In bad movies, shifty characters move from side to side, eyes scanning for opportunities to gain any advantage and get ahead—just like a good canoeist! Quick and deceptively subtle shifts left and right allow canoeists to maintain their forward momentum and orientation while dodging rocks, holes and breaking waves.
Shifts are not the same as turns. In a turn, you point the bow of your canoe where you want to go and then move your canoe in that direction. During a shift, your hull slides sideways to move around obstacles, so your bow remains pointing downstream.
For quickly sneaking around rocks and skirting holes, shifts are much easier than turns for two reasons: One, they are faster and require fewer strokes. Two, they keep your canoe parallel to the current. moving with the current avoids the danger of broaching on rocks or bridging your hull over two different currents which could result in your canoe spinning out of control.
Shifts are performed by holding your paddle vertically in a stationary draw, pry or cross-draw. Feather the blade so that the leading edge points in the direction you’d like to travel. Water striking the angled blade will provide the force necessary to deflect the canoe to the side. In a solo boat, position the blade ahead of your knees. This forward paddle placement will cause the canoe to drift on an angle, instead of pivoting, as it continues its forward glide.
For the water to exert force on the static paddle blade, your canoe needs to be moving faster than the current. If you hold a shift too long, your canoe will lose momentum and the shift will lose effectiveness. Throw in some forward strokes to keep your speed up.
To help your boat move laterally across the current, throw in a little boat tilt opposite to your shift. This can be very subtle. Just tilt the boat off level, releasing the chine so water can move freely underneath.
Shifts can be used by all canoeists, whether paddling solo or tandem. Tandem paddlers can execute shifts individually for minor course corrections or together as a team for really spectacular shifts.
Next time you are out paddling with your friends, be on the lookout for any paddlers exhibiting shifty behaviour. Not only will they get out of driving shuttle and buying beer, they’ll also be slipping side to side as they stay in line with the current through rock-studded rapids.
Andrew Westwood is a frequent contributor to Rapid. He’s an open canoe instructor at the Madawaska Kanu Centre and a member of Team Esquif.
This article first appeared in the Fall 2006 issue of Rapid Magazine. For more great content, subscribe to Rapid’s print and digital editions here.
