Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Greenland Paddle, Euro feather angle. As an old marathon racer, I used spoon (Euro) paddles for 20 years before switching to GP's and AP's in the early 90's. For those first twenty years, I always used a 90 degree feather, but mainly because that amount of feather was not considered a problem back then. I never experienced any wrist issues in all those years and thousands of miles. After building several Baidarkas, and later Greenland boats, and realizing just how well they performed, it occurred to me that if the boats were so well designed by the Aleut and Inuit, didn't it seem fair to assume that their paddles were just as well designed ? That's when I made the switch, and I must admit that for the better part of a year it was a difficult transition to the Arctic paddles. It took a while, but I would never go back to the spoon blades. They now feel like I'm paddling with a club. Touring speed is in no way reduced, and in fact, I'm a bit faster over longer distances as I don't tire as quickly. Initially, I made 96" paddles with 100+sq inches per blade as my first paddles were modeled after Aleut paddles and I selected a size that was in a Museum. Over time, my paddles have gotten shorter ( 92"), and narrower so that today the square inches are 75. This is still long by GP standards, but I like a fairly low stroke, and so a longer paddle is feasible. The longer paddles allow for a slower stroke rate, not unlike those of the Euro. Everyone has their own way of paddling with these narrow blades, and mine is no better or worse than the next guy's. I didn't have the advantage of reading about the so called "correct" technique, so after many years, my technique just developed on it's own. I'm adding a section on making GP breakdown paddles in my Folding Kayak Builders E-Manual. It should be added in about a week. Tom http://yostwerks.com<http://yostwerks.com/> *************************************************************************** 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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