Re: [Paddlewise] wing paddle

Roberto of the Bayou:
    My experience with aforementioned wing paddle is limited........it's kind
of like flossing; you know vaguely that it's good for you.....but you just
can't warm up to the miserable thing.    I know all about it, you get it in the
mail and tear at the wrappings and proceed to the lake to give it a try and
discover that it rolls oddly in your wrist.   That's why it resides in your
cellar.  I've given some thought to this-- and a limited amount of
practice.....here's what helps--here's what this overpriced little kayak
accessory wants:  It wants a high-angle attack to the water--you need to
stretch further forward than you thought you could ever before and plant it in
the water close to the sheer of your kayak....oh..... somewhere close to the
front grab loop.  The little sucker then exits the water *before*  it gets to
your hip...........and before you know it the other side is planted impossibly
forward of any stroke you've ever taken........you're about to find out that
yes, you can roll with it.......but it makes a terrible bracing paddle.   If
you feel that it rolls oddly in your wrist you are probably taking to low an
angle's bite into the water.  Torso rotation is all important in this (the
paddle's) domain.......I've sat down for hours and watched Greg Barton in
slo-mo and freeze frame  with his perfect form in a baidarka squeezing 9 MPH
out of the craft with a wing........talk about torso rotation.....his
*shoulders* cross the center line of the boat!!!   And yes....it works---
anywhere from 5% to 15% increase in efficiency ......it's just a bird of
another stripe......a specific tool......FOR RACING........not a recreational
paddle......I have threatened to have my wife lock up all my other paddles in
the gun closet and let me surf and recreate with this paddle only......never
quite taken that step......I may yet.



BaysideBob wrote:

> Digging through piles of stuff in the basement ,which I had
> to clear out so a new furnace could be installed, I discovered
> one of those fancy "wing" paddles.  My best recollection is
> that I aquired it after a mainly marguerita lunch.  "I must be
> doing something wrong", best describes my experience
> with it.
>
> Anybody know how to make these things work?
>
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