John Winters wrote: > --snip-- > I see several things impinging on length. Shoulder height above the water, > boat beam, boat freeboard and depth at the cockpit, stroke style, blade > length, and specific stroke requirements. There may be more. Since I am > talking about a sea kayak paddle I am not sure one can apply the same > thinking to whitewater although it might be interesting. --snip-- I would suggest adding stroke technique (e.g. high or low) and personal stroke style (e.g. amount of extension at catch). Yes, the same criteria apply to whitewater. Considerable attention is given to specific stroke requirements. For example, beginners often start with longer shafts for greater leverage when bracing and rolling. Advanced paddlers often go with shorter shafts, which are less awkward for verticle strokes such as the duffek, and which permit a faster stroke rate for sudden acceleration. You stated: "It seems to me that a paddle need be no longer than required for the job. For this it should be long enough to reach the water while using effective (and personal) biomechanical movements." I think this statement wraps it up nicely for sea kayaking, whitewater, and sprint. *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Sep 25 1998 - 04:09:48 PDT
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