44-48 OC1.indd - JamesWeir.net

Canoeing
Article by James Weir, images by Steffi Blochwitz
Saddling Up!
of the sport and only practiced by the most skilful of
paddlers. Many paddlers have been put off OC1 paddling
by trying to progress directly to whitewater without proper
instruction and thus finding the sport unmanageable. The
aim of this article is to give potential OC1 paddlers a few
top tips, to get them on the path, and promote the sport
for what it truly is, accessible, achievable and enjoyable for
all paddlers once you know what you are doing. I am sure
many of us would have been put off
kayaking
were often used as the blind scouts for paddling trips, as
their extra height above the water enabled them to see
further ahead and pick better lines than the kayakers in the
group.
Although by no means the most participated in aspect
of paddle-sport, there is a small and dedicated band of
OC1 paddlers in every county, keen to practice and
promote their discipline and their skills. There are many
arguments for and against OC1, some say it is a stupid and
pointless sport that has no place in paddle-sports, normally
these are people who have not tried OC1, or maybe have
and could not do it. Others are very proud of their skills and
think that OC1 is a combination of many different aspects
if our first experience was in a tiny play boat, without any
kind of proper instruction and on moving water. So please
give OC1 a chance, I promise you, it rocks!
The defining features of an OC1 are the foam saddle
and the airbags, the way these features are secured into
the canoe and customised is one of the keys to successful
OC1 paddling. First off let’s start with the airbags, they
should be securely fixed into the canoe with deck lashing
and straps; the airbags should be fully inflated when
paddling to keep as much water out of the canoe as
possible. Let out some air from the bags between paddle
sessions to reduce the chance of damaging the canoe or
the airbags. Next is the saddle, many paddlers claim that
The ins and outs of OC1
4 4 CKUK NOVEMBER 2007
The topic of this issue’s literary paddling adventure is to
shed some light on the mystery that is OC1. OC1 is a term
used to describe an open canoe, for one person, which has
been fitted with a foam saddle and airbags, that fill all the
empty space from the saddle to the ends of the
canoe. OC1 canoes can vary from four metres in length to
just two metre long canoes designed specifically for
freestyle and playboating. First conceived in the USA by
whitewater canoe pioneers who wished to follow in the
paddle strokes of their kayaking brethren; OC1 paddlers
NOVEMBER 2007 CKUK 4 5
Canoeing
trimming the canoe slightly stern heavy is preferable, while others claim slightly
bow heavy is better. In reality every canoe is different as is each individual
paddler, so the only solution is to experiment yourself; start with the canoe
trimmed neutrally and work from there. Most, if not all, OC1’s arrive fitted out
from the factory so this will take the worry and confusion out of doing it yourself,
all you will have to do is decide how to glue in the foam fittings. One of the first
steps to customising your OC1 is to adjust the saddle height, either by adding or
removing foam, do so in small steps, so as not to cut away too much foam.
TOP TIP
The ideal saddle height varies from canoe to canoe, person-to-person, so
you must experiment; if the canoe feels unstable the chances are the
saddle is too high and if your knees and ankles get very uncomfortable
very quickly then the saddle is probably too low.
As well as the saddle there are several other fixtures and fitting that will
improve your OC1 paddling experience; knee pads, foot rests, hip pads and leg
straps. Kneepads will ensure that your knees stay comfy and healthy during your
paddling; they should be glued onto the hull of the canoe so your knees are as
wide apart as possible, to help increase stability. Many canoes come ready fitted
with footrests attached to the saddle, but many paddlers find these
uncomfortable and remove them or replace them with pieces of foam glued to
the hull. Footrests are by no means essential for successful OC1 paddling and
many paddlers manage without, again it’s down to what works for you. For more
advanced paddlers the addition of hip pads will improve control over the canoe
when rolling and performing more advanced manoeuvres, simply glue blocks of
foam to the sidewalls of your canoe and trim for a snug fit. Leg straps are by no
means a vital component for OC1 paddling and have put many paddlers off
having a go, due to the fear of entrapment, but remember even if there are straps
in the canoe you do not have to use them in every situation, if at all.
TOP TIP
Safety first! Be sure that you can exit the canoe underwater without any
difficulties, always use straps with quick release buckles and be sure you
can free yourself from the canoe without having to open the buckles,
just by wriggling and pushing away from canoe.
The other key piece of equipment necessary for an enjoyable OC1 paddling
experience is a suitable paddle; the two factors to consider are blade shape and
overall paddler length. Most paddles are suitable for OC1 paddling the exception
being wooden touring designs such as Ottertails. I’d recommend that you aim to
use a paddle with a squarer blade shape and designed for general-purpose use,
or specifically for whitewater. The length of the paddle however is a more
complex area; shorter is generally better as it makes it easier to transfer the
paddle from the onside to offside. I am 1.79 metres tall and use a paddle 1.44
metres long, however the best advice I can give is to experiment, try different
paddles and find out which suits you and your style the best.
The strokes and skills needed to master OC1 are a combination between
traditional open canoe and kayak techniques. The best start is to try out OC1
paddling on a lake or section of flat water, spend some time familiarising yourself
with how the canoe moves and where the balance points of the canoe are. Time
on flat water is well spent and will increase your chances of successfully
mastering moving water skills without spending an excessive amount of time
swimming along besides your canoe. There are many strokes that can be used to
paddle an OC1 and there is certainly not enough space on these pages to explain
all of them in sufficient detail, I will focus instead on techniques that can be
4 6 CKUK NOVEMBER 2007
applied to all strokes to improve them and I hope
that with the benefit of good coaching and practice
you will be able to apply these for your own
benefit.
Firstly sit in the canoe and relax, the canoe
should be neutrally balanced left and right, sit up
straight and adopt a proud posture; chin up, back
straight and shoulders back, imagine balancing a
book on your head! The first technique to master is
paddling the canoe in a controlled straight line; this
for many is one of the trickiest skills to master. To
paddle forwards reach about one metre forward
with your arms and upper body together and place
the whole paddle blade in the water keeping the
paddle shaft vertical, pull the paddle through the
water slowly until it reaches your hip. Then turn
your T-grip hand 90-degrees, so you have your
thumb pointing up and the paddle blade is slightly
behind the body and can be used as a rudder
stroke. By pushing the blade away from the canoe
you can control the direction of the canoe, the
paddle should be parallel to the direction of travel.
TOP TIP
Be sure you are using the paddle as a rudder
and not as a break when controlling the
direction of the canoe, although a backwards
stroke will correct the direction of the canoe it
will also slow the canoe down. By using a
rudder stroke you will keep the speed of the
canoe and will therefore be a more efficient
OC1 paddler.
Most basic open canoe and kayak
strokes can be transferred to OC1,
draw strokes, sweep strokes
and bow rudders. The key
to successful OC1
paddling to maintain
your proud posture and
always turn your head to look
in the direction you wish to move, this in turn shifts
your body and weight position in the canoe to
improve your efficiency and technique. Try to learn
new strokes slowly and methodically. If you charge
in, applying full power straight away errors will
occur very quickly, be magnified, and it will make it
harder to learn. Slowly but surely is a good rule to
apply when learning any new skill, and especially
so with OC1.
For the more advanced paddler learning
effective support strokes and learning to
consistently Eskimo roll will be a goal. To explain
how to successfully and consistently roll would take
another separate article, but luckily I made one
earlier and it can be read on the Canoe & Kayak UK
website by taking a surf to here - www.
canoekayak.co.uk/categories/articleitem.asp?ca
te=7&topic=29&item=78
NOVEMBER 2007 CKUK 4 7
Canoeing
TOP TIP
Fix a throw-line to one or both ends of the canoe to use as a swim line, if you capsize and are
unable to roll quickly grab the bag and swim to the nearest side. If you are quick enough you
should reach land before the rope runs out and you can quickly and easily pendulum the canoe
to the side before jumping back in and trying again.
Besides the recreational aspect of OC1 paddling,
the sport has evolved over the years to encompass
two prominent competitive disciplines; open canoe
slalom and OC1 freestyle. Open canoe slalom is the
older of the two competitive OC1 disciplines, open
canoes were first used in slaloms during the 1930’s in
Europe, as the sport progressed the closed cockpit C1
and the C2 craft were developed to allow the canoe
paddlers to compete against the kayakers. The sport
of open canoe slalom re-emerged during the early
1980’s in the USA and is still going strong. Open canoe
slalom is similar to any other kind of slalom,
competitors must navigate through a course of gates
without touching or missing any, and the winner is the
paddler who sets the quickest time without incurring
any penalties. There are several different categories in
open canoe slalom; the REC, recreational class for
paddlers using general purpose commercially
available open canoe and the RAC, racing class for
paddlers using canoes specially designed for canoe
slalom racing, many of these canoes are made from
composite material, so they are very light and
fast. There’re separate events for OC1 and OC2 canoes
and for men’s, ladies, juniors and mixed crews. All
classes must confirm to a set of rules governing the
shape and weight of the canoes to ensure that the
boats used are recognisable as open canoes. Open
canoe slalom is a very popular sport in North
American with series of competitions each year and a
continental championships. Unfortunately the sport
has yet to really take off in the rest of the world,
possibly due to there being many more active open
canoe paddlers in North America than the rest of the
world. The only other canoe slalom I am aware of is in
Switzerland every September, although this is more of
a fun event for competitors in all types of craft.
OC1 freestyle is the most well known of the OC1
competitive disciplines, it was first included at the
second Rodeo, as it was called then, World
Championships in 1993; most competitors used
general purpose whitewater canoes and were able to
perform big air pop outs and pirouettes to please the
crowd. Since then OC1 freestyle has evolved in line
with the sport of freestyle and canoes have become
progressively shorter and lower volume, modern day
freestyle OC1’s have flat hulls, sharp rails and are
capable of performing nearly all of the latest freestyle
moves that their kayaking cousins can. OC1 paddlers
at the 2007 Freestyle World Championships wowed
the crowd with air blunts and Pan Ams on the famous,
and fearsome Bus Eater Wave in Canada. Canoes used
in freestyle competitions must also conform to a strict
4 8 CKUK NOVEMBER 2007
set of rules governing the height of the canoe, the
amount of decked area and the amount of foam
outfitting. Many paddlers enter the OC1 event just for
fun and it has a reputation as a very relaxed event with
competitors helping each out and encouraging each
other. The easiest way to get involved in OC1 freestyle
is to approach a paddler at your local play spot or at a
competition, they will undoubtedly be more than
happy to explain a bit more about the sport and let
you have a go in their canoe.
The latest competitive discipline to include OC1
paddlers is extreme racing, a sport that involves
paddlers using whitewater canoes to race down
challenging rapids. Primarily a kayak dominated sport,
a small group of hardcore OC1 paddlers have been
entering events and competing against kayakers all
over the world. The first Extreme Racing World
Championships were held in Spain in 2001 and there
was a demonstration class for OC1 paddlers with
teams from four countries competing. OC1 paddlers
have also competed in the Liquid Life Festival in
Scotland and the famous Green Race in America.
Extreme racing is a sport that aims to encourage
everyday whitewater paddlers to come and take part,
hopefully OC1 paddlers will also be encouraged to
enter and promote their sport and meet other
paddlers.
I could go on and on about my favourite discipline
in paddle-sport but I think it is best if you are keen, to
get out there and have a go yourself. Take on board the
tips you have read here and find somebody who really
knows what they are talking about to give you some
coaching tips. For those of you who have tried but not
enjoyed OC1 consider some of the reasons you
struggled, was the saddle too high or did you try to
progress too quickly onto moving water? For any
further questions please feel free to contact me directly
or post on the Canoe Kayak UK forum. My last top tip
for OC1 boating is this, the more time spent on the flatwater practicing strokes and learning to understand
the canoe the better, do not expect just because you
can easily paddle your local class three run in your
playboat that you can just jump into an OC1 and wiz
down no problems. These canoes require respect, as
do the paddlers who can use them; ‘Half the paddle,
twice the man’ said a very wise chap once.
Big Up and Thanks
Nookie, Kober, Esquif and Sweet for quality
products, Steffi Blochwitz,
www.nordlichtphoto.com for photographs, Kanu
Schule Versam, and of course, to the Sun for shining.
James can be contacted
through the team page at
www.canoekayak.co.uk/
contributors/
For more features and
articles on OC1 and canoeing
visit the Features section at
www.canoekayak.co.uk