My take on paddle length: The Olympic style of (flatwater) kayak racing is all out power for shorter distances than we may be cruising over a longer distance. The stroke is much closer to the vertical than would be comfortable for a more leisurely (by comparison to a sprint race) all-day cruise. That's why you want a shorter paddle length for the sprint. When you are paddling flatter (i.e., shaft maybe 45 degrees off the vertical)as in cruising, you need a longer shaft to comfortably reach the water. Shorter shaft also helps in accelerating the rate of paddling (strokes per minute or however that is measured). Having said that, it has been my observation that many novices in sea kayaks have incredibly long paddles. Don't know where that comes from, I'm guessing misinformed folks at shops that sell the equipment. Paddle length is related to the size of the paddler, the kind of boat they are paddling, and the style of paddling they pursue. I'm short (5'1" [about 150cm?]), my whitewater paddle is 210 cm; sea kayak paddle 220 cm; and kayak paddle for the purpose of canoeing (I'm paddling stern as my kids are in the front, typically lollygagging and doing little or no paddling), 230 cm. My whitewater racing paddle is 208 cm. I'm not sure what you are describing as "cocked wrists". Never paddled with anything but a straight shaft paddle and only one tendonitis problem - caused by something unrelated to paddling. Don't want to go into the feathered vs. unfeathered issue (we've been there before!), but switching at that one time to unfeathered allowed me to paddle with comfort. Natalie Wiest Galveston TX *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed May 09 2001 - 08:40:41 PDT
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