Re: [Paddlewise] Storm Wing?

On Mon, 19 Apr 1999, Gerald Foodman wrote:
> 
> Kevin,
> I don't at all understand how you consider a Greenland like a wing.  I have
> a commercial Greenland (by Mark Rogers of Superior Kayaks) and have tried
> wing wing paddles.  They couldn't be more different.  What am I missing?
> Are you joking?  What do you mean by modern wing technique with a Greenland?
> Don't you use a very low flat stroke with the Greenland?

A greenland paddle technically is a wing, since it has a symmetrical foil
shape which produces forward lift if paddled in the right way. This has
been discussed before on Paddlewise. Modern wing technique means to use a
very high angle, extended arm stroke just like modern kayak races use with
modern wing paddles. I think the amount of lift generated is significant
in this way, although I have not tested it against a modern wing paddle.

As Tim suggested in another post, this was an informative joke... Sort of.  
I do think that a Greenland is the best kind of paddle for sea kayaking
period, and I think I shall need to test a good Greenland paddle against a
racing wing paddle this summer. I certainly consider a Greenland paddle to
be a symmetrical wing paddle, and a modern racing wing paddle to be an
asymmetrical wing.

> 
> And what do you mean by properly constructed Greenland? What is wrong with
> the Mark Rogers paddles?

Two main things. One, a Greenland paddle should have a much thicker
cross-section than commericial paddles, and it should have a diamond shape
everywhere except at the tips of the blade. This generates more lift. Two,
it should have the "thumb-bumps" at the base of the blades, which allows
for automatic indexing when using a sliding stroke.  According to George
Gronseth, who has been to a Greenland kayaking camp, these are not minor
points.

> 
> (I liked the Greenland but now use an AT, which seems to me better in every
> way, except cost, where it is MUCH worse.)
> 

I also really like the AT paddle, but I would not consider it better than
my greenland paddle in any way except perhaps in surf, where blade area is
more important than efficiency. I would probably get an AT sea kayak
paddle to keep my AT whitewater paddle company if it weren't for the
prohibitive cost.

> Another question:  Do you use a very short "Storm" Greenland, with sliding
> stroke,  for storm paddling?  It seems to me that even the usual Greenland
> length of 7' is too short for rough water paddling.  I prefer 7'6".
> 

My Greenland paddle is 7'6", although I made it a little bit longer to
compensate for reduced width in the blades -- I used a finished 2x4 as a
blank. I use a sliding stroke, a wing type stroke, and a high-efficiency
stroke all interchangeably, although I prefer the high-efficiency stroke
for general cruising, and the wing for accelerating and catching waves. I
use the sliding stroke as a muscle-relaxer.

I am REALLY looking forward to paddling with Maligiaq this coming weekend
at the Anacortes skin kayak festival.

Cheers,
Kevin

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************