At 11:59 AM -0700 7/22/98, Julio MacWilliams wrote: > >The Greenland paddle flies through the water, the lift component that >is used to push the boat forward is more important than the side >component used by the drag of the blade alone. > >You can try to paddle with a 2x4 piece of lumber, which effectively is >a Greeland paddle that does not have the foil shape yet. That experiment >should convince you of that the key to Greenland paddling is the foil shape. > >A good scientific way to improve Greenland paddling would probably be >to experiment with NACA foils, and decreasing angles of attack towards >the ends, like airplane propelers. Maybe one could get to the most >efficient Greenland paddle for Greenland racing, if there ever is >that discipline. > This concept has been brought up before. The idea that the greenland paddle uses lift to propel the boat just makes no physical sense. The paddle just does not move far enough laterally through the water to provide significant lift. It, like most paddles is being used primarily as a parachute, not a wing. Try paddling by only moving your hands up and down - no forward-backwards motion, no body rotation. In other words do your best imitation of a airplane propeller. You will be able to move yourself, but not as effectively as if you just pull. The greenland paddle is an efficient wing in long sweeps where the blade is slicing through the water. While paddling this is just the up-and-down component of the motion, which given, the low hand possition is intentionally small. Little motion = little lift => not much power. The wing paddle is much better at this. The paddle is pushed deep and then swung out to the side. There still is not a huge amount of lift provided, but enough to improve it's overall efficiency. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks c/o Newfound Woodworks, 67 Danforth Brook Rd, Bristol, NH 03222 (603) 744-6872 Schade_at_guillemot-kayaks.com http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ >>>>"It's not just Art, It's a Craft!"<<<< *************************************************************************** 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 Thu Jul 23 1998 - 13:53:27 PDT
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