Subject: baidarka A short bit of history on feathering
From: vdoucett@uism.bu.edu
Date: Mon Mar 06 2000 - 08:48:20 EST
I spent some of my weekend searching through material that might render a date
for the introduction of feathered paddles. Once discovered, I was amazed at how
early offset paddle blades go back. I had imagined they were a relatively recent
innovation, that they were perhaps developed in Europe, most likely in Germany,
sometime in the 20s or 30s. In fact they seem to have been coincident with the
development of canoeing as a sport, at least in America. The first two quotes
are from Boyer C. Vaux's book 'Canoe Handling-The Canoe' History, Uses,
Limitations, and Varieties, Practical Management and Care and Related Facts
[Field and Stream, 1885]. My copy and the source of the quotes is the third
edition, published in 1901. [For those of you unacquainted with the fact, canoes
as originally introduced were more like kayaks than what we think of as canoes
today. They were kayak-shaped, usually decked and propelled by sail or double
bladed paddle.]
The quotes are as follows:
"The paddle is jointed. Why? First for convenience of stowage when not in
use, secondly, to allow of feathering when paddling against the wind. To
feather, the blades are turned at right angles to each other-ordinarily they are
in the same plane-so that the blade in the air will present only its edge to the
wind, and not its broad, flat part. A slight turn of the wrist just as the blade
is dipped accomplishes the result." [Pages 52 and 53]
"The double paddle is commonly found jointed for the convenience in stowing
and to enable the paddler to turn the blades at right angles-feathering, in
other words." [Page 68]
Canoeing [kayaking] as a sport, or the birth of its popularity as one, is
usually thought to have its origin with the publication of John MacGregor's
books 'A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy' (1866) and 'Description of the Rob Roy
Canoe' (1866). He is also the founder of the Canoe Club [progenitor to the
BCU], which was founded on July 27th 1866. The first meeting of which was held
at the Star and Garter pub in Putney, England on that date. There were twenty
original members. In America it was the publication of Nathaniel Bishop's
'Voyage of the Paper Canoe' (1878) and the subsequent founding of the American
Canoe Association, August 3, 1880. The first meeting occurred at Lake George,
New York. There were twenty-three original members. [Just as an aside Boyer
"Dot" Vaux was ACA member #33]
I related the previous as a bit of background. It would seem that feathered
paddles have been around since the inception of canoeing/kayaking as a sport. If
I were to speculate, I think that feathering was brought to canoeing/kayaking
via rowing. It is, and was, common practice to feather your oars when rowing a
boat. Reducing the winds negative effect on an oar is effested by twisting the
oar into an offsetting position when out of the water. A result that is easily
be accomplished with a double bladed paddle by offsetting the blade. It must
have been an obvious solution to the first canoeists.
If anyone who has early British material on their shelves, would they be willing
to look for related quotes there?
In as much as Inuit paddles are concerned I think the exception most definitely
proves the rule. There is no historical evidence to support the idea that
feathered paddles were used and the existence of a few suspect examples cannot
count as evidence that they did.
The uncited sources for the above are:
Atwood Manley, 'Rushton and his times in American Canoeing', The Adirondack
Museum/Syracuse University Press, 1968.
P.A.L. Vine, 'Pleasure Boating in the Victorian Era', Phillimore&Co. LTD., 1983
Jerry Cassell, 'Canoe and Kayak Books', The Wilderness Collection, 1997
Yours, Vernon
PS, Could people sign their postings. My email system only offers baidarka list
as source of sender, as a result I am always left wondering at the authorship of
unsigned messages.
Also, I've begun working on the information regarding early Greenland paddles.
It's turned out my notes are a mess, so I'll need a bit of time to organize the
material. Promise I'll get it done.
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