Key Points
Posture (Upright and Faces Work)
Vertical Paddle Angle
Both Hands Over Water
Blade Angle of Attack 45° or Less
Heel (Boat Dependent)
The Boat Moves Evenly Abeam
There are four main methods of moving a boat sideways: the draw, sculling
draw, draw
on the move and the hanging
draw.
The last of the dynamic draw strokes is the sculling draw which
is probably the one most often used but usually gives people the
most trouble at first. Begin in the starting position again but
dont hold the paddle as far out; 12 to 18 inches being about
right. With the upper hand acting as a fulcrum (again, hold it
still), you move the paddle parallel to the kayak in sort of a
shallow figure 8 just as if youre spreading icing on a cake.
As youre doing this, keep pressure on the paddle toward
the boat. Use strokes about 3 feet long. You want to avoid short
choppy strokes since every time you reverse direction, you lose
the pulling effect.
This one takes more practice but once you get the hang of the
sculling it will be easier to learn the side sculling brace. This
is where the Paddler has the kayak on its side and is laying
half submerged in the water staying afloat by moving the paddle
back and forth near the surface.
With any of these strokes, you should be lifting the draw
side knee to edge the kayak to allow the water to slip under
the hull. If you edge the other way, you may pull water onto the
hull which could throw you off balance.
See Sculling Support Stroke