Feel the Boat

I really enjoy steering an OC6 and I often find myself steering an OC6 at my regular training sessions. I try to pickup useful tips from the various Outrigging web sites - ausoutrigger.com and ocpaddler.com. Found the following question and responses very informative.

Ender writes on the ocpaddler forum:

"I paddle OC-6 and my coach suggested I work on feeling the boat. [..] Honestly I really have no idea what he is talking about so I just keep paddling hoping one day the mystery will be solved. Any clues?"

When I steer an OC6, in certain sections, I ask the crew to feel the water. Anyway, some nice responses to this question and the whole discussion is worth reading. For me, the following response by Hiro C. resonates the most:

"when sitting in a car or a plane, you can close your eyes and you can fell when it goes faster or slower, you can feel if it is turning. In the canoe, try to get focused on those feelings. You should feel when a wave is pushing or pulling the canoe. You will feel when it’s gliding and when it’s not."

Port Stephens Changes Race - 29 Mar 2008