In a message dated 5/11/01 9:14:13 AM Pacific Daylight Time, mkayaks_at_oz.net writes: > Harold wrote: > >>>>Amen, Brother. Though even ten years ago, I could pull my body apart > with a 220 Camano. My body is built more for the 220 Little Dipper. Anything > larger and I have to be careful or I'll strip my gears.<<<< MATT: > Is it so hard to be careful? I've always wondered why not just not yank so > hard at first if using a stiff shaft or other paddle that folks claim tears them up. Again, it's that gear thing. I'll pull as hard as the blade size/slippage allows me to in the quest to get there quickly (sometimes I'm actually goal-oriented). It's not a "yank" in the sense of being abrupt, just a smooth but intense application of power. If the blade slips more, I get a little less drive and thus strain on my muscles and joints, but get quickly through the stroke and on to the next -- lighter but more rapid impulses of power that keep my momentum more constant and provide the same speed with less strain on the arms. At least, that is my understanding and experience of the differences. Matt: > Are you going to trying to say that the wind helps an unfeathered paddler > going down wind? <Enlightened and persuasive argument snipped> The differences are -- as you note, small and disputable, but please don't totally destroy my long-held biases on the strength of good reason, for gosh sakes! :^) Actually, I still feel that the advantages of the feathered paddle (even at 90*) is diminished by my predilection for keeping the paddle blade low (shaft angle at or below a 45* angle to the water surface). The wind gradient is fairly high in the first few feet above the water, and the blade seems to be exposed to a lower wind speed than in a high-bladed power stroke. But keeping a very low angle means you can't bend at the elbow to change blade angle, and low-hand control only works for me if I bend or raise the elbow. This means that wrist bend comes back into play at the low paddle angles and again results in wrist problems. Matt: > Werner Paddles used to correctly (I believe) explain that their narrower > "Little Dipper" paddles had a longer edge and the turbulence around that > longer edge increased the drag (grip on the water) for more power. If this > is true the narrower paddle with the same blade area should be affected more > by the wind. I once read an explanation by an engineer who championed this idea that it is the drag caused by the vortices that really generates our grip on the water, and it fit in with other explanations I'd read about sails and wings and things. He said that if you compared two 100 square-inch blades -- one one-inch wide, the other 10 inches wide, the first would have 202 lineal inches of edge while the second 40 inches of edge, and the first would have a good deal more grip in the water. But it was his contention that (for some reason I don't remember -- probably having to do with the fluid densities), that the aspect ration of the blade had the opposite effect in the wind -- the thinner blade would be pushed around less. Anyone have a hard scientific explanation for this? > Later in the same brochure they said the Little Dipper slipped more in the > water so was easier on the joints. I don't think they can have it both ways, Perhaps they were comparing to the same-length Camano? The Camano has IIRC 15% more blade area, while the LD has more edge length, but the center of force of the Camano would be further away from the fulcrum due to the wider/shorter blade configuration, so It seems reasonable that the Camano might have more drive for the overall length. My own simple tests gave me 10% fewer strokes over a set distance using the Camano vs the same-length LD. But no -- you can't have it both ways unless comparing apples and oranges. Still, I seem to do better with a 230 "Skinny" Dipper (old-style LD) than with a 220 Camano for longer distances, even though my own testing says they are similar in power. Also, I like the 230 "Skinny" Dipper much more than either the 220 or 230 new LD -- possibly because of less twisting moment on the blade. Matt > I've tried using a 200cm river paddle but the stroke rate was just too fast > (during a fast cruising speed) to be comfortable and maintain coordination > when I was tired. Sort of like too low a gear on a bicycle. You do need to get the correct gear. However, just like in bicycling, you can train your muscles to operate at a higher, lower-stress rate than is currently comfortable for you. It takes some work to learn, though. > > I once tested the Skinny Dipper, Camano and San Juan paddles in 220 and 230 > lengths over a short, closed course by paddling with one after the other at > what a perceived-constant rate of output. My findings were that I took 10% > fewer strokes as I jumped from blade to blade, going from smallest to > largest, and also 10% fewer strokes going from the 220 to the 230 in each > blade type. I did not notice the slight increase in stress on my body > during any of the tests.<<<<< Matt: > What increase in stress would there be, you said you were maintaining a > perceived constant output. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. By "constant output" I was referring to heart/lung stress -- the amount of (perceived) work output my body was doing. By "stress on my body" I was referring to the strain on my muscles and joints. I didn't detect the stress during those test, but during paddles exceeding a few miles, the stress on my arms becomes very evident when I maintain the same level of heart/lung stress. *************************************************************************** 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 Mon May 14 2001 - 15:58:17 PDT
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