I have a custom-built (not by my own hand) aleut paddle that I am incredibly fond of. Wander around www.skinboats.com and see what they've got to say on the subject. Colin Livesey from skinboats made mine. (Usual disclaimer: no financial interest, just very satisfied customer). Anybody who wants more detail can back-channel me. Bruce >>> I agree. I have two Cricket paddles, and standard Greenland and a storm paddle. Very strong and pretty too. But custom designing to your body is always preferable. 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. >>> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
sent, "Personally, I build my own to suit my preference. But, if I were to buy a commercial paddle, I'd most likely buy a Cricket." I agree. I have two Cricket paddles, and standard Greenland and a storm paddle. Very strong and pretty too. But custom designing to your body is always preferable. 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. Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 9/16/2002 5:24:59 AM Pacific Daylight Time, knelson_at_captivasoftware.com writes: > I have two Cricket paddles, and standard Greenland and a storm > paddle. Very strong and pretty too. But custom designing to your body is > always preferable. > > As much as I like the Cricket, I find its size that I originally purchased > it (84 inches), to be way under my needs (90-92 inches). I made my own and > it is far superior in performance for that reason alone. Should you want to > purchase a GP make sure it is correctly sized. You can find the correct > anthropomorphical measurements by taking the following measurtements under > consideration: > > What is the distance between the floor and the curl of your finger tips > from an upraised arm? An overall measurement for determining approximate length. The beauty of GP's is that you can build them longer than you think you will need and trim to suit afterwards. > > What is the beam of your boat? Too short of a loom (or shaft) and you will need a partial sliding stroke to put all the blade into the water. Too long a loom and you will possibly have a wider than normal grip. > > What is your finger tip to finger tip arm span plus the distance form your > elbow to your finger tip? > An alternate overall length measuring system. > What is the circumference of your OK sign? (The index finger and thumb > rounded to form a C or a circle) This matters as too large a loom (or shaft) will fatigue or bister hands > > What is the distance between your thumb and finger tips when said digits > are curled as if to accept the former 2X4 horizontally across your palms. > This matters so as to get the correct blade width for easy rolling and sculling For further details I've not included here you may wish to log onto www.qajaqusa.org. Post a message on the forum or read the greenland technique articles. The greenland techniques in paddling or paddle building have made me a far better paddler which is a subject beyond this post so I'll just shutup now and wish you well. Rob G *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Sep 16, 2002 at 12:03:36PM -0400, Rcgibbert_at_aol.com wrote: > In a message dated 9/16/2002 5:24:59 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > knelson_at_captivasoftware.com writes: >> As much as I like the Cricket, I find its size that I originally >> purchased it (84 inches), to be way under my needs (90-92 >> inches). I made my own and it is far superior in performance for >> that reason alone. Should you want to purchase a GP make sure it is >> correctly sized. You can find the correct anthropomorphical >> measurements by taking the following measurtements under >> consideration: >> >> What is the distance between the floor and the curl of your finger >> tips from an upraised arm? > An overall measurement for determining approximate length. The > beauty of GP's is that you can build them longer than you think you > will need and trim to suit afterwards. Stop it now guys, you're scaring me. Were I to take the "What is the distance between the floor and ..." heuristic above, I would be looking at 100" (or longer) paddles. At roughly 6'4" and with fairly (OK, quite) long arms, I can reach up over the top of an 8-foot ceiling very easily. This used to be the guide folks gave novices in selecting cross-country skis of the appropriate lenght. From experience, with the exception of steel-edged back-country skis, this almost always resulted in skis that were way too long (by at least 10 cm). Skis ain't paddles, but it makes we wonder. Why not a wingspan-based heuristic? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Wed, 18 Sep 2002, James W. Durkin wrote: > Were I to take the "What is the distance between the floor and ..." > heuristic above, I would be looking at 100" (or longer) paddles. At > roughly 6'4" and with fairly (OK, quite) long arms, I can reach up > over the top of an 8-foot ceiling very easily. <snip> > Skis ain't paddles, but it makes we wonder. Why not a wingspan-based > heuristic? There is one. Several sources I consulted before building GPs for myself and a few others also suggest the sum of the distance of your wingspan fingertips-to-fingertips and the distance of your cubit - the distance from your elbow to your fingertips. I built one for my girlfriend using this method. She knew of the floor-to-curled fingers method and when she tested it on the finished paddle, there was a match. My height is six feet, but based on the difficulty I have buying pants sometimes, I must have a relatively short inseam measurement. When I do the wingspan/cubit measurement I get a figure that is about 2 inches longer than the other method. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, 16 Sep 2002 05:21:11 -0700, knelson_at_captivasoftware.com said: > 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. There are a couple of templates for an aleut paddle online at http://www.imaginelan.com/aleut/aleut_paddle.html along with a few pictures. I briefly tried an aleut paddle that someone had built from the diagrams in Zimmerly Qajaq book. I found the blade similar to a greenland paddle with a little more bite on the water. I've yet to build one. One of these years... Kirk Another happy Cricket Greenland paddle owner. -- http://fastmail.fm/ - A no graphics, no pop-ups email service *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Writes: "As much as I like the Cricket, I find its size that I originally purchased it (84 inches), to be way under my needs (90-92 inches). I made my own and it is far superior in performance for that reason alone. Should you want to purchase a GP make sure it is correctly sized. You can find the correct anthropomorphical measurements by taking the following measurtements under consideration: (SNIP)." I've always liked using the Inuit measurements but I like throwing in what pleases me just as much. I intend to build a Biadarka next month ( dedicated 80 hours, no interruptions) and I already realize the traditional hip width plus 2 fists, beam measurement will be wider than I want at almost 22 inches. Same goes for paddles. My Cricket is 89 inches and that's about right for my height but without the finger curl as I recall. The loom is 21 inches. I like the size, it's very handy, but I started out with very long paddles and I've always liked mine a bit longer than "normal". I like the length you're using now and were I to order another Cricket, (and I certainly would) I think I'd go for a 91 or even a 92. I'm 6 feet tall. Same loom but 1 inch added to each blade. My boat is 17' 11" X 21 3/4. Aleut paddles I understand are substantially longer. 94 to 96+? Kevin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
-----Original Message----- From: James W. Durkin [SMTP:jwd_at_phonogram.net] > Skis ain't paddles, but it makes we wonder. Why not a wingspan-based heuristic? < There is one: An armspan and a cubit (elbow to fingertips). Betty Ketter of Ketter Canoeing once told me that everybody takes a 54" canoe paddle, because people of different heights vary more in leg length than in torso length, and when you're sitting down, leg length doesn't matter. Whether or not her generalization is true, I prefer the armspan-and-cubit measurement because it does take leg length out of the equation. Note, however, that both methods of measuring Greenland paddle length are for the long touring paddle. Many paddlers, in Greenland and otherwhere, prefer a slightly shorter Greenland paddle, especially those who use the sliding stroke. For the shorter paddle, measure to the base of the fingers or the base of the hand instead of to the fingertips. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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