At times, I have seen them delib¬ 
erately hold their blade for three or four strokes 
to get the canoe back on its course and then with 
mighty strokes try to make up for lost time. This 
is the “get there anyway” plan and does not as¬ 
sure consistent work, no matter how good the 
crew may be. I wish I could emphasize the full 
importance of No. 2 man after having spoken of 
the stroke and stern men before him. Having 
the stroke on the left side also brings the No. 2 
paddler on the right and natural side. No. 2 
paddler is the stroke of his side of the canoe but 
he must work in unison with the bow paddler. 
If he does, the stern man will also be in stroke 
and the whole crew will work like a machine for 
the back paddlers always follow those in front 
of them. If No. 2 paddler is not working like 
a machine with the stroke man, the sloppiest 
paddling will result that one could ever imagine. 
So this brings me to the axiom of team paddling, 
when both sides are in stroke the canoe will be 
steady and when the canoe is steady both sides 
will be in stroke. 'When a crew is found rejoic¬ 
ing over a steady boat, watch out, for they are 
on their way to win many races. Wherefor it 
is to be seen that in a great measure, success lies 
in the fact that the No. 2 man be a machine-like 
driving paddler. Fourth and last, but not of the 
least importance, is the No. 3 position. This place 
can best be filled with a man a little heavier than 
the rest of the crew. Weight in this part of the 
craft gives balance and stability and lends, a plan¬ 
ing disposition to the canoe when travelling at 
high speed. This position .can also be given to 
the man with “brute strength,”—the carry through 
man. Or if there is plenty of competition for a 
place in the crew, this place can be made an ob¬ 
jective point and the fellow that makes it will 
work hard to stay there. Substitutes should be 
given trials in all parts of the boat for the obvi¬ 
ous reason that we never know what may hap¬ 
pen. It is advisable to have the 
captain in the crew plan practise 
and races, choose courses and set¬ 
tle disputes with opposing crews. 
The actual selecting and directing 
of men can best be done by a very 
interested person ' or committee 
not in the crew. 
The correct position and bal¬ 
ance of the paddlers in the canoe 
is very important. Most of the 
canoes sent down from Canada 
have the thwarts in the wrong 
place and, if left that way, greatly 
hinder the paddlers from taking 
the correct position in the canoe 
with a view toward the proper 
working distance from each other 
and the proper level of the canoe 
in the water. The thwarts should 
be specified as follows: first 
thwart placed 70 in. from the tip 
of the prow to the center of the 
thwart and each succeeding thwart 
41 in. apart from center to center. 
In single blades, the men half 
kneel directly in front of the 
thwarts so placed, each braced in 
a tripod position; the knee on the 
side that that man is paddling on, 
is placed in the center of the floor 
board where that man is and is 
cushioned from the board by a 
small pad. The back foot should 
come on the opposite floor board and as near its 
center as possible. The ball of the foot is braced 
against foot blocks, provided by the manufac¬ 
turer and screwed to the floor board wherever 
needed. Some men prefer to lock the back leg 
under the thwart and still others like a strap to 
hold down the back foot good and solid. Any of 
these methods are all right and none are dan¬ 
gerous. The stern man has his troubles as he 
kneels in the narrowest part of the canoe and 
has to have his back foot, knee and front foot 
nearly on a line which tends to make him un¬ 
steady. His back foot block must be of substan¬ 
tial size and screwed down to the keelson. His 
0 
" Sugar Island ” blade . A<yod Single Made )pr racing- 
Seai* Jf-or 15oobie Blade 
Worfc 
J> 
A poor style op blade ^0r racing 
Cushion, with slanting 
bottom por smgle blade 
fixicl< poot block 
por ■single Made paddlers 
wor k . 
Spliced double blades are best gor racinj" 
A grail and umcertam style og. double blade 
^-or racing*. 
