Re: [Paddlewise] Aleut Paddles

From: Shawn Baker <shawnkayak_at_yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2002 10:47:41 -0700 (PDT)
I've only ever tried one once.  P'wiser Mike Hanks (Mike, you reading
this?) has built one or two.  He told me they're a lot better for
speed, and good, but not as good for rolling than GP's.

Aleut paddles are symmetrical side-to-side and top-bottom, but there is
a power face and a back face.  A skilled Aleut paddler was reportedly
able to keep a baidarka going 8-9 knots, consistently with one of these
paddles.  

That's like Greg Barton in a surf ski.

I think Wolfgang Brinck's book 'The Aleutian Kayak' has images and a
description of how to build one of these paddles.  I'm not aware that
there is an equivalent to Chuck Holst's excellent online article on
building Greenland Paddles.

Shawn

knelson_at_captivasoftware.com wrote:
>Have you, or anyone reading this, ever tried symmetrical Aleut
paddles? I'm seriously looking at starting one but first hand
information has been scarce.

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Received on Mon Sep 16 2002 - 10:47:44 PDT

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