More double pump/bow stall tips

The double pump is the key to getting your boat vertical on flat water, and also comes in useful for getting vertical in some features as well. But it still remains elusive to a lot of people.

I wrote about some tips for achieving verticality on the bow a while ago, so if you haven’t read that article, please do so. I might go over some of that ground here as well, but let’s take a look at some of the factors that prevent some people from achieving that first bow stall or cartwheel end.

Rushing

Rushing the paddle strokes is a common issue that stacks up to reduce the success of getting the bow down. You really need to lengthen the first stroke *all the way to the back of the boat and out of the water*. You *must* get the bow lifted up as high as you possibly can. This is all the more important if you’re on the light end of your boat’s weight capacity.

Rushing the first stroke causes the next problem. By rushing the first stroke and not lifting the bow up as high as you possibly can cause a lot of people to start doing the second stroke or back stroke *before* the bow is falling. What this means is that you’ll be *fighting gravity* by doing the back stroke while the bow is still in the lifting phase. To get the maximum power you need to be taking the back stroke when the bow is naturally falling towards the water. Again, this is absolutely critical if you are on the light side for your boat.

Different boats have a different ‘rhythm’ in terms of how fast they transition from bow lift to bow fall, so you need to learn this for your individual boat.

Not using your legs

You won’t get a powerful double pump without using your legs. You need to use your core to help you swing your legs upwards during the first stroke, and then explosively scissor them downwards in the falling phase. Once again, if you’re on the light side for your boat you absolutely *must* involve your legs. You simply won’t achieve the bow stall or first cartwheel end on flat water without using your legs if you’re light in your boat.

Not using your core

Your core is what’s connecting your torso rotation to the boat rotation via your legs. If you rotate your torso separate from your legs, you won’t get maximum power.

Leaning forward

A lot of people think they can get the bow down by leaning their torso forward as they rotate. Unfortunately this has the opposite effect to what you are trying to achieve, and instead it flattens the boat out rather than making it vertical. If anything, you want to sit up a little bit. You’ll find a most people are actually leaning more forward than they think they are anyway, so sitting up a little bit will often bring some people back to a more preferable neutral position.

One quick tip for keeping your torso from leaning forward is to lift your head and sight the bank to look in the direction your boat is travelling as you do the movement, until the point of verticality.