I mentioned last week that my K1's rudder wasn't working so well. Today I remembered to take the relevant tools down to the dock and make some adjustments. Basically, there was just too much slack in the cables. Fixing that made a world of difference in the boat's performance. Previously, if I wanted to turn right, I had to move my right foot just so I could push the tiller all the way to the right side of the footboard with my left foot. Today the rudder was much more responsive, and I no longer had that distraction from the task of balancing and paddling strong. I felt much more confident for my entire 60 minutes of paddling.
Last week, paddling with that sluggish rudder and negotiating turbulent water stirred up by Fourth of July revelers, I covered the distance between the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and the Auction Avenue bridge in a dismally slow 3:42 or so. Today, with calmer conditions and my rudder working much better, I decided to try it again. This time I intentionally did not paddle all-out, focusing instead on taking solid strokes with full rotation, and relaxing my body as much as I could. I crossed the finish with a time of 3:15.
I also did numerous stroke drills--paddling on one side, and leaning the boat on its right and left edges while paddling--and felt as good as I've felt yet. I would stop short of calling this a breakthrough session, as I've followed up a good session with a horrible one several times now. But I feel as though I've made a little progress and that's satisfying.
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