In a message dated 4/2/99 12:07:02 AM Eastern Standard Time, Strosaker_at_aol.com writes: << I started kayaking with a feathered paddle some years ago. The reason I used a feathered paddle then was because it seemed to be the norm for sea kayaking. Most of the books I read emphasized it, so I blindly followed. Then I made a greenland paddle, which of course isn't feathered, and I began using it. After using the greenland paddle for some time, I began alternating between using it and a standard paddle, depending on the type of kayak and conditions I was in. >> I also use both a feathered 'Euro' blade and a Greenland paddle. When paddling against fast tidal currents or when doing ACA or BCU classes I use the 'Euro' blade. The reason for this is that in the currents I like all the initial power I can get (at the expense of energy) and because the ACA and BCU insist on training and assessment using it. But for most other times I use the Greenland probably about 90-95% of the time. I still think it's important for people to know how to use both. Narrow bladed paddles for ocean application have been used for centuries under the severest of conditions. Two great sea kayaking cultures, the Aleuts and the Greenlanders have developed remarkably similar paddles though separated by great distances. If they are so good how did the wide blade 'Euro' paddle used today by most paddlers come into use? Simple. It started in river kayaking which evolved from river canoeing. Early paddlers were using open canoes, eventually decking some of them and then developing river kayaks. With the reemergence of the seakayak, it was natural to carry the use of the wide blade, feathered paddle over to the sea since everyone was already utilizing it. When new people came into the sport of sea kayaking and wanted instruction, who was there to train them but the river-turned-seakayakers. What paddle do you suppose they used? Did anyone think to ask "Who invented the ocean going kayak and paddle in the first place?" Thus, the Euro paddle became the standard for those who followed into the sport. This type of paddle is very appropriate for river paddling and also has been used in many major expeditions and crossings. There is no doubt that it works but we just can't dismiss the virtues of the Greenland style paddle without giving it a fair shake. They are well suited for touring and long distance paddling, not to mention sculls, braces and rolls Kayakers are strongly divided over the paddle issue and I don't want to fuel it anymore but it is important to note that almost all seakayakers who have switched over to a narrow blade have started out paddling with a wide bladed paddle, myself included. The reverse is not true. As John Heath, a long time student of traditional kayaks and techniques has said, "Quite simply, to attempt certain rolling and rescue techniques with a feathered, wide-bladed paddle is like trying to thread a needle while wearing boxing gloves-with one glove on backwards." WHY IT WORKS! For a given area and all other factors being equal, a flat shape with the highest coefficient of drag gives the best grip on the water. When various flat surfaces of equal area are pulled through the water, a round shape gives the least drag and a long rectangular shape, such as a Greenland style, gives the highest drag or best 'bite' (which is what is desired). A wide blade paddle falls somewhere in between these shapes. When a paddle is pulled through the water, the water on the working blade moves outward to the edges of the paddle and curls around forming an eddy or vortex on the back side These are shed alternately and is the reason for the zigzag motion felt at certain speeds. Only with a narrow paddle is this vortex shedding noticeable because the vortex is large in relation to the blade. The opposite is true for the non working blade. In hydrodynamics, the rectangular shape has the highest coefficient of drag but aerodynamically it has one of the lowest. This coupled with the lower Greenland stroke makes the effect of wind on the blade minimal. With feathered paddles, as the working blade is pulling through the water, the other is edge on to the wind. This may be a slight advantage for wide paddles when heading into the wind but what happens when paddling with a beam wind. A sudden, powerful gust may catch the unprepared paddler and capsize them. The working blade is edge on to the water and will offer no support to counteract the effect of the wind. Where a wide bladed paddle is useful for quick, powerful strokes such as would be needed on the river or in racing, for some it can be very fatiguing for touring. Similar to a mountain bike in low gear for going through dirt and sand versus a touring bike in high gear. Initially, a narrow paddle will offer less power but after a kayak is at cruising speed it makes no difference. Another consideration is that a narrow paddle gives less muscle shock since it develops resistance more slowly. Wooden paddles flex more, acting as shock absorbers in the beginning of the stroke and giving back the snap at the end. It has been said that the Greenlanders did not have the technology to make wide bladed paddles or feather them. Nonsense. The paddle could have been made as a frame and covered with skin or thin pieces of wood or they could have built up the width the same way they attached the bone or ivory tips and edging to the narrow bladed paddles. As far as feathering goes, there is no secret to making a feathered Greenland paddle. I have made them quite easily and there are a few feathered Greenland paddles in the museums so the validity of that statement disintegrates. The paddle evolved as a narrow and unfeathered blade because, quite simply, it works. Ray Killen Katabasis L.L.C. I'd rather be upside down in my kayak than sitting upright at my desk! http://members.aol.com/kayakillen/katabasis ANorAK For Sea Kayakers, By Sea Kayakers, About Sea Kayakers http://members.aol.com/gokayak/anorak *************************************************************************** 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 Apr 02 1999 - 05:13:17 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:06 PDT