Subject: Re: baidarka FW: Aleut Paddle
From: James Mitchell (mariner@seanet.com)
Date: Fri Dec 29 2000 - 23:28:55 EST
OK, I am trying some of the snipping snipping we have been discussing... I
did try the "select the part you want repeated" but it did not work for moi.
Will keep trying. now, Robert...
Yeah, the large cove is essentially the idea. The one I built is about 2.5"
tall, and about 3.5" in diameter. It is WICKED. Takes about a 1" bite into
the wood, and blows the chips into the next county. The result is a pretty
well planed power surface, close enough that some sandpaper and time can
take it from there. But I do not recommend this for the faint of heart.
With more money and time, I know the kind of routing equipment I would like
to use for this... but it is out of reach financially.
Lew and others: I am discovering some important differences between the
Helsinki paddle (Lew's design) and the Unalaska paddle (Fig. 109) and Akun
paddle (Fig. 16) that David shows in Qajaq. There appears to be more
validation of that blade in Fig. 36. The key characteristics appear to be
LOA of about 100" (250 cm), loom about 22"-24", blades about 40" x 4"-5".
The blades are longer and wider, with a single ridge on the power side.
I am building a prototype of this larger Aleut paddle now.
Incidentally, I was at the museum in Juneau yesterday looking at the single
bladed paddles they have on display. I cannot tell if the back side has the
same type of grooved ridge, or uses a simple tarpezoidal "ridge". In their
collection notes, they refer to the paddle as being ridged on both sides. I
could not see the back side clearly, but I got a flashlight and bounced the
reflection off the plexiglass. It appeared to me that the back side on
several paddles did not have the grooved ridge, but rather had a simple
"vee" shape that was mostly rounded. I have asked the museum for more
evidence. David, if you are listening, could you help me with this question?
The cross-sectional drawings of the double bladed Aleut paddles in, for
instance, Fig. 108 clearly show the back side of the paddle to be a
continuous surface (actually, it appears to be rounded rather than ridged).
Were the back sides of the single paddles "ridged" the same way as the power
face?
In David's video (which I found to be very well done and recommend to you
all!), he refers to the ridge as having been there to add strength to the
blade. I wonder. I find it has a whole lot to do with stability, with
creating a stable flow of water off the power face. Comments?
One of my next experiments is going to be with the single paddles. Haven't
decided which style to try, although I am most tempted by the King Island
blades similar to those in Fig. 111. They would provide the maximum power
when the blade is about even with my thigh, which is the highest power
portion of the stroke. That blade is very different from the one shown in
fig. 87-90, also from King Island. Comments?
Finally, look at the blades in Figure 46 and Fig. 4. Notice how they do the
same thing as the King Island single blade on Fig. 111, setting the maximum
beam of the blade to the point in the stroke where the paddler would have
maximum power. The Aleut blades we have been working with do not do this;
they concentrate the power at the farthest tip of the blade. I would think
the blade shown in Fig. 4 would be very inefficient in surf, where you need
that support out on a lever arm; however, I think it would be more efficient
than the other Aleut blades in straight paddling. This question of the
location of the greatest width of the blade is interesting, isn't it?
Comments?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert August" <robertaugust@hotmail.com>
To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 4:54 PM
Subject: Re: baidarka FW: Aleut Paddle
> The idea of using a shaper for paddle faces has got my mind ticking over
> (though I could not fit the machine in my current shop)... how about
using
> a tall shallow cove cutter and a jig to hold the paddle and taper it
gently
> from tip to loom?
>
> just a thought
>
> Rob
>
>
> >From: "James Mitchell" <mariner@seanet.com>
> >Reply-To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
> >To: <baidarka@lists.intelenet.net>
> >Subject: Re: baidarka FW: Aleut Paddle
> >Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2000 15:38:43 -0800
> >
> >Oooh, I hate to recommend this to anybody. It is a special cutter I
built
> >up myself with the help of a machine shop (the cutter alone was nearly
> >$500). Tricky, expensive, dangerous as hell. A panel cutter won't do it.
> >This is more like a 2" high cove cutter with a long straight side set at
8
> >degrees. If you really want to go there, I will send you some photos
after
> >I
> >come back from Alaska. You will need a pretty health shaper for this, at
> >least 2 hp. I am using a 220v Grizzly. Ask me again next year!
> >
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