Introduction

Now that you have a good handle on the basic strokes, eddy turns, and ferries - we will begin to put these skills together. The best way to run rapids is eddy hopping. Eddies provides convenient rest stops and allow you to calmly look down the rapid for your next rest stop. Two common maneuvers are the C-Turn and the S-Turn.

C-Turns

The C-Turn is used to peelout and turn downstream sharply from an eddy. Often, we simply want to catch the next eddy right below our present eddy. Since this is a very sharp turn in fast water, we need to compensate by leaning our boat with more angle. A bow draw is used to reach over the eddy line and snap our boat downstream. A common stroke to use for this maneuver is the Duffek Stroke.

S-Turns

The S-Turn move is used to move from an eddy on one side of the river to an eddy on the other side. Key to making this work is a wide peelout and your standard eddy turn. Your boat follows a simple S line. Here is a nice video on the move from a canoeist's perspective: S-Turns. This short video shows a kayaker performing a simple S turn: Kayak S Turn.