high kneeling a touring canoe, first impressions

[michielv]

Hi all,

Yesterday I did my first longer paddle in the club canoe, an old battered glass boat that is very heavy but glides nicely. Well, I did paddle the boat a couple of times before but it was the first time I did paddle it for quite a while high kneeling.

That was really great! High kneeling for 45 minutes is about as strenuous as paddling 20k in a racing kayak (K1). Oh my, I was tired when I got out. Those paddlers that can actually jump out and portage in a marathon are really something, I could hardly stand up, let alone walk and carry the boat!

Anyway, I can't wait to get in the Delta asap. (which means: somewhere the next month, it is quite windy at the moment and I don't want to go out in very windy conditions yet. Done that once and it was no fun).

Any comments, hints and tips are appreciated, especially on how to be able to walk after getting out of the boat ;-)

Cheers,

Michiel

[Eliza Dolittle]

45 minutes!? No wonder you were stiff. I would have thought that little and often to build up the relevant muscles is the way to go. I can only manage a few minutes before my thigh complains and I am not going out high kneel often enough to extend that time.
Craig Hill who works for Marsport has a blog where he writes about his C1 high kneel training http://marsport.wordpress.com/ It may be worth asking him for the 2011 DW attempt notes
Cheers
Liz

[michielv]

Hi Liz,

I did build up a bit slower than going straight for 45 minutes :-) Actually, I even started kneeling on both knees a few times but being not the very patient type I wanted to try high kneeling for a longer period a bit sooner than I should have I guess.

But still, I loved the view, to be able to watch out further than one can in a kayak is addictive. Tomorrow I have some more high kneeling planned, let´s hope the weather is good too, not to windy, I don´t mind rain.

Cheers,

Michiel