Re: [Paddlewise] Switching paddle types

   I have always liked the "romance" of using a home carved traditional 
Greenland style paddle, but have always used a large Werner San Juan instead. 
After seeing what appeared to be some sort of resurgence of the GP's I 
decided that I really needed to give them a fair try before settling on a 
personal opinion of their capabilities. So I carved a paddle and resigned 
myself to use it exclusively for at least a year.
   The transition, at first, was very hard. The GP handled much differently 
then my trusty San Juan. The switch was made even more difficult in that my 
favorite boat of fifteen years was stolen during this period forcing me to 
add one more variable to the test. But as I forced myself to stick with it, 
and eventually became more proficient with using the GP, I actually began to 
really like it! Then, for a while, I became so fond of it that I began to 
much prefer it to my San Juan!
   About this time I started refining the fit of my new North Bay, and was 
getting comfortable enough in it to start really putting it through ropes. As 
I began pushing the boat into more extreme conditions (the type of paddling I 
really enjoy) I started finding the GP to be somewhat lacking. The GP seems 
very efficient at propelling the boat, it's very quiet when stalking things 
on the water, and it's really a lot of fun for rolling. But, at least in my 
experience, it seems much weaker for really being able to put the boat on 
edge and brace with.
   I ended up using the GP for about a year and a half before switching back 
to the San Juan. At this point I just don't feel that I can really depend on 
the GP for what I want, when I when I want it. I fully acknowledge that it 
may be my lack of experience or ability with the paddle rather then any 
limitations of the paddle itself. I will try to go back to the GP at a point 
in the future when I am much more comfortable in the North Bay and can 
concentrate on the paddle without thought to the boat. I still feel the GP is 
sexier then the other types of paddles, and looking good in the boat is 
almost as important as performance, right? :-))

Just my two cents,

Scott
So.Cal.

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