Date: Tue, 23 Jan 1996 14:22:43 -0500
From: shaysnet.com!laughing_loon@imagelan.com (Rob Macks)
Subject: Re: Aleut paddles?
To: baidarka@imagelan.com
Message-Id: <v01510100ad2a16139c16@[199.170.68.47]>
>Corey Freedman of Spirit Line kayaks was in town this week to give a
>slide show and talk on his baidarkas. (Beautiful boats! Traditional
>wood frame construction, skinned with ballistic nylon with a two-part
>urethane coating, which produces a really nice translucent finish. If
>he offers a workshop in Victoria this summer, I'm definitely going to
>be there building one.)
>
>Along with a boat that one of his students had built, Corey had a
>traditional paddle with him, carved from a cedar plank. It was long
>with very narrow blades. He claimed that it was quite different from
>a Greenland paddle, and that once you had used one you'd never go
>back to anything else. One of the most interesting features of the
>paddle is that it has two speeds. The cruising face of the paddle is
>dished on either side of the axis, while the back face is relatively
>flat, for quick starts and getting up to speed. I can't do justice to
>it in ASCII, but it looked something like this:
>
> (\
> )\
> cruising ( ) back
> face )/ face
> (/
>
>Unfortunately I had to rush off at the end of Corey's talk, so I
>didn't have a chance to hang around afterwards and ask him about the
>paddle. Does anyone here have any info, either historical or
>contemporary, on these paddles. Have you ever used one? What were
>your impressions?
>
>Thanks,
>BBB
>--
>Bob Bright
>4053 Angeleah Pl.
>Victoria, BC V8Z 6T1
>(604) 744-4379
Bob,
You're right about the difference on the surfaces of the Aleut paddle. I
don't know about using different sides for different purposes however. I
have built and used Aleut style paddles for several years now. I worked
from the drawing on page 16 in Zimmerly's "QajaQ" book.
....,,,,,,,,:::::;;;;;;;++++++;;;;;;;::::,,,,,,.....
..,,;;,,..
Paddle with flat down
Flat down Spine on back of blade
If you can get the idea from my crude representations above, one surface (
down above) would be almost flat if placed against the ground. Starting
from a thin blade at each tip the other surface of the paddle raises
gradually in thickness to produce a spine on the blade that flows into the
full thickness of the central paddle shaft. On the blade on either side of
the spine the blade forms a curved scallop. I use the flat surface of the
blades as my only power faces. I feel the spine side is there to provide
strength and rigidity to the blade. However the blade still is flexible.
When the paddle is used with the flat surface as the power face the spine
side of the blade would be in compression.
If the spine side of the blade is used the spine would be under tension.
Because the thickness of the spine is increasing as it nears the central
shaft , I believe the spine would be vulnerable to splitting as the grain
runs out on this surface if under tension.
Under compression (using the flat surface as power face) the grain would be
pressed together.
Another reason that I believe only the flat surface is intended as the
power face is because of the shape of the shoulders where the blades meet
the shaft. The drawings provided by Zimmerly are quite small, so it is
difficult to get a sound idea of what is happening at this transition.
Looking at the small drawings it would appear that there are sharp right
angles or little steps down from the blades to the shaft when looking at
the paddle perpendicular to the flat of the blades. I thought these where
meant to be drip edges.
<[[[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]:::::::::::::::[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]]]> Please forgive
the stinking crude drawing
Blade Shaft Blade
Now the drawing above in no way represents the shape of the blades but the
sharp transition from blade to shaft is correct. At the point of the
transition the step is only 1/4" on each side of the shaft.
When I built my first paddle I didn't understand how these corners could be
at all sharp without hooking your fingers on them every time you slide your
hands past them. So I rounded them off. But this was a mistake. Rounded
off, they didn't work as drip edges.
I looked at the teeny tiny cross section at this transition point in
Zimmerly's drawings and realized that at this spot on the paddle on the
flat side there was a curved shape. This would allow the hands to slide
past the sharp corners of the blade only if the palms of the hands where on
the flat side of the blade.
I have built my paddles with sharp blade corners at the transition points
of the blade and shaft with curved cross section and the paddle handles
very naturally and unhindered when changing hand positions.
I find that the blade shoulders do act as drip edges unless I paddle very
slowly.
The flexibility of the paddle is very gentle on the joints and body over
the long run. The flex can be used for tremendous bursts of speed by
loading power on the flexing blades like a pole vaulter does on a pole.
I learned to white water kayak with the wide blade feathered sport paddle.
I was fortunate to hear John Heath speak about native paddles. He inspired
me to give them a try. I could go on and on about the Aleut paddle. I love
it. There are so many paddling options with this paddle. I feel hobbled
without the aid of accurate drawings to discribe what one can do with this
paddle.
Rob Macks
Laughing Loon Canoes & Kayaks