RE: [Paddlewise] Flutter

I based my paddle-making instructions on an article by John Heath that
appeared many years ago in Sea Kayaker Magazine. My main contribution was to
devise the (literal) guide lines to help people achieve a consistent shape
and symmetry. Otherwise, I pretty much followed Heath. 

Heath himself preferred the shorter paddle, and I followed his example
mainly for the following reasons: (1) The best quality cedar two-by-fours I
could find locally came only in 84-inch lengths and a much longer length.
The shorter length was more economical. (2) I very early taught myself the
sliding stroke, which turns a Greenland paddle into what I like to call a
variable-length paddle. When you use the sliding stroke, the exact length
doesn't really matter all that much. (3) It works for me.

Also, since I wrote those instructions, I have learned from Greg Stamer and
others that Greenlanders are not all that particular about paddle shapes,
paddle proportions, or the forward stroke. Their attitude seems to mostly
be: "Whatever works for you."

"When you are paddling a kayak you keep on passing the paddle to and fro in
your hands so that as much of the blade as possible is under water at each
stroke. My gloves were brand new and had been copiously soaked in blubber to
make them waterproof. This made them very sticky, and as I passed the paddle
through my hands it would sometimes stick, thus breaking the rhythm of the
motion and almost upsetting me. Once this happened at the same moment as a
wave hit me, and before I had time to do anything about it I was upside
down. I came up again at once, without much difficulty, using the storm roll
which brings one up in a steady position."
	-- F. Spencer Chapman, Watkins' Last Expedition, Chatto and Windus,
London. 1934

Regarding shouldered paddles, it's largely a matter of personal preference.
Both types were used in Greenland. However, having paddled in sub-freezing
water, I can say from experience that when a paddle loom is covered by a
sheath of ice, shoulders make it much easier to get a secure grip on the
paddle. Also, as long as you are paddling, that part of the blade that is
immersed in water tends to stay ice-free, so the sliding stroke, in which
you grip the blade, is also more secure.

BTW, regarding blade width, some people make their blades much wider than I
do, maybe because their hands are larger (though I wear large-size gloves).
However, because I like a secure grip near the end of the blade, I always
make sure it is narrow enough for a comfortable grip. For me, the maximum
width is about 3-1/4 inches. I haven't seen a documented native Greenland
paddle that is over 3 inches, and most are even narrower: about 2-3/4 to
2-7/8 inches.

Regarding extra-long paddles of around 96 - 106 inches, as seen in the film
Nanook of the North, as far as I know, they were used only outside
Greenland, and never with the sliding stroke. IMO, though they are Inuit
paddles, they are not Greenland paddles.

Betty Ketter, a local canoe outfitter and the wife and mother of canoe
racers, once told me that everyone takes a 52-inch [bentshaft] canoe paddle,
because when people differ in height, the difference is usually in leg
length rather than in torso length. A gross generalization, but it worked
most of the time.

Chuck Holst
 

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature
database 4262 (20090720) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

http://www.eset.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/
***************************************************************************