FOREST AND STREAM 
1043 
Photo by Dan Gutsel 
A Junior Crew-One Year Out and Going Fine. 
Iknee pad can be a trifle larger than the others 
and if made of canvas, stuffed with cork shav¬ 
ings and designed with a slant bottom to fit the 
shape of the canoe, the top will lie flat and com¬ 
fortable. There is a trick in placing the front 
foot. If this is placed pigeon toed fashion right 
across the center of the canoe, it will be found 
that the heel and toe give two points of support, 
making in all a four' point support instead of 
three as a tripod suggests. Try this and notice 
how steady the leg is as opposed to the unsteadi¬ 
ness resulting when the foot is placed nearer to 
being parallel with the keel. A light corrugated 
rubber sheet, six inches by twelve inches, tacked 
•down to the floor boards will prevent the front 
foot from slipping out of position. 
A good many styles of stroke for single blade 
■crews have been worked out and most of them 
exploded. But the one that seems to have stood 
the test the longest and looks as though it will 
last is that which is known as the “Push and 
Pull”; both arms working simultaneously. With 
the body poised and balanced directly over the 
center of the canoe (no hanging over the sides 
or leaning forward) and the backs in a straight 
line, grip the paddle with the hands about thirty 
inches apart even though the lower hand is well 
up the shaft, reach out with the lower arm full 
length and with the shoulder slightly turned to 
add to the reach, the upper hand on a line with 
the shoulder and about eight inches forward, drop 
the paddle cleanly into the water, pull back with 
the lower arm and push forward and downward 
with the upper arm simultaneously finishing the 
stroke with the lower hand just a trifle back of 
the hip. The pivoting should be done between 
the shoulders, throwing the full strength and 
weight of the shoulders into the stroke. Other¬ 
wise the body must be steady and rigid. Any 
body movements check the momentum of the 
boat which lowers its speed. The recovery must 
not be too rapid. Take the blade out of the water 
without lifting a wave, feather the air if possible 
and the water if necessary until the arms are in 
position for another stroke. Never bat the water 
on the start of the stroke as this “jumps” the 
canoe. Drop the blade in so that all of it is 
working and fully under water. All of the “push 
and pull” stroke comes in front of the body. 
Just as soon as the paddle begins to slant behind 
the paddler, the power begins to wane. The best 
purchase on the water can be found as close to 
the hull as it is possible to paddle and still keep 
the weight of the body in the center of the canoe. 
The reason for having the paddle no taller than 
to the paddler’s eyes is shown in the fact that far 
more power is applied by pushing straight from 
the shoulder instead of upward on a slant. A 
great many paddlers make the mistake of letting 
the upper arm simply carry one end of the paddle 
instead of making it do half the work required. 
The “push and pull” stroke is a fairly long and 
slow stroke when worked properly and really 
assures more uniform work than any other 
known stroke. The same method of stroke ap¬ 
plies to the double blades, except that the stroke 
alternates from one side to the other with the 
crew seated on little box-like seats about six 
inches above the keelson. 
The distances paddled in canoe races are most¬ 
ly at one-half mile with some at one mile and a 
very few at the quarter mile. The most success¬ 
ful crews practise overHdxe mile -and two mile 
course and even take jaunts for five miles with¬ 
out stopping. When the crews take the water, 
it is best to take short cruises until all the lame¬ 
ness is out of the men and then gradually work 
up to fast practise over the mile course. The 
crew that is on the mark for a half mile race and 
is set for the mile will paddle a hard, fast race 
all the way whereas the crew that practises over 
the half mile course for the race of the same dis¬ 
tance will be a sorry sight before the finish is 
reached. This has proven so hundreds of times. 
Furthermore, the practising over the longer 
courses will better prepare the men to compete 
in a number of races in the one day. 
Getting away at the start is a feature of the 
successful crew’s work. Like styles of stroke, 
there have been a good many theories as to starts. 
Here is one that has proven its being worth 
while. On hearing the word “Go,” take two long, 
slow, steady and powerful strokes (this gets the 
canoe started and does not snap paddles) then 
gradually increase the stroke in count and de¬ 
crease the length of the stroke up to “ten” and 
again gradually decrease the count and increase 
the length of stroke up to “twenty-five,” at which 
time the racing stroke will have been reached 
and should be held, without increasing again, to 
the finish line. Do not try to “steal” at the 
start. Wait for the word “Go” and go like gen¬ 
tlemen, not like robbers. “Stealing” provokes 
the starter who has volunteered his services and 
delays regattas, when races are called back, and 
spoils the interests of the spectators. I well re¬ 
member my old paddling partner, Mr. D. J. Finn, 
drumming this “Do not steal” into my head. I 
was always nervous on the line and could not 
resist taking all I could get at the start. As a re¬ 
sult he used to turn the bow of the canoe well 
off the course so that I could paddle it around 
straight before he started on the word “Go.” 
There is absolutely no use of a hurry-scurry, 
raise the stroke sprint near the finish. Crews 
that practise this sort of thing break and lose just 
as a race horse “breaks” and loses. I have too 
often seen a leading crew start a sprint at the 
finish and an opponent running smoothly and with 
the same hard, steady stroke, come from behind 
and pass the leader, winning the race. People 
say, “What fine form.” Yes, but the other crew 
had finer form and threw it away. 
The whole secret to success in the double blade 
crew lies in having all the members of the crew 
paddle with the blades turned the same way. To 
illustrate, when you hold the double blades be¬ 
fore you and the right hand spoon is pulling 
water the left hand spoon should have the curve 
down or facing the water. If all the blades are 
made to turn the same way, all the paddlers will 
catch the water in the same way and at the same 
time. I will compare the rhythmic work of such 
a crew to the best trained eight-oared shell crew’s 
work. If a crew does not work along these lines, 
it might as well quit or trust to luck for the 
properly bladed crew will simply run away with 
the races. The total length of the double blade 
paddle for No. 2 and No. 3 men should be about 
9 feet 3 inches long and for the stroke and stern 
men about 9 feet, allowing for the difference in 
width of the canoe where the different men sit. 
The steering of the double blade crew can best 
be done by the whole crew by lengthening the 
blade on the same side that the canoe is running 
to and with long sweeps on that side and short 
ones on the opposite side, it will soon come back 
on its course without lowering the speed or 
breaking the stroke to do so. 
It will be found that there is more pleasure 
in training for and living in anticipation of a 
big race than there is in the race itself. Still it 
may become serious work so it is best to relieve 
the strain of mind with some good gingery chat¬ 
ter and a “Hip” altogether on the stroke and with 
a “Come-on” near the finish. Add plenty of good 
fun, mix well and you will have a gentlemen’s 
sport that you will never regret taking part in or 
helping to boost. Whether you are a canoe rac¬ 
ing man or not, give a great big “Whoopee” for 
the sport for it has come to stay. 
