[Paddlewise] Paddles

G'Day,

Nick wrote:-
>One of the deceiving things about paddles is when they are working
>efficiently they feel  harder to use than when they are not. A paddle
>that moves freely through the water will feel a lot more comfortable
>than one that grabs a large mass of water and doesn't give as easily.
>Unfortunately, for a given amount of effort, the harder one to pull
>will generally make the boat move farther and faster. There are good
>physiological reasons for having the paddle "give" but it is hard to
>quantify and the needs of each paddler will be different.

Nick, Your comment improves my understanding. The problem is when one moves
from the 'force' applied to a paddle to the 'feel' of a paddle. When I kayak
the effort/force can feel high with one paddle while I'm trying to keep up
with a fast group and lower when I change paddles to allow myself to keep
up. This happens repeatedly and I have no idea what the forces on each
paddle really are. But interestingly the paddle which feels easier to use is
the one that lets me keep up.

How useful are conclusions about the efficiency of a paddle, using analyses
which ignore the paddler? Are modern computational methods adequate to
assess paddler/paddle combinations, bearing in mind the huge number of
variables? I believe theres still a place for subjective assessment and
craftsmanship based on experience rather than quantitation? I suspect we
have a few years to go before computer algorithms and understanding of
bio-mechanics are up to the task, but would be interested to hear of
progress in this area.

All the best, PeterO


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