RE: [Paddlewise] bracing and power

From: Paul Hayward <pdh_at_mmcl.co.nz>
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:23:18 -0800
Matt said:

> Evolution is such that many things get left over from a time 
> when they may have once been necessary.

Matt I completely agree with you - and I try to avoid fads. Like you, I have
seen them come & go in various sports and I understand how convenient and/or
hard-to-resist they may be to many a sporting-goods manufacturer who would
like nothing better than the opportunity to declare a whole lot of gear
'obsolete'.

I started with a euro paddle that was 'about right' according to an
instructor (at the time) and later bought one about the same length. I
wasn't very discriminating and just got on with it...

I, personally, would never advise anyone to move to a longer Euro paddle,
just for the sake of being 'longer'. I certainly don't know enough about it.
I'd advise anyone to try going a little longer or shorter - if they are
curious - to find out what they prefer, just as you once did.

By the time I started playing with GPs, I was more curious and experimented
a bit. I have rationalised my preference for a slightly longer (than
recommended) GP by believing that our boats are wider and higher than the
Greenland Inuit boats. Although Nanook's craft would challenge that
assumption too ;-)

Best Regards	
Paul Hayward, Auckland, New Zealand
(Temporarily in Alaska)
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Received on Tue Jul 20 2010 - 18:05:42 PDT

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