Poling - A Guided Tour
CONTENTS
Balancing
Pushing
Steering
Other flat water techniques
Introducing poling upstream
Strategies for poling upstream
Introducing poling downstream (snubbing)
Concluding thoughts
OVERVIEW
My early memories of poling are of experimentation, trial and error, and a fair amount of swimming. If having a go had worked for me, it must be OK. This was reflected in my teaching of poling where I usually would demonstrate some poling then hand over the pole and let my learner get on with it. This deep end learning obviously suited some but others wanted to be led through the learning process, and to learn from the experience I had gained, rather than repeat my mistakes.
The progression that follows results from:
1. Considering what I have learnt.
2. Ordering it so that skills are built up as they are needed.
3. Making helpful connections with a paddler’s previous knowledge.
4. Accepting that developments are made in bite-sized pieces, at the speed of the learner.
The aim is to keep the learner motivated, neither bored nor scared.
Progression is defined as developing by a succession or series of steps. Each step begins at a known point.
Some learners succeed by learning for themselves needing very little input. Many learners however feel over challenged and the resulting lack of success causes at best, a feeling that poling is a ridiculous idea fit only for straw hatted punters or Italians singing about ice cream. At worst, these learners take away their feeling of failure and apply it to other challenges they face, expecting to fail again.
Poling allows a whole new range of propulsion options, adding to the versatility of a canoe. Indeed, far from being a dumb idea, poling is as useful as chains to a car driving on snow, or a paddle to a sailing boat with no wind.
Poling is propelling the canoe using a pole predominantly through contact with the lake or river bottom. A standing position is common.
Poling is preferable when;
Direct contact with the lake or riverbed gives more control or propulsion than a paddle would, for example when there is shallow water or when moving against a strong current, wind or waves.
My knees are complaining and standing would make a pleasant change.
In order to pole successfully there are three skills that need to be mastered.
Balancing- needed for standing up
Pushing- which propels the boat
Steering- to control boat position
There is no need to learn all of these at the same time.
Exploring these one by one gives a natural sense of progression.
Beginning with balance will help the learner feel comfortable.
BALANCING
Selecting from the following exercises will help the learner improve balance.
From a wide kneeling position near the mid-point of the boat, rock the canoe keeping the body still. The legs create and absorb the movement.
Repeat exercise 1 holding the paddle out horizontal and at eye height. Focus on moving the boat whilst maintaining an upright, still body and paddle.
Stand up. Put your feet exactly where your knees were. Now gently shake out any tension in your muscles, and then rock the boat, keeping the body still. Look at a horizontal feature in the distance to help focus on being still. Relaxed muscles react more quickly. (If necessary, illustrate this by dropping a ball from eye height in front of the poler and getting them to catch it. Firstly ask the catcher to tense the arms at their side when doing the exercise; then repeat with arms relaxed.)
Repeat with the body rotated to one side.
Repeat this moving towards the back of the canoe.
Good balance helps poling.
PUSHING
1. Ask the learner to move the boat forwards, using the paddle in contact with the lake or riverbed; start with the blade in front of the body; next start with the blade level with the body, and then start with the blade behind the body. The learner should discover pushing is easier than pulling.
2. Repeat 1 with a short pole.
3. Establish the push zone. Move the boat using only one hand to operate the pole. The push zone is essential. It begins with the pole steep but not vertical, and contacting the lake or riverbed behind the body. It finishes as the pole skids away when the angle gets too low. In front of the push zone, pushing on the pole will produce lift and reduce balance. After the push zone pushing will cause the pole to skid away.
4. Turn the body sideways poling will feel more natural.
5. Power can be efficiently generated using body weight instead of muscle. Kneel or sit as tall as is possible, set the pole to the start of the push zone, lock your arms, sink down (sag or crumple) and feel the boat move forward. Drop to drive.
6. Return the pole to the beginning of the push zone by dragging it lightly back across the lake or riverbed. Feeling the bottom will help balance when standing. It will also help when searching for a pole placement on moving water.
STEERING Part A
This will be best felt and understood when the boat is in calm water. The effect on the boat can only be attributed to the action of the canoeist. There is no influence from wind or current.
1. In deep water with the paddle, using extreme changes in trim and a power stroke with no steering, find the seating position where the boat goes straightest. From the back, the boat should go straighter because the boat itself acts as a skeg, requiring less steering. Applying this to poling we can minimise the need to steer by poling, with the boat trimmed stern heavy.
A short journey will groove this understanding. Good trim reduces the need for steering. If a little steering is needed, introduce trailing the pole like a stern rudder far out behind the boat. Turning comes from the pole acting on the water more than the bottom.
Pause!! This is poling. Only when this simple lesson of steering has sunk in should you continue.
Remember
The push zone
Turn the body
Drop to drive
Trim
Relax
STEERING Part B
1. In deep water, with a paddle, steer the canoe by using a stern rudder. The aim is to alter the direction of travel to the left and the right without changing paddle sides. The boat should wiggle gently. Consider the actions of the hands: one hand pushes the other pulls. This can be done whilst stationary or moving.
2. With the boat stationary, in shallow water and the pole in the early part of the push zone move the back of the boat across the water in both directions. One hand should be pulling the other pushing.
3. Repeat this using the pole in the last part of the push zone.
4. When watching another person using this technique, you will observe a slight bend in the pole.
5. Now pole forwards, steering in the early phase of each push. Make the boat gently wiggle in both directions.
6. Repeat 5 gaining the steering at the end of the push zone. The pole remains in contact with the lakebed.
7. Repeat 5 with the pole at the end of the push zone or even further back. Steering is achieved using the pole in the water like a rudder
8. In deep water, make sweep strokes with the pole (it will not contact the bottom). Concentrate on body rotation and making a long, slow movement. Remember to maintain long, slow body rotation.
9. Move to shallow water, plant the pole further out than normal and turn the canoe away and towards the pole by rotating the body. The pole stays planted in one place throughout.
10. Repeat 8. Focusing on transferring that rotation through the feet in to the canoe.
Good steering uses a blend of steering at the early part of the push zone, at the end of the push zone and after it has finished with the pole trailing in the water. The steering energy created in the pole must be transmitted through the body to the boat.
A journey will groove these new techniques.
OTHER FLAT WATER TECHNIQUES
1. Place the pole. Begin the push, walk the hands along the pole. When the hands reach the end of the pole, reset the pole to the beginning of the push zone and repeat. This could be called hand-walking
2. Windmill the pole so that you use alternate ends of the pole in contact with the lake or riverbed. A longer pole will allow your hands to remain in the middle third of the pole. This reduces the effort of rotating the pole. Steering remains as described. This is great on shallow water with a gravelly bed.
3. Windmilling on alternate sides. Face forward with one foot on each side of the boat. Make kayaking style strokes on each side. In shallow water these can be pushes, in deep water the pole is very effective as a ‘paddle’. Windmilling is a great technique where the depth changes frequently.
4. Experiment with the poling equivalent of a bow cut, a bow pry, sideways travel whilst on the move and cross deck poling.
5. Adjust trim in response to wind.
6. Have you tried poling a raft?
INTRODUCING POLING UPSTREAM
Poling in rivers has particular relevance when journeying. It is possible to travel up or downstream. Any skill, which allows the traveller to make progress without portaging boats and packs, can save time and effort.
The starting concept: control of the boat’s direction, relative to the current, is essential. Good trim, allows the bow of the boat to be turned either side of the neutral upstream angle. The boat needs to be trimmed downstream end heavy. Find a shallow rapid with gentle current and an even riverbed. Shingle rapids are good.
Control
1. Trim the boat for an upstream ferry using the paddle. Establish trim. This allows the boat to be easily turned and ferried to either bank.
2. Attempt to refine the ferry angle until the boat remains facing directly upstream. For poling, this could be called The Neutral Angle.
(The Neutral Angle is the angle where the boat faces directly into the current. This position splits the current equally down each side of the boat. There is no sideways movement created in this position.)
3. Using good trim, pole the boat, standing sideways, into a gentle current and find the neutral angle. If the pole is placed on the riverbed, and within the push zone, it takes very little energy to hold the boat against the current.
4. Move the boat upstream and back, keeping the pole within the full range of a single push zone.
5. Practice reestablishing an effective pole position if the boat starts to drift downstream. As the boat moves backwards, lift the pole out of the water and place it as far downstream as possible. Absorb the boat’s momentum until it stops.
6. From this position, without moving upstream, turn the boat just out of the neutral angle. Immediately recover the neutral angle. Repeat this, turning the boat the opposite direction without swapping poling sides. Remember one hand pushes while the other pulls.
7. Repeat 6 poling on the opposite side.
8. Refer to flat-water steering part B. Try this on moving water.
9. Become fluid at turning and recovering the boat in both directions. Practice so this can be done whilst poling on either side. Remember to steer using both hands, and to transmit the steering to the boat through the feet.
10. A great way to develop control is to tie a rope on to the upstream end of the boat and to have the boat held in the current. Move through points 3-8. As control increases, slacken the rope until it becomes redundant. The job of the rope holder is: firstly to stop the boat being pushed downstream by the current; secondly to assist in maintaining boat angle; and thirdly to recover the boat to its neutral angle. This progression may be essential if suitable gentle currents are not available.
Good upstream poling involves a series of pauses in the neutral position. Each pause allows planning for the next move.
The neutral position is relatively easy to hold in gentle currents or in eddies.
There are two options for moving: across the river; and upstream.
Moving Across the River.
1. From the neutral angle, turn the boat a small amount and ferry sideways.
2. Maintain enough control to prevent the boat from being swept downstream. Positive control is maintained as long as the boat can be quickly turned back into the neutral angle.
3. Experiment with poling on the upstream and downstream side of the boat while ferrying. When poling on the downstream side, take care not to be moved downstream onto the pole.
4. Experiment with edging the boat to increase balance.
5. If making a ferry where no upstream movement is required, place the pole further downstream, towards the middle or downstream end of a normal push zone. The pole may also be placed a little wider from the boat. Use the pole to resist the current. The downstream energy of the water is converted into lateral movement of the boat.
Moving Upstream
1. From the neutral angle, use the drop to generate upstream movement of the boat.
2. Immediately after the drop, whilst the boat is moving, it is possible to provide some steering.
3. Place the pole back into the steeper part of the push zone. Make final steering adjustments to put you into this new neutral position. Remember to resist being swept downstream.
4. If the riverbed is uneven keep the pole in contact with the bottom as you move the pole back to the beginning of the push zone. Feel for a secure pole placement.
5. Windmilling can only be effective in very slow current because it takes too long to get into the new push zone. The current will already be pushing you backwards.
STRATEGIES FOR UPSTREAM POLING
Eddy hopping
Use ferry glides to cross from one eddy to the next.
1. Upstream progress is made in small eddies, where the current is weaker. Rest and plan at the top of each eddy, before committing to the current again. Aim to enter eddies low down.
2. Very good control of the boat angle is required as you cross back into the current from the eddy. Whilst in the eddy, set the upstream angle as required on the current side of the eddy. Then push the boat sideward across the eddy line. Eddies with poorly defined eddy lines or small current differentials are easiest.
The Bankside Hop
The bankside hop is used where the current flows at the river’s bank, with no eddy.
1. Point upstream and slightly towards the bank. This is a ferry glide angle. The ferry glide angle will cause the current to push the boat towards the bank.
2. With the boat angle set, use the pole on the bankside of the boat. Drive the boat away from the bank and into the current. Maintain the ferry glide angle. The boat will naturally return to the bank.
3. Repeat 2. Drive the boat out into the current. Push upstream as it returns to the bank. Small steps upstream along the bank are made.
4. As long as the boat is kept at the correct ferry angle, it is possible to repeat either the drive into the current, or the push upstream.
5. The drive out and the push upstream can be combined into a diagonal push, moving the boat both out and upstream simultaneously. Maintain the ferry angle all the time. The boat can be held stationary whilst still in the ferry glide position.
Jabbing
Jabbing is a series of very short pole pushes. The hands do not move on the pole. The pole is dragged through the water or along the riverbed to reset. This is a good technique where both the riverbed and the current are even.
The Blast
As you reach the top of the rapid you sometimes find a crest or LIP. Upstream beyond this, there is often slack water.
1. The blast involves moving the boat up out of the moving water into the slack water, without moving the pole on the riverbed. From a firm placement on the riverbed push on the pole. Move the hands along the pole to give maximum movement of the boat from that placement. It takes a long time to reset the pole from this position. However this single push should have driven the boat into the slack water, where needing to reset is not so urgent.
2. The blast can be used to push the boat over short steep and therefore fast steps in the river. The current may be too strong to reset the pole part way up the step. Using the blast, the boat can be moved over the step and back into slower water.
Rock Running
Occasionally the canoe will ground on a rock or line of rocks. Use these natural pauses to plan. The following techniques can be used to move beyond the rocks.
1. The boat can be made narrower by tilting it.
2. The boat, if trimmed stern heavy, may have made contact with the rock fairly close to the mid-point of the boat. By moving forward in the boat, it may be possible to get the boat floating on the upstream side of the obstacle.
INTRODUCING POLING DOWNSTREAM (Snubbing)
Snubbing, or poling down stream, requires a few new skills and a greater sense of balance.
The basic pattern created on the water is similar to that made when paddling a rapid using reverse ferries and setting. Control is the starting requirement.
1. The boat should be trimmed downstream heavy.
2. Learning can be made easier if the upstream end of the boat is held with a rope. (See upstream poling exercise 9.)
3. Face downstream, either square or turned a little.
4. The push zone becomes the catch zone. The catch zones dimensions are exaggerated stretching downstream to make each catch. Reach away from the boat downstream. This is the place where a push would normally finish. Hold the boat at the neutral angle.
5. Move the downstream end of the boat from side to side. The nose of the boat crosses beneath the pole. Always return the boat to the neutral angle.
6. Allow the boat to move further from the neutral angle. Regain the neutral angle. It may be necessary to move the pole for this to happen.
7. In order to move downstream, allow the boat to move towards the pole, resisting with the hands, whilst bracing and absorbing with the legs.
8. The reset. Lift the pole out of the water. Reach downstream to the new catch point. Place the pole. If the boat is moving bring it to a gradual stop. The absorption comes from the arms body and legs and sometimes from sliding the hands down the pole.
9. Practice stopping the boat finishing at a neutral angle. When the boat has greater momentum reach further downstream with the pole. Imagine jousting.
10. Set a cautious ferry angle. Move the boat across the river and return to the neutral angle at will. Experiment with less cautious ferry angles and use of the pole at a diagonal angle to the boat. (See the bankside hop in poling upstream.)
11. Enter eddies high. Pause and plan. Leave eddies low.
Slow snubbing increases control. Placing the boat in the slowest water achieves this with least effort.
12. In shallow rapids, a cunning path can be woven between obstacles. Standing allows the best view of what is below the water surface. This makes planning easier.
13. When driving the boat sideways, stand square to best achieve balance. If speed picks up move one foot back before using the pole as a brake. This will make it easier to absorb the energy of the boat. Keep the legs flexed a little.
In snubbing there is a constant struggle between control and movement. The former uses energy, the latter increases risk.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
For many of us, at the heart of canoeing is the enjoyment of the journey. The curiosity to discover what is around the next corner. The tranquillity of mirrored reflections on glassy, smooth water. The challenge of paddling boiling torrents with smooth precision. The excitement of challenging ourselves against the unknown.
I spend considerable time gazing at maps, planning adventures. Maps inspire me to search out a dream. Along the way, I may well enjoy some or all of these aspects of the canoeists journey. Use this article as a map to guide you on an adventure. We select different scales of maps dependent on how much prior detail we want to guide our adventures. Similarly use this article to match the way you learn. Some learners need only a simple framework and will enjoy wobbling swiftly through a few big bold poling steps, whilst others may enjoy the full guided tour to poling, taking time to savour each new skill.
However you use it, I hope this will inspire you to adventure. Exploring as you travel on your learning and canoeing journey.
Acknowledgments
Thanks must go to Justin Major who has painstakingly translated my version of English into its present form.
Also to Steve Macdonald who has offered technical advice and has been an inspiration during my own canoeing adventure.
© Tom Sibbald Trainee Level 5 Coach - July 2001
