RE: [Paddlewise] bracing and power

There is nothing like a long paddle for leverage, so if you are upside down,
disoriented, and paddling a boat with a high cockpit that makes it difficult
to lie on the water throughout all phases of your roll, then a long paddle
can be a blessing, for if you have a long enough lever, you can roll up the
world.

That's about as far as the utility of a long paddle goes, for although it is
fine and dandy once you are upside down, it is not the best in keeping your
right side up in the first place, for a long paddle is a slowly responding
paddle.  In wild water, you need to react extremely quickly, for water is
moving every which way.  It is a lot easier to react quickly with a short
paddle than a long paddle.  It will not do to have to constantly play
catch-up because it takes so darn long to get your blade to where you want
it to be.  Have a look at what wild water paddlers use -- paddles the length
of Dixie cup spoons and beanie propellers.  It is the quick response time
that is more valuable in keeping the boat right-side up than brute leverage.


You also need to think about just what a brace is for.  The paddler balances
the boat through centre of gravity shifts made in anticipation of the effect
the water will have on the hull.  Since it is often not possible to
perfectly predict how much of a shift will be needed at any given time, the
paddler will tend to err on the conservative side by shifting too much, and
then compensating for the excessive shift by bracing.  A paddler who is
skilled enough to be able to shift appropriately rather than excessively
will have little need for the massive bracing effected by a long paddle.  A
paddler who is not as certain in how the water and the hull will interact
will be more conservative, and therefore will shift more, which in turn will
require a stronger corrective brace.  It's no surprise that wild water
paddlers tend to move to short paddles as they improve their skills.
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