Bow pinning vs. stern carving

[lowangle al]

I was just rereading my copy of "The Functional Side Of Freestyle Canoeing." It is the first time I've read it since I've been working on carving with my stern, and it confirmed that bow pinning and stern carving rely on the same techniques of using your hull to control your boat. There are at least two main differences. The most obvious is trim. To pin your bow you need to pitch your weight forward and get bow heavy. To carve with the stern, the opposite is true.

The other big difference is the way the boat carves the turn. When bow pinning, the stern turns around the bow by skidding around it. When I carve with my stern, it follows the bow in a linear fashion and doesn't skid. With bow pinning you can probably turn sharper, and with stern carving I think I get less resistance to forward momentum. I've seen a lot written about bow pinning, but haven't seen anything about carving with the stern. I highly doubt I'm the first person doing this. Is it possible that it is called something else and I just haven't come across it yet.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

This is a problem when we lean on definitions of words instead of descriptions.

 

[SouthernKevlar]

Oh Good.

When I saw "bow pinning" I envisioned getting your bow stuck between a couple of rocks in whitewater. It is hard to do stern carve when you are in that situation!

Flatwater "bow pinning" is a very different concept.

 

[gumpus]

The other big difference is the way the boat carves the turn. When bow pinning, the stern turns around the bow by skidding around it. When I carve with my stern, it follows the bow in a linear fashion and doesn't skid. With bow pinning you can probably turn sharper, and with stern carving I think I get less resistance to forward momentum. I've seen a lot written about bow pinning, but haven't seen anything about carving with the stern. I highly doubt I'm the first person doing this. Is it possible that it is called something else and I just haven't come across it yet.

My Swift solos with sliding seats are the best bow-pinners I've ever experienced. My buddy said that 6 feet of the stern on my Shearwater had daylight underneath. You can make the stern whip around but there's nothing graceful about it unless you like coming to a stop like a figure skater.

 

[lowangle al]

My Swift solos with sliding seats are the best bow-pinners I've ever experienced. My buddy said that 6 feet of the stern on my Shearwater had daylight underneath. You can make the stern whip around but there's nothing graceful about it unless you like coming to a stop like a figure skater.

That does sound pretty bow heavy from a centralized seat, but I like that you can get that trim. With trim like that I'm sure it did turn fast. Next time you're out, see what happens if you slide the seat back to get your bow out of the water. Then lean into your turns. See if you can feel that carve from the stern. If you can you will notice that the stern follows the bow instead of skidding, sliding or whipping around it. I'm not saying it's a better way to turn, just another way.

 

[gumpus]

That does sound pretty bow heavy from a centralized seat, but I like that you can get that trim. With trim like that I'm sure it did turn fast. Next time you're out, see what happens if you slide the seat back to get your bow out of the water. Then lean into your turns. See if you can feel that carve from the stern. If you can you will notice that the stern follows the bow instead of skidding, sliding or whipping around it. I'm not saying it's a better way to turn, just another way.

I will try it. I'd like to experience stern carving since it sounds lovely. My Swift Osprey is the only solo I have with a sliding seat and it's not a shallow vee so it's more of a skidder than a carver but I will give it a try.

 

[lowangle al]

If you get your stern down and release your bow, I don’t think you can skid the stern.

I’m curious if you can carve towards your paddle side to minimize yaw, for one thing.