Balance
From CayucoPedia
Refers to the term used among cayuco paddlers as a reminder to control the balance in the cayuco. This is, to avoid unnecessary leanings to the side of the cayuco that may allow water inside the boat, and in the worst case, the complete flipping of the boat in the water.
Balance is very important in a cayuco. Not only it saves a team from flipping the boat, but it also effects the speed and performance of the boat. Besides training to have better balance, there are many variables that can affect the balance inside the boat, so it is important to know how to control these factors.
[edit] Training to have better balance
There are many exercises to gain balance, but there are a few popular ones among the cayuco culture.
One of the most popular ways to practice balance is to sit on two exercising balls. In this simple exercise, a person sits on one ball while using the other one to support his feet. The purpose is to stay sitting the longest possible. To increase the level of the exercise, paddlers get bigger balls as it makes it more unstable.
Another good practice is to sit on racing kayaks. Individual racing kayaks are very hard to master because they require a lot of balance. It may be hard to get this specific type of kayak, but there are some of them in Gamboa. Paddlers are often challenged by Jay Gibson to stay for a period of time sitting on these boats. It is a great balance practice to start in a pool and try to sit on the kayak for the longest time possible. To make the exercise harder, people stare at the sky while sitting on the boat or even take the kayak out to the lake where there the water is not so calm.
[edit] Factors that affect the balance inside a cayuco
Speed and performance is always affected by the balance of the cayuco. When boat tilts to one side, the flow of water is disturbed due to the uneven surface of the boat and it results in an increase in resistance. To reduce the number of times the boat loses the balance and to recover faster from suddenly tilting the boat, paddlers pay close attention to their posture inside the cayucos.
Things to pay attention to:
- Knees: When people paddle inside a cayuco, their knees are positioned in the middle of the boat. A common mistake is to place the knees touching the sides of the boats. When the cayuco is suddenly tilted by someone’s bad stroke or a wave, the knees need to be free to move around and find the right balance again. The knees don’t need to be strictly touching each other or right at the middle of the boat, but they must not be touching the sides of the boat. When the knees are locked at the sides of the boat, they don’t help to regain balance in a fast situation.
- Seats: Seats are always centered, but height also affects the balance of the boat. As the seats are placed higher, the center of mass gets higher and the boat becomes more unstable. It a common practice to raise the height of the seats to have longer reach and more efficient strokes. A light and balanced crew may be able to use very high seats, but paddlers that don’t have a good balance should seat low.
- Support stroke: When balance is suddenly lost and the boat tilts a lot to one side, it is up to the paddlers on that same side to save the team. When the boat tilts to one side, paddlers should not lean their bodies to the opposite side to try to regain balance. This works some times, but is not the best approach to the problem. Instead, a quicker and better way to recover the balance is to support the boat by pushing the water down with the paddles. This stoke is similar to a (draw), but instead of stoking sideways, the stoke is basically downwards. This is very effective when a boat is about to flip.
