I have a fiberglass Swift I would like to cut down. How did you do it? Did you remove the blades? If so, how? Chuck Holst -----Original Message----- From: gulfstream [mailto:gulfstream_at_flinet.com] Sent: Friday, October 02, 1998 1:05 PM To: PaddleWise Subject: [Paddlewise] Paddle Shafts While we're discussing shafts what are the pros and cons of Graphite Vs FG. I've cut my Carbon Swift down to the length of my FG Lendal. I seem to suffer little or no elbow or shoulder pain with the Lendal, but some with the Swift. Is it psychosomatic or is there really any benefit of the fiberglass shaft? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
-- >While we're discussing shafts what are the pros and cons of Graphite Vs FG. >I've cut my Carbon Swift down to the length of my FG Lendal. I seem to >suffer little or no elbow or shoulder pain with the Lendal, but some with >the Swift. > >Is it psychosomatic or is there really any benefit of the fiberglass shaft? I don't know that the material makes the difference so much as the size, weight, and flexibility. Perhaps the synthetic paddles have a different rebound rate after flexing and maybe different shock absorbing qualities but so far I know of no investigations into that. Some years back I made a number of paddles for people who had shoulder problems by starting with a stiff paddle and then progressively cutting them down until the paddler was happy. The owners swear by them but I am not sure why they were better. 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/ ***************************************************************************
The written material on paddle shafts seems to indicate that a fg shaft will be kinder to joints but I have been unable to detect much difference in my 2 glass and one graphite shaft. I have met a few racers who train with glass to "protect joints" then race with carbon. There doesn't seem to be anything definitive. At the same time, water is a liquid, last time I looked and would probably have more give then either shaft material. cya *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Bob wrote; - >The written material on paddle shafts seems to indicate that a fg shaft will >be kinder to joints but I have been unable to detect much difference in my 2 >glass and one graphite shaft. I have met a few racers who train with glass >to "protect joints" then race with carbon. It would be interesting to measure the flexure of different shafts and return rate and then compare them to paddler perceptions. The caveat would be that the blades, lengths, and weights would have to be the same so there would be no confusing of issues. > >There doesn't seem to be anything definitive. At the same time, water is a >liquid, last time I looked and would probably have more give then either >shaft material. This seems so logical and yet paddler perceptions don't agree. When I was making custom paddles for people with shoulder and arm problems they felt that there was a difference as we softened up the shaft (while leaving the blade constant). It surprised me then and I still am surprised since I could detect no noticeable difference. 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/ ***************************************************************************
I did an impromptu paddle shaft test on 2 graphite and 2 glass shafts and I couldn't really detect much difference in the flex!? The shafts were different diameters and wall thickness, but the graphite shafts were not as stiff as I would have believed. Is there some sort of paddle psychosis going on here? >>> This seems so logical and yet paddler perceptions don't agree. When I was making custom paddles for people with shoulder and arm problems they felt that there was a difference as we softened up the shaft (while leaving the blade constant). It surprised me then and I still am surprised since I could detect no noticeable difference. 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/ ***************************************************************************
>The written material on paddle shafts seems to indicate that a fg shaft will >be kinder to joints but I have been unable to detect much difference in my >2 glass and one graphite shaft. I have met a few racers who train with glass >to "protect joints" then race with carbon. Even carbon shafts vary widely. The shaft on my Schlegel slalom paddle was quite inflexible and transmitted all the shock of impact to my joints; the shaft on my Mitchell slalom paddle has *just* enough flex to take up some of that shock -- but not enough to cause me to waste power deforming it. It feels so much better, and I'm able to train with it full-time without the aches and pains that I got when training with the Schlegel. ---Rsk Rich Kulawiec rsk_at_gsp.org *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Bob, >The written material on paddle shafts seems to indicate that a fg shaft will >be kinder to joints but I have been unable to detect much difference in my 2 >glass and one graphite shaft. I have met a few racers who train with glass >to "protect joints" then race with carbon. Amount of graphite (percentage), its fiber orientation, shaft wall thickness, shaft diameter, shaft length, and other factors determine the differences in graphite vs fiberglass shaft. >There doesn't seem to be anything definitive. At the same time, water is a >liquid, last time I looked and would probably have more give then either >shaft material. And it does. Or can. Water will give less on quick strokes than it will on slow ones. If you are a lazy paddler using long easy strokes, the shaft probably won't make a difference, except that a graphite one might be lighter to lift and hold up while paddling. Sprint racers don't paddle in a lazy style like that and notice the difference in shafts more because of it. Some people just don't seem to be bothered much no matter what they use (I hate 'em! <Grin>). Hank Hays *************************************************************************** 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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