Mark wrote; > Can anyone give me some guidelines on stroke rate vs speed for greenland > paddling with day trip loads in the kayak. (SNIP) Yes, they can and probably will. Unfortunately many things influence speed. Most of us have probably seen people who paddled like they were killing snakes but still could not keep up with someone paddling along at a slow and stately pace. You can paddle at the same speed with either a small paddle at a high rate or a large paddle at a low rate. Even paddles of the same size have different drag and lift characteristics and will produce much different force at the same velocity. The power output of the blade depends largely upon its velocity in the water. You can, for example, paddle with a rapid recovery rate (time between emersion and immersion) but still not apply much power during the power phase. In this respect, stroke rate can be misleading. If you insist on using a particular style of paddle then make sure you use the correct technique (if you can determine which of the "correct" techniques is "correct"). Also make sure you have sized the blade properly. I have a simple test that seems to work. If your paddle ventilates (sucks air down the back face) at normal touring rate then either you have inappropriate stroke mechanics or too small a paddle. Conversely, If you can't get the paddle to ventilate at maximum power output it may have too much area. because blade area, stroke technique, biomechanics, etc. influence the stroke rate you might want to consider first what I like to call the "natural" cadence. Due to body size, type, and training every person appears to have a stroke rate that feels comfortable. You can change the rate by training or you can learn to live with yourself and fit the paddle and boat to you instead of fitting you to the paddle and boat. Paddling at either too slow or too fast a rate seems more tiring than paddling at the "natural" rate. If you feel comfortable with your current stroke rate then maybe just increasing (or decreasing) the blade size will help. Also keep in mind that some boats paddle more efficiently at higher speeds. If you and your boat begin to "hit the wall" at four knots then you may as well bite the bullet. At that point you can train harder or buy a new boat. You can also take another approach. Learn to live with yourself and your boat. If your friends think so little of your company that they paddle off into the horizon then find new friends or paddle alone. Paddling enjoyment need not depend upon speed. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Apr 06 2000 - 05:00:13 PDT
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