By "lenticular shape" do you mean the "willow leaf" shape as Derek calls it? The shape as seen when looking at the power face has little to do with how easy it is to use. It is the thick cross sectional shape of both the Toksook and the standard Greenland style paddle which makes it very forgiving while sculling and rolling. A relatively thick blade relative to will be less likely to dive or stall if you have the angle of attack off a little. The difficulty sculling with "modern" paddles is not so much that they are wide, but they are thin. There is good reason to make them thin because this keeps them light, but they do tend to be a little touchy when sculling. A wooden paddle of the same shape as a modern composite blade will be easier to roll with by virtue of its increased thickness. Nick At 12:37 PM -0500 4/6/99, Chuck Holst wrote: >snip >As others have pointed out, the lenticular shape that makes the Toksook >so easy to scull with is shared by the Greenland paddle, which is also >an easy paddle to scull with. The main difference, aside from the fact >that the Greenland paddle has no center rib to spoil the flow, is that >the Greenland blade is much longer and narrower, so when sculling or >rolling, most paddlers extend it for added leverage (which it is >designed for). However, it is also possible to scull and roll with a >Greenland paddle with the hands in the normal paddling position, just >not as easily. Also, a Greenland paddle carved from Western red cedar >and unencumbered by fiberglass is probably lighter and stronger than >the Toksook. I have instructions for making your own Greenland paddle >for less than $20 that can be downloaded from the Paddlewise Web site. >(Note, however, that this is an old set of instructions that I plan to >replace soon.) > >Unlike modern "Euro" paddles, because of its shape, the Greenland >paddle is traditionally sculled with the blade well underwater (about >30 degrees) rather than on the surface, and I understand that this is >how George Gronseth teaches it. In fact, a sculling roll, in which the >paddle blade starts well underwater, is one of the easiest rolls to do >with a Greenland paddle. When I finally persuaded Linda to try it, she >said, "That's not a roll; it's too easy! That's just a sculling brace!" Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 10 Ash Swamp Rd Glastonbury, CT 06033 (860) 659-8847 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Apr 07 1999 - 06:04:49 PDT
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