Shin wrote: - >I hadn't realized that seat-back adjustment was so important. The >way I have it set up now, I lean back on to it when I am paddling in >a relaxed manner enjoying the landscape etc. and sit upright without >using it to paddle seriously. Should I set it so my back is against >it when I sit upright also? I do have my legs bent quite a bit so I >can use them to paddle. G'Day Shin, There are many different styles of paddling so the comments that follow are just one opinion. Matt makes the comment in his paddling manual that you "sit comfortably erect with a slight forward lean". This is the style our club adopts when paddling seriously. If you do this your back would normally not be leaning against the back rest otherwise the torso rotation that goes with an efficient and powerful stroke would rub your back raw over time. Regarding paddle style we've adopted a flatwater vertical 'racing' stroke but recognise that at sea it is only a basic stroke and will be varied enormously and just about all the "rules" broken on occasion to take advantage of sea conditions. But this is only one of many styles that work. It is a very efficient style, particularly for people with strong abs and low upper body strength. One point worth considering is the need to get a paddle that has the right length and feather angle. If you can borrow a split paddle or one with a smart shaft (ie one that can have its length and feather angle adjusted) you could use it to find the length and feather that suit you best. For my style of paddling I set the length of the paddle so that the blade becomes fully submerged at the side of my kayak where the feet are located. The feather angle is a matter for discussion and depends on whether one is paddling into strong winds. I have recently started setting mine so the blade is at right angles to the the center axis of the boat but haven't used this angle yet to paddle into winds greater than 15 knots. (Matt, if you get to read this, I'm in the process of setting up a set of paddles and would be very interested in figures for feather angle vs wind strength at which the paddle starts to become uncontrollable?) The point is not so much to give a cut and dried method for setting up the paddle just the importance of finding out what length and feather suit you before making a purchase. All the best, PeterO *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun Nov 26 2006 - 12:23:20 PST
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:31:22 PDT