RE: [Paddlewise] ACA Greenland certific

From: Colin Calder <c.j.calder_at_abdn.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 16 Jul 1999 14:04:27 +0100
John Winters wrote:

> I concur with Nick on this as my tinkering with paddles suggests that
> techniques are relatively interchangeable with paddles so long as basic
> characteristics remain constant. The one possible exception would be the
> true racing wing due to its unique shape. The relative effectiveness of the
> different paddles may vary but they still seem to work adequately well. (all
> subjective of course).

I've been playing around with a homemade 'greenland style' stick (thanks again for
your building notes Chuck) for a couple of months, and would also tend to agree
with Nick and John's comments. No reason why extended paddle strokes etc can't be
done with a euro paddle, however the 'feel' of greenland style paddles doe differ
markedly from euro blades, and my observation would be that bracing and skulling
strokes are also somewhat different - clearly harder to stall the 'greenland'
stick when skulling and rolling and it definitely doesn't interact with the
surface in the same way while bracing. Interesting to know whether the differences
are primarily because of the aspect ratio, immersed blade area, or section.


>  I have a project underway right now testing the various strokes with a
> variety of blade styles that I hope to finish soon. So far the most
> interesting paddle has a blade half way between the common high and low
> aspect ratio paddles narrow with a short overall length that one sues like a
> racing wing.
>
> It consistently produces more speed for the same effort ( as determined
> using the Borg Scale for perceived effort) and has the added benefit of
> being lighter than most paddles. An equally interesting paddle if only
> because I have had a lot of difficulty getting it shaped properly is a wing
> blade with convex surfaces front and back.
>

Any photos or drawings of these paddles available John ?


Cheers

Colin Calder
57º19'N  2º10'W

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Received on Fri Jul 16 1999 - 06:02:57 PDT

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