[Paddlewise] Paddles and stuff. . .

        My first boat was (is) an Old Town Otter that I've paddled zillions
of miles --some with Dave Kruger which is how I got hooked on this sea kayak
stuff. The first paddle was a 7' (84") Carlisle plastic with "spooned"
blades, and I kept hitting my knuckles on the gunwales. So I returned the
seven footer and went to an 8' (96") Carlisle with "spoons" which was
seemingling the last one in Portland. . . This solved the knuckle banging
problems witht he 28" beam, and my stroke improved. Both about $36.00
--which I thought was pretty spendy. Both were, in retrospect, like swinging
a lead pipe with sash weights on each end. I promptly left the 96" paddle
leaning against a tree at Sparks Lake one afternoon when packing up to head
home. . . So I replaced it with another Carlisle eight-footer which happened
to have a larger diameter shaft but flat blades. I still have the "Pokey"
and the Carlysle. Somehow the paddle has managed to develop scratches in the
shaft that rub in my hands. 

        All these cheapo plastic paddles featured straight or feathered
positions and I developed a stroke using the paddle both ways. The *huge*
improvement to paddling the Pokey was adding foot pegs so that I wasn't
fighting to keep from being pulled down to the bow of the boat on each
stroke. The seat in a Pokey is like an armchair. . . Its for sunning and
beer drinking, not any support at all.


        Next I went for the "spendy wood" paddle at GI Joes. . . a Sawyer at
$60.00 which was much lighter and also had a slightly larger diameter shaft
than even my third plastic paddle. This one is 254 cm. I think. . . maybe
7'6" with flat wooden blades that are assymetrical. About this stage in the
game I also bought an Aquaterra Sea Lion, and I used the Sawyer paddle to
propel the Sea Lion around Long Island in Willapa Bay a couple times.
Despite a stainless steel sleeve held by seemingly stainless screws, the
screws corrode in salt water (bi-metalic/electrolytic corrosion). This
paddle featured feathered or straight positions, and at this point I was
developing wrist and elbow problems --lots of hard, fast, feathered paddling
in a plastic boat to keep up with hard, fast kayakers half my age in hard,
fast glass boats. I opted for straight blade settings in case I needed ever
to "slap" the water for a brace. Besides, the wrists take less of a beating
with the straight setting. 

        So then, deciding that I might die keeping up with the group in a
plastic boat, I went for a Current Designs Solstice GTS (thanks Ben, Josh!)
and decided that the wood Sawyer was the kayaking analog to tossing an old
blanket on a thoroughbred Arabian. . . I bought a 230 cm. Wind Swift.
Although longer than some paddler's choices, this is shorter than what I've
been using. The narrow blades allow for a faster turnover than most of the
other paddlers I'm with, and I find that I vary my stroke from very high and
straight for speed to very low and flat for rough seas and to give my body
some  variation in posture. 

        Although I've never seen the Greenland style paddle videos, I'm
thinking that the low, flat, high cadence style of paddling that I use is
perhaps like the Greenland style. (What is that video's name again?) Someone
in another list-server told me that when I grip the paddle with the shaft
resting against the top of my head that my forearms should be perpendicular
to the shaft. I've been told by some that this is a wide grip and that
having the hands in closer together on the shaft would provide a longer
stroke. . . But the narrow grip stresses my elbows and eventually my grip
just naturally shifts back to the wider stance. 

        Something that I'm discovering is that legs and feet do a lot of
work in the paddle routine. I don't use a rudder (I do have one.), and so my
foot pegs are locked in place while I paddle. The balls of my feet get
pressure points and the hips get stiff from paddling. Dave Kruger has found
his legs going to sleep (I hope this is not a secret, Dave!) and Ben at
Pacific Wave notes that too short a foot peg position can make the legs and
feet numb. Ben has also warned me that my econo-cheap neoprene fishing
gloves may be causing me to grip the paddle harder than with bare hands,
leading to elbow problems. 

        Once upon a time I used to race very expensive road bicycles. We
spent a lot of time working on riding position, getting the saddle adjusted
just right so the butt didn't fall asleep. (OK, we called it "crotch
crickets.") Like paddling, grip and position on the bike bars can cause numb
hands, arms, shoulders, and a really stiff back. Picking the correct gear
ratio can eliminate knee problems. The upshot of all this is that position
and equipment in any physical activity can cause or prevent injury, can add
to efficiency or create impediments to speed and grace. 

        Paddles are a big part of the paddling picture, but I'm convinced
that conditioning, posture, seats, foot pegs, knee pads, et al contribute to
paddling comfort. The posts in here seem to bear that out. . . no pun intended. 

        Geo. 

        

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