Support American Whitewater! Support American Whitewater!

[please login to make this ad block disappear]

C1: freestyle, off side stern squirts

A short, but good article about off side stern squirting, by Scott Wiltshire.

Offside stern squirts are very boat dependent, especially on a "mild" eddy line. Obviously with a reverse sweep on the on-side there is a lot of leverage for squirting, squirting off a cross-draw requires more balance, finesse and timing and is only really possible in a boat with a low volume stern (an atom is probably the biggest boat this can be done in).

The technique is the same as for on-side squirting: cross the eddy line at not quite perpendicular to the current, exactly when the stern rail starts to contact the current (ie when the cockpit is roughly centred over the eddy line or a little afterwards) edge the boat upstream on the stern rail and start the cross-bow draw to lever the stern down. It is important to have your weight to the back of the boat of course.

Further tips:

  • It does require a bit of flexibility to be able to do a cross-bow stroke while having your weight on the back deck rather than forwards. The most common mistake is to lean the whole boat upstream, Wrong! lean just the appropriate stern rail into the current (think of the boat as having 4 distinct side edges and lean to one of them
  • although with modern playboats I like to think of the boat having 6 side edges). Don't rush, just drift into the current, the move requires no speed but plenty of timing.

Offside squirting isn't easy, here are some neat tricks which will turn a lot more heads. These are only achievable in a (short) boat with a lowish volume bow though:

  • an eddy line bow pivot off a back sweep or on-draw (break in backwards from an eddy where you would normally on-side squirt)
  • initiate a bow pirouette from an cross-draw when crossing the eddy line (from an eddy where you would squirt on the offside)

Article by [mail address protected from spambots with javascript]

Forums

Login to post here

danejackson added a video. 16 hours 45 minutes ago

“FINALLY!” | SALTO LEONA

SALTO LEONA I have been able to get almost all the waterfalls I have wanted in Chile, but Leona was one of the last ones that I have wanted for...

danejackson added a video. 16 hours 57 minutes ago

Twice is nice..

supzero added a video. 18 hours 8 minutes ago

Ripple Effect | Yoga SUP Vibes with Nuria...

If you love Stand Up Paddling, subscribe to our channel! https://www.youtube.com/c/Totalsup?sub_confirmation=1 -------------------------------------...

CHILKO added a video. yesterday

What is Canoe Freestyle?

Canoe freestyle is an activity where paddlers demonstrate a range of creative and technical maneuvers in a canoe. It blends precision canoeing...

supzero added a video. yesterday

2024 Merimbula Classic

Friday morning session

PaulClark added a video. yesterday

Noli River Fun

Noli Fest on the Nolichucky River is one of my favorite festivals. It's a collection of river misfits who love to paddle. Many of those people are...

PaulClark added a video. yesterday

Rooster Tail on the "New Noli"

The Nolichucky Gorge after Hurricane Helene is a different river in many ways. Rapids like Rooster Tail are almost entirely changed. In this...

PaulClark added a video. yesterday

Quarter Mile on the Nolichucky River before and...

The Nolicucky River was dramatically altered after Hurricane Helene. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the rapid Quarter Mile, roughly a year...