From: Guillemot@aol.com
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 22:10:22 -0500
Message-Id: <950314220643_49757905@aol.com>
To: baidarka@imagelan.com
Subject: Traditional Paddles part 2/2
Part 2/2
A couple months later (9/94):
Nick Schade, Guillemot@aol.com
===================================================================
Observations on Greenland style kayak paddles
While on vacation during the past two weeks I made two greenland style kayak
paddles. One is just over head-height in length with the loom shoulder-width
long. The other is second knuckle of my up-reaching hand long. Both are 3
3/4 inches wide as that is the material I had on hand.
The paddles were made using the tools I had available: a hand-saw,
double-bitted ax, block plane, and jack-knife. Epoxy glue was used to glue
extra stock in the loom region. Boiled Linseed Oil was used as a finish.
I used them for one 8 mile trip and another 4 mi crossing, and several
rolling sessions. This is definitly not enough time to get proficient at the
use of this kind of paddle. Please keep that in mind while I give my initial
observations below.
I made the shorter paddle first and used it for the 8 mi excursion and a
couple rolling sessions. When I first took it out the wind was blowing 10+
mph. I felt I could get pretty good speed into the wind. This required a
pretty high cadence. Using a sliding stroke reduced the cadence and added
power. I found the sliding stroke effective but not as easy as the same
sliding stroke on my "modern" paddle. The hand position to grip the paddle
required a wicked (90 deg) wrist angle that I found quite uncomfortable. More
comfortable was pushing with the flat of my hand, fingers pointing toward the
end of the paddle.
Rolling worked fine with an extend paddle position, and Pawlauta position. I
tried something resembling the "put-across" roll for the first time with
complete success. A sculling brace was powerful and secure. The sculling rate
required was higher than with my modern paddle.
During the 8 mi excursion I kept ahead of the people I was paddling with, but
only just. Usually I'm far ahead even when I'm trying to paddle slow. I
definitly had to paddle a higher cadence than normal. I felt I had to work
harder to go not as fast as I do with a modern paddle.
Bill came and said "It's a little short isn't it?" I agreed with him and made
another to his specs. "Between the wrist and and tips of the fingers on the
up-stretched arm." I felt the loom was too short on the previous paddle so I
lengthened it.
I used this paddle on a 4 mi crossing on pretty flat water. I felt the longer
paddle definitely suited me better. However, fell behind the fastest kayak
even though I was working harder than I normally would have to keep pace with
him.
I was able to roll easily. Bill had problems with his sweep when rolling
Pawaulta style because his reflexes were confused by the unfeathered paddle.
He did spin the kayak very well, only about the wrong (vertical) axis.
On problem that I can not blame on the paddle. I normally use a feathered
paddle. I found my wrist fighting each other to keep the blade unfeathered.
In conclusion: A faster blade motion is required to produce the same amount
of thrust, in both forward strokes and braces/rolls. This results in a higher
cadence. I felt I was working harder to go not as fast. With practice I can
probably make this: work as hard and go not as fast or, work harder and go as
fast. I do not foresee: working as hard and going as fast as I do with a
modern paddle.
The kind of paddling I prefer includes alot of playing in surf and rock
gardens which involves a lot of WW type moves: Draws, Duffek, etc. The
greenland style paddle is not as well suited for this style paddling as the
modern short, wide bladed paddle.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Schade, Guillemot@aol.com
There were some other good comments in response to my above observations
however all I saved was my response below
===================================================================
sverre@research.nokia.com writes:
>Interesting article. However, I have one basic question: what
>exactly do you mean by "Greenland style kayak paddles"?
>My understanding is that a Greenland paddle is long (longer than
>a normal sea paddle) and has long, narrow, unfeathered blades.
>So far so good, I guess this is more or less what you have built.
>I remember reading in this newsgroup that a more fundamental
>difference between a Greenland paddle and a modern one is how it
>is used to drive the kayak forwards. With the modern paddle you
>"draw/push" yourself forwards, but the Greenland paddle is
>supposed to work like an aeroplane wing or a propeller, ie. you
>move it _vertically_ in the water.
>I have never quite figured out how this "vertical" paddling is
>meant to work, but maybe you can shed some light on it? How does
>your Greenland paddle work?
The paddles I made were generally as you describe: "long, narrow, unfeathered
blades". I too was unsure what was meant by the wing-like use of the
greenland style paddle. That is one reason I made it.
What I found is: the long narrow blades made a very effective wing. I.e. when
moved parallel to the long axis of the blade, a lot of lift was generated
with very little drag. A sculling brace done with a horizontal movement with
the blade oriented horizontally was powerful. Propelling the boat forward by
moving the blade up-and-down through the water with a slight angle of attack
is also powerful.
Paddle motion:
\ /
| |
/ \
/ \
----Water-------------/---------\----------Line------------
/ \
<- Direction of boat / \ Direction of Water ->
/ \
/ \
|
However, it is not to useful. There is not enough room to have alot of
"throw". There is only room to move the tip of the paddle 12 to 18 inches
down then up while maintaining a low hand position (also a charateristic of
"greenland" style paddling).
Many down-and-up actions are required in order to get any forward motion.
This really fast motion gets old quick. More effective is to combine the
motion with a forward draw stroke.
\ /
| |
/ \
/ \
----Water-------/--------------------\----------Line---------
/ \
<- Dir. of boat / \ Direction of Water ->
/ \
// \\
|||||||
The length of this stroke may vary and the angle of the blade will effect how
much forward effort is created. However too much angle and you will start
creating a significant force for rocking the boat. This effort is completely
wasted. Actually any angle at all will create a rocking force, but at small
angles the wasted effort is insignificant.
Thus you run into a quandry. Not enough angle-of-attack (AOA) and you have to
move the paddle too fast to get the enough lift to move the boat practically.
Too much AOA and you waste effort tipping the boat.
Somebody with more experience with the greenland paddle than me will have to
describe how to use the paddle correctly because I am not convinced there is
any advantage to this kind of paddle over the "modern" wide, short bladed
paddle. The advantage of smaller area exposed to the wind is counteracted by
a less effective grip on the water.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
There were some good comments after this but I failed to save them at the
time. The discussion as I remember it centered around the human physiological
advantages of low effort/high cadence vs higher effort/lower cadence.
If I were to summarize I guess it would be: "The best paddle is the one you
like best". So, after that failure to commit, I guess it is up to you to try
different paddles and see what you like.
Nick Schade
Guillemot Kayaks