Bye Monkey!
July 31st, 2008 | 
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Ok, so most of you know that although I have a handle on a good many traditional rolls, that freakin’ resting brace has been eluding me forever. To be fair it is a tricky maneuver. The trick as many of you know is to lay your body in the water while holding the kayak as far upright as you can effectively balancing the boat against your body so you don’t sink. Never being able to do it, I’ve gotten all sorts of advice; extend the paddle, arch your back, push on the hull with your feet, shove with your elbow, reach under the hull and pull the boat back. . . .
Well today I finally got close. Well, I did it. I’m not out at a right angle yet, but I am fully off the boat and balancing comfortably. Of course while lying there I realized I’d never actually tried it in my Alaw Bach yet. So I was thinking it must be the boat. Maybe. Then I realized I was not wearing a full PFD either, so I was without that extra flotation. In the end it’s all good. Now I can work on getting my body out further from the hull. But working on polishing is much better than just sinking repeatedly. (Can you see that monkey jumping off my back??!)
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I’ve been working on the balance brace for a long time also, and it still eludes me. Congrats on getting it working!!
Congrats
doing a balance brace in a soft chined HV boat without a tuiliq is a lofty skill!!!
Thanks Keith, long way to go though. I’ve got to be able to get further out I think. Right now it helps me to have that arm over the back deck and pushing down a bit to keep the boat from rolling over on me.
yes tis tricky, i managed it once but not since, I believe I got it by the thought process that it is a position that the greenlanders use to rest, so It shouldn’t be physically tiring, just once the technique is sorted it should feel easy. I also think Rotation is key,flexi-eskimos.
Yeah, well it was all good until I tried it in my Romany. . . I spend the day upside down again. . which just goes to show you every boat is different.
I figured that I always think too much and was over-analysing how to do the balance brace which made my body stiff. So I started thinking less and just decided to go with what felt right.
To put it in Zen terms, “I was one with the water” (:
Now I can do a balance brace in wide boats or boats with high aft decks, without the need of a paddle!