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

At 1:26 PM -0500 5/20/01, Dennis, Becky & Natalie wrote:
>
>Today, on a local chain of lakes, I ran into one of the fittest and 
>most skillful
>paddlers in the area.  He regularly paddles in any kind of water in 
>Lake Superior
>and can do 40 mile days at a fast pace (4 to 4.5 knots pace).  He is 
>younger and
>far fitter than I, so I joined him today and cruised for a bit at 
>his quick tempo
>(he uses Lendals) with no difficulty.  Then I asked him if we could 
>sprint for a
>bit to see how far behind I might be left with my jGreenland blades. 
>It didn't
>happen, I stayed with him to very near hull speed and did not drop 
>behind.  Given
>our relative fitness levels, the only (subjective) conclusion I can come to is
>that my Greenland paddle IS as efficient as his Euro paddle.  Oh, by 
>the way , we
>both paddle Nordkapp Jubilees and are about the same size.
>

This means that you are able to apply about as much propulsion force 
with your paddle as he did to his. It does not say anything about 
which is more efficient. And if you were near hull speed, then one of 
you may have been applying more force, but the boat just couldn't 
really go any faster.

This is what makes the discussion so confusing. Anybody can do a test 
like yours and it would seem that you have answered the paddle 
efficiency question. But unless you do some test which measure how 
much energy each of you expended to create the force to make you go 
that fast, you still don't know anything about the efficiency.
-- 
Nick Schade
Guillemot Kayaks
824 Thompson St
Glastonbury, CT 06033
(860) 659-8847
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