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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: Really short paddles
Posted By: risto In Response To: Re: Really short paddles (Nick Schade)
Date: Wednesday, 10 January 2001, at 12:05 p.m.
: No, I haven't gone really short. Like you said by going with a relatively
: wide and short blade you can keep the center of effort out near the end
: making the paddle feel relatively longer and keep a relatively longer
: shaft. I would expect there is point of diminishing returnsSo am I guessing right if I suppose you went to 200 and as it felt OK (in my own experience it was a good compromise) didn't try to see what there was beyond? I can understand why people who buy their paddles don't experiment - why risk ruining an expensive item especially as one thinks "this is just right" - thats why one bought it in the first place. But it's not so easy to understand why people who build their own at low cost don't experiment. Maybe there are many other, more rewarding things to experiment with.
Not that I had any idea going below 200 would make for significant improvement - I just happened to have a two-piece paddle with a worn out joint so why not? - it needed a new shaft anyway. So rather than replace it directly I decided to satisfy my curiosity and only rebuild it after I had chopped it to be definitely too short.
Not that 200 is any magic number. Happened to be in my case, but body dimensions vary so it would be different for short and stocky people for instance. But I guess, in retrospect, that there is a narrow "groove" where all the dimensions fall into place. The reason for the narrowness I suspect to be the relatively low mobility of the shoulders (in certain axis). Just like a tailor-made suit: when its just right then it will be really comfortable. A little off, and its off.
This thing did surprise me greatly. But fact is that now when I switch back to my 203 paddle, it really feels CLUMSY at first. But after a mile or so I'll have adapted my style back to it and then it is no problem. The 188 is shorter than necessary, of course, for me maybe 196 is optimal, with the boat I have now. But curiosly the 188 has its charms, so I have yet to decide when it would receive a new (stronger) shaft to bring it to 196.
One can't really know until one has tried, and a kind of internally born curiosity is needed. I'll most likely make a couple of greenland sticks next summer, expecting them to be significantly longer, the traditional way of determining their size should be right in light of blade area considerations and the experiences I've had playing with euro paddles.
Great info on these boards, even for someone who hasn't built a wooden kayak.
greetings,
risto
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