Hi Rob Just got around to rereading a print of your post of the 15th April. Quote " Bottom line is I want a longer paddle, to get the stroke rate down and a larger blade area for easier bracing" I am nor sure about the larger blade area because of the extra wind resistance of the unfeathered blade in the air. Of course the forward tilt of the top edge of the blade with the Greenland paddling style helps. All that I have read about Greenland paddles is indicates the Inuit's used very narrow blades. I saw a photo taken Paul Caffyn during his Greenland trip of and old paddle beside a kayak in an old loft. I can only guess the relative dimensions but it looked very long and narrow. Also the second two paddles I made for Pam and myself are the same length as the fist ones, 2.43m but 12mm narrower at 75mm for Pam's and 81mm for mine. Although the blade shape is slightly different, parallel for the first 250mm from the tip of the blades in the new ones compared to a constant taper from tip to loom for the older ones, the blade are is less for the new ones. But despite this they are more efficient with noticeably more grip on the water. When at cruising speed, about 7kms/hr in our double the cadence is just over 60/min. I stress that Pam and I are no longer young but we usually manage to keep up with all but the best of the younger paddlers. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
>> All that I have read about Greenland paddles indicates the Inuits used very narrow blades. >> I don't think any of the Greenland blades in John Brand's _Little Kayak Book_ is wider than about 75mm. On Baffin Island, the paddles were longer and wider with more parallel blades, but the Baffin Islanders obviously used a different paddling technique. >> When paddling into a strong wind I get more power by changeng the position of my hands on the paddle for each stroke. When pulling on the right blade the right hand is in the middle of the loom and the left is on the left blade. When pulling left the positions are reversed. This comes naturally after a bit of persistent practice. This effectively gives a longer paddle length in the water and reduces the wind resistance on the blade in the air. It seems more efficient to do this when you want the extra power rather than going for a longer paddle. >> This is the Greenland sliding stroke, though a longer one than the one I usually use. Typically, a Greenlander would move his hands only the width of a fist or two, unless he was making a correction. There is a longer sliding stroke, which might be the one you are using, in which the hands meet in the middle of the loom, but I suspect this was used mostly with short paddles like the Greenland storm paddle. Greenlanders claimed this extension of the paddle gave them more control by getting the blade deeper into the water. Chuck Holst*************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Hello, > >> > All that I have read about Greenland paddles indicates the Inuits used very > narrow blades. > >> Just for the record, I thought you might be interested to learn some Inuktitut, the language of the inventors of the kayak. The word 'Inuit' is actually plural, meaning three or more persons. A single person is an 'inuk'. As with many native North American languages, there is a dual form of the noun as well, referring in this case to 2 people. Thus we get 'inuuk'. Inuk, inuuk, and inuit - a person, a couple of persons and lots of people. End of today's lesson! Now off you go and practice while you play... Michael Bradley *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks for the lesson. I'll never look at my inuk paddle quite the same! Jed *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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