Eddy Catching Technique

Basic Boat Handling with Trevor and Nathan

10 min ·  Boating Skills Course

In this lesson, Nathan and Trevor are discussing how to properly catch eddies. This skill is an essential building block for higher class whitewater boating. Many of the skills we will cover in more advanced lessons relies on your ability to catch eddies effectively and reliably. We will be looking at the following skills in detail:

• Setup

• Angle of Entry

• Hooking

• Angle of Departure

Remember catching eddies is a skill and an artform which takes time to master, so we want to set you up for success as you get out on the water to practice catching eddies. The first and most critical skill is good scouting technique so if you are feeling uncomfortable with your scouts take some time to sit and look as eddies and how they are forming as well as reviewing our feature identification video.

Ideal Angles

Remember that your ideal angle of entry or departure is somewhere between about 0 and 90 degrees. If you enter with too sharp of an angle then the bow will get deflected by the eddy fence. If you enter at too steep an angle especially over 90 degrees you will get flushed down stream by the current and end up having to fight the dispersed currents of the tail of the eddy to get through. If you are heading out of an eddy, having too small of an angle will cause the current to deflect you back into the eddy and you will just get tired fighting it. Having too steep of an angle can force your boat into the swirly tailwater and prevent you from effectively getting on the current, also if the eddy fence is powerful enough this can even cause flips in the current. Getting the angle right takes skill and practice, but a good general rule is shoot for around 30 degrees plus or minus 15 degrees.

Stopping

Controlling your momentum is another element to be aware of since too much or too little momentum can cause you to miss your move. Remember that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted on by an outside force, so when you are catching the eddy and hooking back in you want to make sure that you continue paddling enough to bring the boat to a stop. Counteracting your downstream momentum by paddling back up the eddy will prevent your boat from blowing out of the other side of the eddy or prevent you from drifting out the bottom of an eddy you want to stop in.

Leaky Eddies

Some eddies are just slower moving slack water travelling downstream at a lower rate than the rest of the current. Though there may be a slight eddy here, when the eddy fence is not well defined and it does not naturally want to hold you in the eddy, we refer to this as a “leaky eddy”. We use this term because with you need to be actively working to keep yourself in the eddy or you will leak out the bottom. Generally, these eddies are only effective for taking a very short break before continuing downstream. These types of eddies become very important to river navigation in may higher class settings so take the time to spot them and practice moving through them so you know how they will affect your boat.

Feeling a little lost? Ask the team a question…