S-Turn Stroke
The S-Turn Stroke is a combination of a Forwards Sweep, a closed face stern draw, a feather forwards of the paddle (our first feathering exercise) and then a forward sweep to turn the boat the other way… then repeat. Sweep, Draw, Feather Forward, Sweep, Draw, Feather Forward. This stroke is the kayakers equivalent of carving a turn down a ski hill. It is the stroke you use to go from turning in one direction and carving that turn, to turning the other direction and carving that turn, too.
Drill:
S-Turn back and forth 10 times.
The Stroke:
There are several new skills we are learning here that could use practice before we try to actively do this stroke.
The “Feather”- feathering is a kayaker’s term for slicing your paddle through the water, instead of taking it out of the water to reset into a new position. The reason to feather the paddle in the S-Turn Stroke versus taking it out is because you can keep the boat under control much better if your paddle is in the water than if you have a 1+ second period where both blades are out of the water in the middle of a turning stroke.
- Feather Drill: Put your paddle in at the normal face, stern draw position and then feather it to your toes and back again. Try this quickly over and over again until you stop banging your paddle against the side of the boat and can keep it under control.
- Feather to Sweep Drill: Now try the same feather from stern draw to toes, but instead of feathering it back to your draw, convert the paddle to a sweep stroke. Feather forwards, then sweep the bow. Try this a few times until you can do that without hesitation.
The “Quick Draw”- In order to do a good S-Turn Stroke you need to be able to go from a forward sweep on the left side to a draw on the right side with little hesitation. You need to be able to do a “Quick Draw”. If you can not make the switch fast, or you place the draw in the wrong position, you will not have a successful S-Turn Stroke. The draw is a closed faced stern draw.
- Quick Draw Drill: Do a forward sweep on your left, then as fast as you physically can, switch to a closed face stern draw on the right. Double check that your draw is going BEHIND your butt (because it most likely isn’t), and double check that it is closed faced, not open faced, because it most likely isn’ Repeat on the other side and keep going until you can make the switch without any pause or without misplacing the paddle.
OK- you are almost ready to try your first S-Turn Strokes! Let’s discuss what you are trying to have your boat accomplish, so you can gauge how well it is going. Your boats should “S-Turn” back and forth while keeping the forward momentum going. The longer the boat you are in, the less the boat will turn on each stroke and the stronger your sweep stroke needs to be. The shorter boats, like a playboat, doesn’t need a very strong forward sweep to change the spin-momentum from one direction to the other. You can use more of a forward stroke and achieve the same thing, which is to overpower the spin-momentum. If you keep the total amount of turning to about 45 degrees each way, it will be easier to keep the forward speed going. Most people are too slow on the draw and end up turning 90 degrees each way and have no speed.
Head: Look at your target- which will change from one side to the other on each turn. Look over your right side when you have your left sweep stroke in position and keep looking right during your right draw. When you feather forward to sweep the boat back to the left, you switch your head to look over the left side. (Always look at your target)
Body: Body leads every turn. Like the head, you will need to switch your body from facing over one side of the boat to the other on each stroke. When you are feathering forward for your sweep is when you change your body position to lead the turn you are about to do
Boat: Let’s keep the boat flat on this drill as well.
Paddle: We have discussed this one already- Sweep to a quick closed faced stern draw, then glide on the draw 1,2, 3 seconds, then feather forwards for a sweep the other way- quick draw, glide 2, 3 then feather again and continue.
Common Mistakes:
- Too slow on the draw, so the boat spins out and slides to a stop.
- Draw stroke goes in too far forward (anywhere in front of your butt) so the boat slides out and stops.
- Draw stroke isn’t closed face, so it stops the boat.
- Feathering is not smooth and causes drag that slows and stops the boat and gets it out of control.
- Not gliding on the draw and carving the turn.
Level 1:
10 turns each direction- focus on keeping the boat moving, feeling the glide on the draw, a smooth feather, and a quick draw.
Level 2:
10 turns each direction, but throw in a few c-strokes in between each S-Turn stroke to get some more speed and distance while turning in one direction before turning back the other way. Basically take charge of making the boat go where you want it to go using only S-Turn and C-Strokes.
Level 3:
Practice your S-Turn strokes in the whitewater- crossing mid-current eddies and gliding on the draw across them, sweeping and heading down river. Focus is more on the draw on either side, and less on the sweeps since you have the speed of the river.
Here is my book with illustrations for this stroke: