I just bought a used Twogood Panther OC1, beautiful condition. Took it out for the first time, Huli'd in the first hour - surprise! Any tips on NOT doing that? Also, how can I get hold of Bob from Twogood - I know he is still making Twogood Kayaks, but can't seem to reach him on the Internet?
Really glad to have found this group - I will have many questions (I sail Hobie Cats and a Hobie kayak - much different from the Panther).
Ron Fikes
Palo Alto, CA :lol:
Submitted by ronfikes on Sat, 03/05/2005 - 6:56pm
Bob Twogoods Work phone # is (808) 262-5656
#1 Sun, 03/06/2005 - 10:55am
[quote="ronfikes"]I just bought a used Twogood Panther OC1, beautiful condition. Took it out for the first time, Huli'd in the first hour - surprise! Any tips on NOT doing that? [/quote]
I had a friend who jumped into OC1 without first paddling OC6. He took some lessons from some reputable OC1 paddler to learned how to paddle. Surprisingly, one of his instructors first lesson was how to flip his OC1 and how to brace, not how to paddle. Looking back on my own paddling experience, this now makes a lot of sense.
When I paddled my first oc1, i spent a great deal of time leaning toward the ama. I was deathly afraid of sitting straight or applying full power to my strokes on the right for fear of flipping the canoe. This went on for most of two years before I learned how to brace by using my blade as a "second ama." I actually learned how to do it by reading the article on "how to fly the ama" on http://www.huki.com/ and by practicing this technique on small waves whenever I had the chance. I quickly realized that this technique could be used to prevent a huli.
Bracing can be done either at the end of stroke by slamming the paddle back down into the water after the paddle exits the water or right before you enter the water at the beginning of the stroke. With a little practice, you'll get the technique down pat and won't have any more fear of flipping.
I have a friend who has been paddling as long as I have but hasn't learned the technique of bracing. He has a permanent lean to the left and is still unable to apply full power to the right as a result of it. I also have a friend who just started paddling OC1 and is quickly learning how to brace.
When I first paddled with him, he flipped his canoe 12 times during a run. At the end of the run, I taught him the bracing technique. The next time we did the same run, he only flipped twice.
Hope this helps.
#2 Tue, 03/08/2005 - 9:42am
I have gone out for a lesson in an OC6 on Novice Day - sure was hard work (there were two boats, so we HAD to race). Sat in seat 5, learned that seat 2 and 4 are responsible to "lean left" every time we stopped. I am sure I Huli'd my OC1 when I was stopped, got too confident about how stable the boat "seemed". I won't make that mistake again (at least on purpose). Got my beautiful Xylo paddle, am going out again in the next couple of days (the sun is out and it is 72 degrees).
Ron, in Palo Alto, CA
#3 Tue, 03/08/2005 - 12:59pm
Starting from start, you need to make sure you boat is rigged properly. Sit on your boat (rigged) in flat water. Place a small level across the canoe in front of your seat or across the foot wells. If the boat sits level when you are on the canoe in calm water, it's rigged properly and will have less of a tendency to huli than a boat improperly rigged (i.e. with a right tilt). Once it's rigged properly, you know you can sit square with the canoe and apply full pressure to your stroke on both sides. Once you get the hang of it, you can rig your canoe lighter or heavier depending upon conditions. You are going to huli when you are new, that's part of paddling. You have to test the limits to get as little ama in the water as possible. The lighter the ama, the faster you go!
#4 Tue, 03/08/2005 - 3:44pm