Isn't the water relatively disgusting down there....

yea but who really cares ... Its not like were in the womb or anything. All the growths I am going to get are done growing.

J

Oh crap ... I didn't just say that.... Joel is starting to itch....

I vote for Powerhouse, and I'm willing to help anyone who want to learn the back deck hand roll!  I still can't quite get it off side though.  I'm thinking of heading there Thurs. night 'round 5:30.  Quick run down from the falls and there are still plenty of deep calm spots to practice.   Having a good handroll is really important, espescially if you happen to say, break your paddle 20 min. into the Nahatlatch play run and don't want to walk out.  That was sweet with hand paddles! 

If you guys want I can give you some pointers at SRK Tues after work. I have a project going about 15 min from there. We can work on rolling, flatwater, handrolls, whatever. There's a dock you can seal launch from and turn it into a loop. I looped the Mega Rocker that way! PM me and if there are more than 3 I'm there.

Yes, I serve the Hive Mind.

I noticed you're always out front on probe duty

I am always up for rolling practice.. although some days I think I should be doing swim practice....

So... I had my own little roll session on Lake WA the other night. I think I discovered my problem. I think its the paddle. For those of you who haven't seen me on the river, I have a Fluid paddle, funky shaped blades, carbon fiber, etc. I was out on the lake in a Star, which is normally the same, or harder to roll than my 2Fun, and I was using a AT2 Flexi. The rolls were coming like nothing. AND. For the first time in my LIFE. I got about ten offside rolls, and a couple offside backdeck rolls. No one ever helped me figure that one out. I just flipped and set up and apparently, I know how to do it.

I love my paddle!! But... If its a problem... ITS OUT. I'm taking both to Idaho this weekend, gonna test my theory on some real water. But if thats the problem, yeah, the good ol Fluid will be goin' up fo sale.

this is all so ... funny

Arn- I've been playing around with my roll for ages. Tweaking my hand positions, etc. But when you flip in the middle of a rapid, you don't really have time to be adjusting all sorts of little things. I've always liked the bent shaft, because I know exactly where my blades are, because I can feel if my hands are off, so I don't think its that. I haven't changed hand positions, like, ever. The AT has much longer blades than my Fluid, which I think help me out quite a bit. Bracing was 10 times easier as well.... Like I said, I'm going to test it this weekend.

Edited by ashleygoesdisco - 31 Aug 2007 at 9:07am

Ashley,
I'm definitely NOT saying your roll sucks.  I've seen you pull off some combat rolls to save yourself from Chris' Crack, among other nasty places.  As I said before, you had lots of grace under pressure. 

Still, I'd be surprised if it was the paddle itself vs. where the paddles ended up setup.  That is to say that if you keep your hands the same but one paddle is working and the other isn't, it sounds like your hand position is correct for one paddle but not the other.  It would be interesting (at least to me, hopefully to you) to have someone look at the blade position at the start of your offside roll with each paddle.

Dave - I'm afraid of scratching my boat with the Sky that low!  Maybe some rain will bring it up this week - I'm dying to get out on the water (and, no, Last Nasty is not in my near future).  Besides, I know that who you really want to see out there is the cookie fairy!
arn


Edited by arnobarno - 31 Aug 2007 at 9:51am