> G'Day John and Paddlewise, > > Is the issue that simple? Surely you have to take into account things like > the age of the person, the boat setup and the conditions. For instance I > paddled all sorts of boats for 18 months with 80 or 90 degree feathered > paddles without any problems and then started to prefer not using a > rudder. But a few months without a rudder and sometimes beam winds of 15 > to 20 knots and I started to get "tennis elbow". It wasn't disabling but I > think given time would have become bad. Recently, I changed the feather > angle to about 10 degrees and improved the distribution of load in the > boat, edging technique and use of body weight. Now I can paddle without a > rudder and without the incipient tennis elbow. As for paddling into the > wind with an unfeathered paddle, sure it can be hard work but doesn't > wreck my wrists or arm and can't say I've noticed the paddle wobbling yet? > > > How do others cope with feathered paddles and no rudder? > > All the best, PeterO > > John Fereira wrote > SNIP > >So many times (mostly from whitewater paddlers) I've seen people claim > that > >lower degreed feather angled paddled "cured" their wrist problems. I've > >maintained that it isn't the paddle that causes wrist problems; it's the > >technique one uses when using a paddle with a high degree of feather > angle. > SNIP > >Pushing the wind with every stroke and controlling a wobbling blade > >probably puts more stress on the joints than a feathered paddle that is > >cutting into the wind. > SNIP > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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