Re: [Paddlewise] Paddling efficiency

John Winters wrote:
>I don't know that anyone has done much with small blades and a
>more vertical stroke. Always it seems to be small blades on
>long shafts (Greenland) or large blades on short shafts
>(racing and white water).

One of things that has helped my slalom (and downriver) times a lot
in the last year is focusing on a vertical stroke with as much torso
rotation as I can stand.  But it's hard to have a truly vertical stroke
if you paddle is too long.

A second factor has been my switch to an asymmetric "cleaver" blade
that really grabs the water -- not just on vertical strokes, but
on duffeks as well, making spin moves much faster.  That paddle (it's
a Mitchell) also has a carbon shaft with just the tiniest amount of
flex in it, just enough to yield a dramatic decrease in the fatigue
that I get from paddling flat-out for 120-200 seconds (the length
of a slalom race).

Finally, some changes in tactics have helped, too: I now begin races
with 6-8 very fast short strokes -- in fact, I try to push the stroke
rate to about 120 for those.  The idea is to get the boat up to
cruising speed as fast as possible, then back off the rate while
keeping the boat moving just as fast.  I finish the same way (well,
okay, I *try* to finish the same way) and in both cases, turn the
boat (if necessary) by edging it rather than using steering strokes.

---Rsk
Rich Kulawiec
rsk_at_gsp.org

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