: After looking today at
: the fine LIGHT skin boats pictured on this board I sure am getting tempted
: to try my hand at one of these one day. Already reading about 3 totally
: different methods .... By the way does a 'double paddle" canoe mean a
: 2 person ?

A small, solo canoe like the Rushton-designed Wee Lassie is frequently paddled with a double-bladed paddle. Unlike larger canoes where one sits on a seat, or kneels, with these small canoes it is common to sit on the bottom of the boat and use a thwart as a backrest. The lower center of gravity makes these small boats more stable, but when you are sitting that low it is difficult to do a "J" stroke. A double-bladded paddle effectively lets you paddle on opposite sides of the boat on alternate strokes, eliminating the need for "J" strokes or swithching sides with the paddle.

Because boats this size are built primarily for portability they give up things like freeboard, by having low sides. Sitting high and tilting the boat slightly to one side as you paddle with a single-blade paddle can become a problem faster in boats like this, so he lower paddling posture is an advantage.

Since shorter boats tend to be a bit slower, the double bladed paddle gives these canoeists an advantage in being able to have more power strokes in a given time. This is becasue there are no correction strokes needed, and no wasted recovery. (as the stroke on the right side of the boat is completed, and you go to recover from it, you are already making a stroke on the left side.)

PGJ

PGJ