Question for all.
As a new OC-1 paddler, I competed in a race this weekend in pretty stormy conditions. Having only purchased my first OC-1 (a used Kaku) a few weeks back, I'm still getting comfortable on it the canoe. Having yet played around with the ama positioning, I left the ama postioned were previous owner had it set (pretty high/light). However, I think I should have lowered the height for the race. In practicing on it the past couple of weeks, it's always felt a little tippy, but during the race in the rough waters I was struggling to maintain balance for the whole 10 miles.
What's the group throughts on where is the"optiomal" position for one's ama height. Obviously, the size and skill of the paddler plays a huge part. But what are some tips in determining where your crossing that line between being balanced vs so tippy that it's a hinderance.
Mahalo
Submitted by dlucey on Tue, 02/22/2005 - 8:02am
The best thing to do is to go out on flat water, center yourself in the seat, and if the canoe is listing to the right side than trim it to center. This is similar to the oc6 as you don;t want the canoe leaning heavily to either side.
For oc1 it takes time to get to know your boat, the more comfortable you feel in it the better your race will go. It is like riding a bike for the first time, first you go out with training wheels until you feel comfortable and than you let them go. The same concept applies here too, get comfortable in your boat and than you can easily keep the ama above or atleast skimming the water (depending on the water conditions). Once you get that your boat will begin to fly.....
#1 Tue, 02/22/2005 - 8:42am