Robert C. Perkins wrote: > It seems to me that there are two ways to change the "gear ratio" in kayak > touring. One, already much discussed, is to change the size of the blades. > The other is to change the shaft length. The relationship between the > Wenatchee and the Quest is similar to the relationship between the San Juan > and the Camano. Going from a 230 cm San Juan to a 220 cm Camano would have > more effect than going from a 230 cm San Juan to a 230 cm Camano. > > Over a year ago now, John Winters was kind enough to answer for me some > questions about paddle length. I can't quote him at this late date, but in > essence he wrote that as long as the shaft is long enough to enable a > paddler to fully immerse the blade(s), a shorter shaft is more efficient > than a long shaft for straight-ahead paddling. A paddle with a longer > shaft has some advantages for sweeps and braces. > A simpler, more cost effective way of "changing gears" might be changing your grip (i.e. hand spacing) on the loom/paddle. For you bicycle types, it would be like changing sprockets as the wheel/tire radius remains constant (i.e. leverage). This may require additional "shoulder rotation" for "low gears". Fred *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Mar 30 1998 - 20:43:12 PST
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