Re: [Paddlewise] Advantages of the high aspect ratio paddle?

At 09:48 AM 5/20/01 EDT, KiAyker_at_aol.com wrote:

>  I enjoy experimenting with different kinds of equipment. And while much of 
>these techie discussions about paddle and boat designs are a bit over my 
>head, I still try to wade through them and understand what I can. I think 
>it's fascinating, and I am in awe of the people who do seem to have a solid 
>grasp of this stuff. I do hope you folks keep it coming. I figure the more I 
>read about it, the better the chance that some of it will sink in. And while 

>  Anyways, just my two cents.

It's been a while since we've had a good technical knock down, drag out on
P-wise, and I think a few people have forgotten what it's like to have
people like Matt, Nick and John throwing equations at each other. (BTW,
welcome back, John -- we've missed you!) But, I had an interesting time
today trying several paddles, and think I learned something useful.

It was a beautiful spring day today -- a light breeze, warm, but not
exceptionally so -- I figured that it wouldn't be particularly good for
observing the coefficient of exposure demonstrated by various bikinis along
the way, but was proved wrong. Two regular paddle partners and I had
decided to do an easy paddle, just to enjoy the day.

Problem: my regular paddle is momentarily deadlined, waiting for varnish to
dry after I sanded out a few scratches. Just to have something to use, I
grabbed a paddle I had laying around. This is an aluminum shaft job, big
plastic blades, and rather heavy, but cheap -- I think I paid $44 for it,
just to have something around when I needed a spare paddle. But, inspired
by the discussion on Paddlewise the past few days, I asked a buddy to bring
along his Superior Inuit paddle. I've played with it a couple times, but
never for any distance. Well, we took our time, and I was continually
struggling to keep up with it, churning out a stroke rate perhaps twice the
normal rate. It took us over an hour to go about three miles, although I
will admit that we stopped for a while to look at some guys playing with
some loud, fast RC model boats. I'd hate to take one of those in the side
of the hull when it was going full bore, but so would the owner -- we
discovered that they cost about three grand each! 

But, I digress. My arms were getting pretty tired from the high stroke
rate, partly due to the weight that has to get moved around (arms plus
paddle), and partly due to the fact that I didn't feel that the blades had
bite enough to keep the boat on course in a gusty crosswind -- to the point
where I put the rudder down for the first time this year. I was rather glad
to get up to the break point, where I put the Inuit paddle under the deck
lines, and dug out the aluminum and plastic cheapie I'd brought along just
in case. We made the trip back in considerably less time, in spite of the
heavier feel of the cheapie, its better bite of the water meant that my
stroke rate was something I was more comfortable with, in spite of the
feeling that I was putting more effort into each stroke. 

We stopped again, sat on the shore, drank cool drinks, and watched boats
and pontoons go up and down the narrow channel, most loaded with people, a
few of them wearing colorful high exposure coefficent immersion gear. After
a while, we got going again. 

My buddy decided he wanted to paddle with the Inuit paddle for a while, so
I put the aluminum cheapie back under the deck lines, and took his regular
paddle, which is a carbon-fiber Epic that weighs only 17 or 19 ounces --
You barely feel like there's anything there, and although it's supposed to
be stronger than dirt, I didn't feel like putting any stress on it. While
it's not supposed to break, it would be painful to replace. Worse, it's a
one-piece, with a fixed right control, and I'm the only person I know that
paddle left control (carpial tunnel is involved). I was probably slower
with this paddle than with the others, only because I had to stop and think
about what I was doing. So long as I could remember to keep my right wrist
moving, it was fine, but if I stopped thinking about it, sooner or later
I'd control the wrong hand, and Whoops! Unfortunately, for some of the
distance we followed a pontoon loaded with high school girls wearing, well,
you guessed it, and keeping my mind on my paddling was difficult.

At the turnaround point, I switched back to the cheapie, which now really
felt like lead, but at least which I could control. On the way back, I
reflected that much of paddle selection is involved in a personal decision,
and in what you are used to and comfortable with. No doubt, I could get a
little more comfortable with either of the odd paddles, given time, and the
Inuit paddle has some distinct advantages in things like recoveries. But,
for the time being, I think I'm going to send this off and get another coat
of varnish on my regular paddle.

-- Wes
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Wes Boyd's Kayak Place               http://www2.dmci.net/wesboyd/kayak.htm
Kayaks for Big Guys (And Gals) | Trip Reports | Places To Go | Boats & Gear
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