Subject: RE: [baidarka] Lift and Drag
From: Bruce C. Anderson (bcanderson@cableone.net)
Date: Thu Oct 14 2004 - 22:09:37 EDT
Howdy
This whole lift and drag thing reminds me of a similar thing that happened
on a motorcycle roadracing forum I was once a member of. There was a long
and vicious argument over things like dishing out the heads of bolts to save
1/10 of an ounce. I won't go into the extent or nastiness of the
"discussion" and I use that term loosely. I met one of the most strident
voices on saving EVERY possible 10th. He was at least 20 lbs overweight
(prolly more, but who am I to judge. :) He could have just left his
motorcycle alone and spent the same time walking and he would have saved FAR
more weight.
How does this apply in this case. It doesn't matter how the paddle works.
Try different paddles in different conditions. Try different ways to hold,
place, stroke etc. the paddle. Find something that works for you. You
don't need to know any theory to put paddle to water.
Many of the very best athletes use techniques in their sports that go
against conventional wisdom because it works for them. Usually recommended
techniques are recommended just to get you up the learning curve faster,
they are not the end all be all. Pay attention to techniques that have been
known to cause injuries, and then find your own best.
Just like the fellow that was overweight. He was operating well within the
range known as "diminishing returns" Where the effort was no where near the
gain. You can analyze and work and shape your paddle to some ideal shape,
where just getting close and spending the rest of the time working on your
physical conditioning will get you much farther on the water.
But then again, I couldn't get a clue if I went to the clue store with a
coupon. :p
Good Luck
See Ya
Have Lots of Fun
Bruce
http://myweb.cableone.net/bcanderson/
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