On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 6:27 AM, James <jimtibensky_at_fastmail.fm> wrote: > > What do you folks feel are the advantages of crank shaft kayak paddles? Well, first of all, white water paddling, sprint racing, and sea kayaking all ask different things from a paddle. I don't do much white water any more but I don't remember actually paddlling much when on a river. I do remember drifting along a lot between rapids. So much of this is subjective but I'm with Steve Cramer in that bent-shaft paddles just feel weird to me, too. My wife paddles with one and so does Pam but only Pam actually went out and got one on purpose (my wife's came with a second hand Solander she bought). I've used both of their paddles and I just prefer my straight-shaft Euros. I usually paddle with a high-angle, large blade Euro that's something less than 220cm in length. Probably because I'm comfortable with shorter paddles from w/w and I don't like change any more than anyone else. An old guy here, too, remember. I also paddle with a straight shaft wing paddle. Your students probably haven't noticed that most people paddling fast are now using wings (I lust after an Onno, myself) and virtually none of those are bent-shaft paddles. I wasn't too old to try that, at least, and I really like my wing. In a group it actually saves my joints because I don't have to paddle much to keep up with (or ahead of) the group. > No one follows my example, maybe because > old guys aren't impressive paddlers. Or maybe it's just me. > Ya, no one listens to us until it's too late. I've been in two real estate busts in my lifetime (Miami in the 60s and Seattle in the 70s) and people wonder why I say that real estate doesn't always go up. Oh wait, they don't wonder *now* but a year ago they thought I was crazy when I said that. I'm reminded of the drill rig superintendent who held up his hand and yelled at me, "I tol' you 5 times not to do that!" He only had 3 fingers on that hand. That's when I knew that experience counts for something. One thing we've done is have a "paddle fest" where everyone brings every paddle they own, marks it to identify it later, and then puts it in a pile so anyone in the group can use it. You might find that there are lots of choices among your friends' paddles and your students could take advantage of actually paddling with the different paddles. As opposed to someone just telling them what they should buy. For $400. Line up all your most experienced paddlers, crankshaft or not, and let the newbies quiz them on why they do what they do. And remember that no law says you have to only own one paddle. I bet I have a dozen. Looking at a bent-shaft paddle and thinking through the ergonomics, it just seems to me that the extra torque from the paddle at the end of the bent shaft would be more likely to translate into a rotation of the shaft which would be stopped by one's hands. That and the slight extra twist to brace. Not to mention those itty bitty blades on most of them. For what it's worth, virtually every expert paddler I know uses a straight shaft, high-angle paddle. Unless they use a GP. (Duane Strosaker and several CKF'ers being prominent exceptions.) I'm going to get some cedar and build a GP or two this fall myself. So now we'll hear from the expert paddlers who don't use a straight shaft, high-angle paddle telling me I'm wrong, huh? <grin> Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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 Fri Aug 15 2008 - 17:53:01 PDT
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