The inside forward circle turn, henceforth known as the "straightius" turn

[lowangle al]

Finally, we had influencers such as Tom Foster (mainly in whitewater) and then Charlie Wilson (mainly in flat water) advocating and teaching the "inside circle forward stroke." In this quasi-forward stroke, the hull is induced to "carve" toward the paddle side and then this yaw is counterbalanced by an uncorrected forward stroke, making the canoe go quasi-straight without any need for correction. (I keep saying "quasi" because the canoe is actually traveling along the curved circumference of a very large circle, and must be kicked slightly in the other direction periodically.) However, the confusing point is that some hulls in the Foster/Wilson stroke will "carve" better toward the paddle with an inside heel while other hulls will "carve" better with an outside heel. The difference, generally speaking, is most pronounced between high and low/no rocker hulls.

@lowangle al suggests that weight distribution can affect whether the hull naturally prefers to pivot turn or carve turn, to use the terminology I originally learned. I suppose that's possible because altering trim can alter the waterline profile of the hull.

First off, I don't think it matters which way you lean to carve/pivot towards your paddle side. Either way, I think you can track just as straight of a course as hen using correction strokes alone, maybe even straighter. Although the canoe is carving a radius it is offset by the yaw of your forward stroke and affected by any wind that might be present. Using the carve and wind, you can track just as straight a line as using correction strokes, but with less energy input from your paddle. In the ideal situation, the wind coming from your off paddle side will counteract yaw without having to carve that forward circle. You can keep the boat flat, (side to side), basically carving in a straight line taking advantage the dynamic stability created by the hull. In this situation you don't have any drag from either a correction stroke or a carve (lean). By working on this over the last month or so I have been able to eliminate almost all correction strokes.

I'm calling this turning toward your paddle side a "straightius turn" because it combines the turning effect of your hull with the turning effect of your paddle, to create a straight line.

 

[gumpus]

My Osprey is more free/loose/controllable on the water when doing an inside turn leaning to the offside. Onside lean works fine too but the boat is more locked in to the carve. It's pretty easy to get 15+ strokes on my onside going "straight" this way.

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks for confirming that it doesn't matter which way you lean to carve towards your paddle side, for this to work. My gut feeling though is that you can get more carve to offset yaw by leaning towards your paddle side, like Tom Foster and Charlie Wilson describe. I do it while my bow is released, they may do it by using their bow. (pinning) I would think I get less drag by using the stern then pinning the bow.

I guess the boat makes a difference too, but I think trim matters even more. When I have my ballast way up in the bow I may not get enough carving action to totally eliminate correction strokes, That's why I usually have the ballast around midship. The deeper the stern the more carving action I get. In addition, the lighter the bow the less wind it takes counteract yaw, minimizing correction needed. With this trim I get the wind working for me, instead of against me, or doing nothing at all.