Bruce wrote; >> >It's easy to keep a solo canoe going in a straight line: use a double-bladed >paddle. True but a disgusting thing to do. It destroys the purity of solo paddling. I know, Bruce knows that I use a double bladed paddle in my solo boat sometimes but then I never said I was above doing disgusting things. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
John Winters wrote: > > >It's easy to keep a solo canoe going in a straight line: use a > > double-bladed paddle. > > True but a disgusting thing to do. It destroys the purity of solo paddling. > I know, Bruce knows that I use a double bladed paddle in my solo boat > sometimes but then I never said I was above doing disgusting things. There are times--5:30 PM and a headwind, for example--when one's concept of disgusting gets adjusted. Of course, you could just get in a K-boat to begin with. Steve *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
John Winters wrote: > >True but a disgusting thing to do. It destroys the purity of solo paddling. <snip> What the heck is purity good for anyway? Not just in what paddle to use, but in many areas, there is usually a group of people that feel purity to the original is an ideal to be strived for. The thought seems to be that the traditional is better due to the virtue that it has been around longer than the new idea. I guess the theory goes: "X is the result of thousands of years of experiment and evolution by people whose life depended on it. Further changes at this point would just make it worse." I would like to reiterate my previous advocacy for bastards. If the "non-biblical" mating of a kayak paddle with a canoe works better, then why not use it. In most cases a kayak paddle would probably work better when used in a kayak, but when what you have is a canoe, or when the canoe has some other advantage, go for it. While the bastard may not work as well as the pure-bred boat does when used for the "pure" purpose, you can often improve a boat for specific uses by stealing ideas and breeding bastards. I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. Let the purists avert their eyes and cross themselves as you cruise past. 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/ ***************************************************************************
At 08:23 PM 7/19/98 -0400, Nick Schade wrote: >John Winters wrote: >> >>True but a disgusting thing to do. It destroys the purity of solo paddling. ><snip> >I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are >interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. Let the purists >avert their eyes and cross themselves as you cruise past. > > > >Nick Schade >Guillemot Kayaks >c/o Newfound Woodworks, 67 Danforth Brook Rd, Bristol, NH 03222 >(603) 744-6872 Besides they did not have fiberglass, kevlar or plastic to work with . If they did maybe we would be paddling a lot of different types of boat with who knows what kinda of paddles, besides the eskimos use out- board motors now so much for culture( may be they would of used them to if they were around, they ain't stupid they use what works, you know a thousand years of trail and error) Dana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Nick wrote; >What the heck is purity good for anyway? It's the romance of the thing. (SNIP) >I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are >interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. Let the purists >avert their eyes and cross themselves as you cruise past. I think that is what the Jet skiers say about sea kayaks and canoes. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Nick Schade wrote: > > What the heck is purity good for anyway? ...SNIP... If the > "non-biblical" mating of a kayak paddle with a canoe works better, then why > not use it. ... > > I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are > interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. ... Nick, What do you mean by "works best"? I would suggest that most of us who "actually use" our boats are interested in maximizing enjoyment as opposed to minimizing effort. If the latter were our objective we would probably follow the lead of the Inuit and stick motors on our boats. Aesthetics are an important part of the sport. Boat and paddle performance have many dimensions beyond crude measures of efficiency. I definitely try to do "what works best", but I am not quite sure that I mean the same thing by this that you do. By the way, who exactly are these "purists" who believe that the traditional way is in every case the "ideal"? I can honestly say that I have never met such an individual. Everyone whom I have ever met on the water has adopted some form of "bastardization". Folks seem to be aware of the fact that they are drawing from both traditional and modern approaches. There are some who adopt a mix of the traditional and modern that that differs from what you seem to feel is optimal, but that does not make them "purists". We are all shades of gray (except for jet-skiers :-). A common rhetorical device on this list seems to be to label as a "purist" anyone whose views lean a bit more towards the traditional than the views of the person engaging in the name-calling. Dan Hagen (A "purist" who uses a composite sea kayak, a polyethelene whitewater kayak, a composite flatwater canoe, an ABS whitewater canoe, and carbon-fiber paddles, but who paddles rudder free and uses a single-bladed canoe paddle, and is thus some sort of confused, religious extremist. ... I'll try to remember to cross myself the next time someone who is less confused cruises by using their superior approach.) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 10:47 PM -0700 7/19/98, Dan Hagen wrote: >Nick Schade wrote: >> >> What the heck is purity good for anyway? ...SNIP... If the >> "non-biblical" mating of a kayak paddle with a canoe works better, then why >> not use it. ... >> >> I say the heck with purity. It is fine for museums, but if you are >> interested in actually using your boat, do what works best. ... > >Nick, > >What do you mean by "works best"? I would suggest that most of us who >"actually use" our boats are interested in maximizing enjoyment as >opposed to minimizing effort. If the latter were our objective we would >probably follow the lead of the Inuit and stick motors on our boats. >Aesthetics are an important part of the sport. Boat and paddle >performance have many dimensions beyond crude measures of efficiency. I >definitely try to do "what works best", but I am not quite sure that I >mean the same thing by this that you do. I said "works best" because I didn't want to say anything more specific. What I mean by "works best" is whatever you mean by "works best" and I don't even need to know what you like. It may not work best for me or anyone else, but if it works for you that is fine by me. I may offer a suggestion for an "improvement" but I won't be hurt if you don't like it. For some people evoking a long past era is part of what makes the sport work, this I have no problem with. The people I disagree with are: those who say their way is best because someone else told them so, and the people that told them. If you have not met these people you haven't been to a kayak symposium. There is an importer of a popular kayak who says that their kayak is the "fastest on the water", this being part of their definition of "best". It is not a fast boat in most conditions, but they tell their potential customers it is. Customers beleive them, buy the boat and feel they have the "best". Not because they have fairly evaluated the competition, but because they believe the hype and mystique and went no further. BTW, I don't feel that my designs are included in the competion because I sell plans and kits and am after a different market than companies selling complete boats. "Purity" is usually based on a tradition and has little to do with personal needs. For a time hardly anyone could discuss sponsons reasonably. Many people were bothered by the "impurity" of the idea. The general opinion seemed to be: "real kayaks don't use sponsons." The discussion rarely focused on the actual utility of the device even after you filtered out the anti-Tim material. 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/ ***************************************************************************
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