: Hey John,

: I've seen similar impacts with myself from time to time. Canting
: the paddle will help. If you start "feeling" the
: bubbles across the blade creating vibration, you'll know you
: aren't canted enough. That being said, a good cruising stroke is
: similar to a swim stroke. I'm quite strong and can really push a
: boat for short distances, but for general cruising my wife can
: usually out-pace me. It takes a long time to learn how to paddle
: efficiently.

: A class will help a lot. Ten to one they will tell you that your
: strokes are using arm strength rather than core strength and
: that you are keeping the paddle in the water too much. Try
: paddling by keeping your arms locked in position, which will
: force you to twist and use your core. You'll find that you are
: delivering much more power to the paddle with a shorter stroke
: and that you can paddle much longer. This is tough for guys
: especially as we tend to have weak lower backs and are more used
: to using our arms to muscle through things.

Good point using core muscles. One technique I use is to keep you head pointed straight ahead in respect to your shoulders then when paddling aim to be able to view opposite shores (helps to have a fairly narrow body of water) while paddling. To do this you must rotate alot, probably too much but it's a good way for me to force me to rotate.

Bill H.