[Paddlewise] Paddles You Use

From: Colin Calder <c.j.calder_at_abdn.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 15:57:41 +0000
Bill Leonhardt wrote>

I would ask, though, that people describe their use (river vs.
flat water. touring vs. racing, etc.) and the approximate beam on their
boat along with the paddle length.  I feel that this added information
would be useful for people, like myself, who are trying to gather more
information to make a paddle upgrade more rewarding.  It might also be
interesting to open discussions on the merits of right hand vs. left hand
control.


I have/had a few much older glass boats but, mostly paddle a poly P&H
Capella (22 inch beam). I've had this boat for just about a year and very
nice it is too. Most of my paddling is coastal touring. I have two paddles,
one extremely nasty affair (plastic blades on a split  aluminium shaft)
which serves to decorate my rear deck, and a Lendal Nordkapp 220. White
esdash blades right hand feather/control on a carbon/glass shaft. I can't
remember which of Lendal's carbon/glass mixes, but the shaft is relatively
flexible. I have absolutely nothing wrong to say about this paddle,
relatively light, fantastic feel, relatively cheap (Scotland ..:-), and  I
haven't managed to break it yet. 

A few months ago I borrowed a mate's somewhat more expensive Lendal paddle,
full carbon powermaster blades on a modified crank carbon shaft. Same
length, and almost the same blade shape as my nordkapp, but much stiffer and
lighter. Oddly enough I didn't like this paddle very much, it almost felt
too insubstantial and light, and I think that I quite like a bit of flex in
the paddle shaft. 

Can a paddle be too light ?
Is a completely rigid paddle desirable ?

Cheers
Colin
______________________________________________________
Dr Colin Calder
Centre for CBL in Land Use and Environmental Sciences (CLUES)
MacRobert Building, Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, AB24 5UA, 
UK, Scotland
______________________________________________________

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Received on Thu Feb 26 1998 - 08:02:24 PST

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