[Paddlewise] paddles and seats

Two questions:

1) I have been paddling a variety of different sea kayaks over the last
year, and because of that used a suite of different paddles. Some paddles
have a strange feel in the water: as if you pull your hands through sand.
It seems as if I pull a vacuum behind the blade, and the collapsing of the
vacuum bubbles gives this strange feel, and give me the idea that I am not
transfering my power efficently through the paddle onto the water. Some
paddles do this, others don't (independent on material, quality or price).
Any ideas on why? Is this poor design, or is it my technique? Also, some
paddles are very noisy in the upstroke out of the water, very splashy (yes,
I know what is up and down :-), while others are very quiet. Curious enough
the paddle I like best is a cheap, aluminum/plastic thing with broad
blades. Might be related to my 6'2". I prefer to make long, powerfull
strokes instead of multiple shorter ones.

2) Yesterday I did a great trip to Anclote Keys (near Tampa, FL) in an
Eddyline Falcon 18. Such a nice boat! But, as I had noticed before in this
boat, my legs and feet start getting numb after an hour. I have fiddled
around with the footpegs, but that doesn't seem to help. I guess there is
something in the seat design that pinches a nerve or artery, because I
never have this problem in the Dagger Magellans I frequently use. Yesterday
I tried sitting on a towel(couldn't find a piece of foam), to modify the
seat mold. But that didn't help either; today my legs and feet still feel a
little numb. Any suggestions for dealing with this problem?

Peter

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