Re: [Paddlewise] Switching roll to Euro paddle

Mark Arnold <mjamja_at_earthlink.net> wrote:
  >>>>>>>>>>I tried rolling with a friends Euro (an Epic) paddle today and
failed miserably on my first 2 tries. Switched to my Greenland paddle and
rolled fine both extended and without extending. Retried the Euro and
managed to come up on a couple of rolls, but the rolls felt kind of odd.
Main sensation was the strong resistance to sweeping the paddle. It felt
like it was in peanut-butter instead of water. Also felt some fluttering .
Seemed to be less of an odd feel when I did not roll my wrists forward as I
did in some of the early Euro rolls.

For those of you who use both types of paddles what are some key points to
focus on when switching the roll from a Greenland paddle to a
Euro?<<<<<<<<<<<<

Duane Strosaker <strosaker_at_yahoo.com> answered:

>>>>>>>>>>Mark,   
  Usually, feeling resistance as you sweep during the roll means the
climbing angle of the blade is too high. Be sure to rotate the wrists
backwards progressively during the sweep so you finish with the blade level
in the water.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I'm in complete agreement with both Duane and Harvey on this. I think the
more oval thicker blade shape of the Greenland paddle can tolerate a broader
attack angle without stalling. Either that, or if it does stall, being
narrower, it can still be forced through the water and into the 90 degree
out from the kayak position it needs to be in before you try to pull it
downward to lift your body out of the water. Once you stall the wide thin
blade it becomes very sluggish to move and you can't get it out into
position for the downward pull quickly enough. This happens to new rollers
all the time and usually results in them pulling downward well before the
paddle is out far enough from the kayak to do much good. 

Lots of folks think (and some even teach) that you need to tilt the leading
edge of the paddle up to get it to skim on the surface to have a solid grip
on the water for the pulling down phase of the roll. The reality is that
that angle is what is causing the blade to stall rather than fly. The best
way to start is to have the paddle blade flat with the water's surface. I
suggest if you want to make sure you have it flat to lift the wide blade out
of the water and slap it down onto the water. That will tell you if the
blade angle is flat. If you hold the shaft so that it is free to spin in
your hands as you do the slap it will automatically rotate to flat as the
leading edge contacts resistnce first and rotates the paddle (if you let
it). 

Next you want to get the blade flying as you push it away from the boat and
into the sweep phase. If it is flat to the surface, most blades will
automatically take on a glide angle as they are pulled a little down into
the water a little as they are moved to the side. Your job then is not to
screw up the flight of your blade up by changing the blade angle any during
the sweep. If you grip the shaft tightly and hold your wrist rigidly the
angle is going to change towards the direction of diving as you move out
towards the 90 degree position (where you will be pulling strongly
downward). The best way I know to keep the blade flying, rather than
stalling or diving, is to relax and hold the shaft loosely while leading it
in its glide with your wrist limp. This limp wrist works well when sculling
for support as well. The freely hinging wrist just flops back and forth as
needed, automatically, as you move the paddle blade back and forth through
the water.

Matt Broze
www.marinerkayaks.com  
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