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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Forward tilt?
Posted By: Greg Stamer In Response To: Re: Forward tilt? (Don Beale)
Date: Wednesday, 3 January 2001, at 6:01 p.m.
: Greg,
: Doesnt a forward tilt tend to pull that side down toward the water? Ive been
: using a "reverse tilt" such that it's part brace, part stroke.
: Am I bass-ackwards again?!?! Or is it OK because I'm left-handed?Don,
It shouldn't matter that you are left handed -- or whether you are in the north or south hemisphere, for that matter ;^)
The forward tilt (top edge is closer to bow than bottom edge) causes the Greenland blade to bury quickly and efficiently. Flutter is eliminated and ventilation is also very greatly reduced. Ventilation often sounds like a scratching noise with a Greenland blade during the power phase of your stroke if your stroke needs tuning. It is very easy to turn the forward tilting blade into a brace by slightly rolling the wrist forward. Regarding the correct "tilt angle", if your paddle is sized so that the thumbs and forefingers are on the shaft with your other fingers placed over the beginnings of the paddle blades, the paddle will tilt forward naturally. Not all Greenlanders use this technique but many of the best paddlers that I met were very much in favor of it. Maligiaq Padilla said that beginning paddlers are often taught to use a vertical paddle orientation and then adopt the forward-tilt once their skills had grown.
I have never had any sensation of being pulled "down toward the water" toward the working paddle blade. Although the blade is tilted slightly forward, the path of the paddle is straight back or with a slight flare out to the side. From working with Maligiaq and other Greenlanders, I have adopted a strong push-pull component to my stroke. I find that this is usually absent from most American Greenland-style paddlers and they tend to associate this with "Euro" technique. I can assure you that the Greenlanders use it as well. Try letting your pushing hand rise to just the tip of your shoulder before moving forward, your hands don't have to scrape the deck. Blend the push-pull component with a strong torso rotation and strong lower-body foundation. Keep your elbows fairly near to your torso. Please note that there are no rules on paddling style in Greenland, but I found the guidelines above to be very much in evidence during the Greenland competition and work for me. YMMV.
To provide clues to your post about paddle drippage, I have never found this to be a problem. Most runoff from the paddle hits the foredeck of my kayak, not my hands. I will give this more attention the next time that I'm out to see if I can determine how this relates to equipment or technique.
I recently read a passage from Eugene Arima's text on the Caribou (Canadian) kayak. Eugene was instructed by the local Inuit to paddle with the forward edge of the blade tilted forward. I found the reference interesting since it was printed in the seventies and indicates that the forward tilt was used outside of Greenland.
I have attached an article from several years ago, that goes into more detail about the forward tilt
Greg Stamer
Orlando, Florida
Greenland paddling from the Source
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