Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 15:14:48 EST
From: MRPK81A@prodigy.com (MR TOM L CLARKE)
Message-Id: <013.04598371.MRPK81A@prodigy.com>
To: gdyson@henson.cc.wwu.edu
Subject: Re: Paddling...
On pencil vs. paddle...isn't the 1 lb. of drag for the
pencil (which is the opposite and equal reaction to the 1
lb. thrust) being absorbed by the turbulence created as the
pencil moves through the water...ultimately in the form of
heat...
vs.
1 lb. drag of the paddle, which is being absorbed by the
forward thrust of the kayak...again... less turbulence, more
(kayak) forward thrust... what am I missing here?
Is the question: Are traditional paddle designs more
efficient than 'modern' designs? Why/why not?
What I'm getting out of all this discussion are the
following:
Traditional paddles used a different stroke than modern
paddles...(I'd like to understand more about that stroke...
I was not able to following the diagrams that were posted)
The larger the paddle blade, the proportionally larger
percentage of (kayak) forward thrust vs. turbulence...
Correlary: larger paddle blade, more windage...
In a bicycle, we change gears in order to match the peak of
our thrust curve (typically at 85 to 95 rpm) to the current
speed of the bike...
In a kayak, we change gears by shifting grip, the leverage,
on the paddle, again--matching load (kayak drag, etc.) to
the peak of our personal thrust curve...
The less turbulence created by the paddle (energy dissapated
eventually into heat), the more energy transferred to
forward thrust...TLC