Like some others who have written in, I always used the paddle as a brace when entering or exiting from a shelving beach without surf too. But some years ago a Brit BCU instructor whom I respect greatly (Phil Daligan) made it very clear that he doesn't think "sitting on the paddle" is a valid way to enter. Since then I've made a real effort *not* to use the paddle. With the "Euro" paddle - With the boat floating in 8 10 18 inches of water, even with the round-chined Romany, it's easy enough to enter either by stradding the boat and easing in , or by sitting "side-saddle" with weight centered over the boat's center, right at the cockpit rim, or just behind the rim. You can then slide in one leg while supporting the boat with the other foot on the bottom of the beach. For exiting the boat, those same moves work well in reverse. If there are enough waves so I think I can't easily get in or out as described above, and yet not enough to warrant a seal launch, the paddle can be positioned well *aft* of where I'm going to sit. Either way, ideally the paddle is not jammed against the bottom of the beach, but is balanced, ready to support if needed. At most, it should only touch the bottom lightly. With the Greenland paddle's bouyancy, allowing the paddle blade to touch the bottom is not often necessary. Bill Hansen Ithaca NY *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Apr 21 2000 - 06:52:20 PDT
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