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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
euro and greenland
Posted By: risto In Response To: Re: If Ive got this straight (Nick Schade)
Date: Monday, 8 January 2001, at 12:27 p.m.
: See, this is what I don't agree with. While there are a ...
I'm not sure if I see the disagreement, but as I paddle a boat with no rudder or skeg, and one that is easy to turn, I've been accustomed to sliding my hands left and right on the loom all the time. And since my paddles have over the years been getting ever shorter, I can fully appreciate the benefits of having blades one can grab at any point.
While I agree that almost any stroke can be performed with either type of paddle, the ease of extension does have value and so I think this trade off is a good one.
Other than the above I mostly agree with what you are saying.
: Neither traditional or modern paddles can perform magic. The laws of physics
: remain the same. The techniques for manipulating the laws of physics
: remain the same. All that change is the degree to which a given shape is
: effective at manipulating those laws and the specific parameters need to
: achieve similar effects.Above you mention the laws of physics. There is also the mechanics or geometry of the arms and shoulders to consider. All is not hydrodynamics. It seems that parameters such as blade width, shape, tilt ... are relevant to this . But shaft length if short enough seems different.
I've noticed that with large spooned euro blades if one goes below 200 cms one will get great ease of rotation when one no longer needs to tilt or lift ones' shoulders to keep the blade at optimum distance from the hull and/or at the right depth (not too deep). Then the text-book close and parallel stroke becomes quite natural (but requires rotation). And one can reach good economy as no power is wasted in turning momentum.
The above of course depends greatly on the center of momentum; the farther out that is, the shorter one can go.
Personally I use paddles with differing qualities somewhat like one uses the different contraptions in a gym; alternating between them so that different muscle groups will get exercised.
A while back I noticed that you said to someone asking about paddle length that you are using 200 euro yourself. Have you ever tried anything much shorter than this, something that would definitely have been too short?
I tried to make an old paddle of mine too short (before putting in a new shaft) just to see how it would be, but the damn thing wasn't. Instead I got to liking it too, at 188, and find it a nice thing to work out my rotation and back and side muscles with!
risto
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