32 replies to this topic

[Kudzu]

And I wonder when, or even if I will ever be good enough to tell if a modification in length, loom or blade will be better for me.

If you paddle enough you will. It is amazing the difference you feel in two paddles. It is subtle and hard to define but some just feel better than others.

One thing I have found after going through a few is I prefer a paddle length that standing up that I can just curl my fingers over. I prefer a thicker blade over a thin one. (I think it makes a better foil shape and that is why I like it better) I like a little larger than recommended shaft or loom, square with rounded corners. My blades are getting narrower the more I paddle too. Mine are typically 3 1/2" wide.

I have made wider blades and longer paddles and I end up trimming them down to somewhere close to the recommendations i started with. I haven't used the charts in a while so I don't know exactly how close to it I am, I just measure a paddle I like and use that as my guide.

All this talk about paddles has given the itch to build one. I should have shop time next week so that may be on my list. My absolute favorite had a bad spot and broke. I have been itching to laminate something up a little fancier. No ideas what design yet.

[FloatingBear]

I was paddeling with my youngest this weekend on Lake Ouchita and she was paddeling so hard while crossing an open area where we felt the brunt of a 20 knot breeze that she developed a charlie horse in her left tricep. I am guessing that would not have happend with a greenland paddle and proper technique. I can't wait to get our boats and paddles built.

[Hirilonde]

You won't sprint as fast with a Greenland paddle.

[FloatingBear]

H that is exactly what I was thinking. With a greenland there would be enough slip to decrease the force a little.

Paddeling with a greenland I should use a low angle technique yes?

Jeff thanks for getting the poly and twine to me. Now I have no excuse for not getting hard at it! Though the frames are already partly done.

[Kudzu]

I don't have anything to back me up but I am not so sure this is accurate. I have never seen any difference in a hard time sprinting with one and I know of a few people that race with them.

Matter of fact Joe, from Joe O's paddles set a new record for a Circumnavigation of Vancouver Island in 2010 using one of his GP's.. I have heard racers comparing them to using a wing paddle, but I don't race nor do I care too. But I hear to many more experienced paddlers than me say they were just as competitive with a GP.

[Hirilonde]

I have no doubt that racing with them works. Races are a matter of endurance as much as speed. But with far less surface area I can't imagine a strong paddler can sprint as well as something with more blade.

[Kudzu]

You may be right, so I am not arguing the point. Never cared enough to dig into the subject as to why they work, but what I have read suggests that the GP creates lift similar to a air plane wing and that is where you get the 'grab' (for lack of the proper term) to the water. But I would love to see someone that is skilled with both paddles do some sprints under controlled conditions and see the results. I really suspect there wouldn't be much difference.

Regardless, I am not a racer, never will I ever be one and I love my GP and my shoulders no longer hurt so I am not going back to a Euro.

[woodman]

This summer I used the heck out of the one with the plywood sandwitched in the cedar shaft..the balde is 4'' at the base....

[Hirilonde]

Everything I have read about the GPs leads me to believe that the greatest attribute of them is the lack of impact during the stroke, particularly at the beginning. Because the blade is long and narrow the resistance increases gradually as you progress through the stroke instead of a jarring impact from a lot of surface area in the water right at the beginning of the stroke like with the Euro paddle. Then because you paddle closer to the boat, the leverage of the GP stroke is better and you get less tired and less strained. Either or both of these could be why you would feel better Jeff. I don't know anything about this "lift", but not sure my lack of knowledge here means much. For me all I know at this point is I don't get tired as fast and still paddle at a reasonable rate. This alone is good enough reason for me as day trips, and even hour or 2 paddles are my norm.

I don't fish, but may have to take it up. Fishing is a good excuse to stop paddling all together

[Kudzu]

You had my curiosity up and I did some searching and reading. Found someone that knows both paddles and found his article very interesting and best of all, it appears unbiased. Wing vs GP and looks like the answer is a very clear "It depends".

http://www.gregstame...dle-wing-paddle

[FloatingBear]

I will definately start with a 3 1/2" with the length as suggested which for me will be 93". By the time it's all said and done I will be boat and paddle poor. I am one of those people who always needs something to look forward to such as the next build, trip, toy or project! You guys know the old saying about an idle mind!

[P Douglass (WA)]

"An idle mind becomes idled"?

[Hirilonde]

"An idle mind becomes idled"?

Good guess. Mine will be: "An idle mind becomes bored" That's what happens to mine anyway.