>> Chuck wrote; > >I don't think of the Greenland paddle as a long paddle. Mine, which is made to >my dimensions using traditional methods, is about 218 cm long. The blades >are narrow but long (9.5 cm by 89 cm). And if you look at old films of >Greenlanders, such as Knud Rasmussen's "Palos Brudefaerd," you do see >torso rotation. You also see both a low forward stroke and a high forward >stroke in that film. The higher, more vertical, stroke was used when more >power was needed. Once again the Inuit beat us to the punch. Just out of curiosity, Chuck, do you vary your stroke with your paddle. Mine is a low aspect ratio paddle that is 210 cm and also vary between high and low strokes depending on how enthusiastic I am. >> ************************************************************************** * I use a low stroke most of the time, but I do use a high stroke occasionally when I want to accelerate. For variety I also switch back and forth between my normal Greenland paddle and my storm paddle. The latter can be used only with a full sliding stroke. I have read that traditionally it was used with a high stroke, but I use it mostly with a low stroke. Because I made the loom too short on my standard Greenland paddle, I always use a short sliding stroke with it. When I have time to finish my new paddle, that might change. I carry my spare paddle on the foredeck. Because Greenland paddles are one- piece with narrow blades, it is very easy to slip them under the bungies while under way. This makes it very easy to switch back and forth, and to grab the spare and roll up with it, should that be necessary. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:32:48 PDT