Thanks for your feedback. I'm sorry to hear the mechanics gave you such a hard time :( The boat position after crashing could definitely use some work.
As for the direction of tilting, the canoe is supposed to move in the direction opposite to the oar, like how it works in real life. I tried adding a few visual indicators to show how strongly you're rowing and how damaged the boat is, but I will consider putting a better explanation of the mechanics in the future.