Old Town Canoe Co Twin Otter, XT140, XT 120 HOW to Paddle a Canoe The Paddle Place your upper hand

Pull the blade alongside the kayak approximately to your hip and then lift paddle from the water

braces, they should be fitted to transmit body movements directly to the kayak.

The Power Stroke: The basic paddle technique is a forward stroke. Place the blade in the water near your toes. Pull the blade back alongside the kayak approximately to your hip–a better way to think of it is pulling the kayak up to the blade. Lift the paddle and perform the same move on the other side. To turn the kayak, use a wide sweep stroke on one side. The bow will swing away from the stroke.

The Efficient Stroke: For greater efficiency use your torso and shoulders to paddle, not just your arms. Make sure to sit up straight to avoid straining your back.

There are many paddling techniques you can use–check out books, videos, our websites or get kayak instruction to learn more.

For more kayak paddling tech- niques go to www.neckykayaks. com or www.oldtowncanoe.com and more canoe paddling techniques are at www.oldtowncanoe.com

HOW TO PADDLE A CANOE The Paddle: Place your upper hand

over the top grip. With your lower hand, grip the shaft about a foot above the blade/shaft intersection. Remember

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holding the shaft closer to the blade only makes you work harder with each stroke.

The Power Stroke: A strong stroke is the fundamental tool of canoeing. To begin rotate your torso so that your paddle-side shoulder is forward. At the same time, plant your blade in the water up to the blade/shaft intersection. The blade should be kept close to the boat, with its inside edge just touching the side of the canoe. The shaft should be vertical. Your strongest stroke will utilize the full forward range of your torso/shoulder rotation, yet keep the shaft absolutely vertical. Your stroke ends when your torso rotation brings the paddle back to your hip. Paddle re- covery is now a straight-forward matter: rotate your torso to put your paddle- side shoulder forward while bringing the paddle over the water surface to begin the next stroke.

The Efficient Stroke: The thrust of your stroke is achieved by rotating your torso rather than pulling with your arms. Using your torso muscles distrib- utes the work to many muscles rather than a few, making your stroke both powerful and efficient. The results: more forward thrust and less fatigue.