[Brian Nystrom]

Drew Cutter wrote:
I've been looking at the Great lake kayak club. They give rating on
skill and difficulty. How does one build up their endurance for paddling
the great lakes ? Especially when the waters get rough and windy .

Paddle a lot. Seriously, it's he best training for paddling. If you
haven't done any skills training (strokes, bracing, rolling, rescues),
you should do so and get a solid foundation before you start paddling
big water.

[Brian Nystrom]

Drew Cutter wrote:
Has their been any studies on how much more energy you use on different
water conditions ?

Not that I know of. All I can tell you from experience is that your
effort level can go up exponentially in rough water, particularly if
you're uncomfortable or you have to do a rescue in it (self or assisted).

I want to take some Greenland paddle skills classes.

Good idea!

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
I've been looking at the Great lake kayak club. They give rating on
skill and difficulty. How does one build up their endurance for
paddling the great lakes ? Especially when the waters get rough and
windy .

Paddle a lot. Seriously, it's he best training for paddling. If you
haven't done any skills training (strokes, bracing, rolling, rescues),
you should do so and get a solid foundation before you start paddling
big water.

[John Fereira]

Brian Nystrom wrote in news:%FwPg.584$x11.38
@trndny02:

Drew Cutter wrote:
Has their been any studies on how much more energy you use on different
water conditions ?

Not that I know of. All I can tell you from experience is that your
effort level can go up exponentially in rough water, particularly if
you're uncomfortable or you have to do a rescue in it (self or assisted).

I suppose it also depends on which way the wind is blowing.

I want to take some Greenland paddle skills classes.

Good idea!

Congrats on the publishing of your "Greenland Paddles - Step by Step" book.
Could you send me info on ordering a copy?

[John Fereira]

Drew Cutter wrote in :

Since you seem to be the expert on Greenland paddles. I've found
only two source for paddles . One wood and the other fiberglass.

I wouldn't consider myself an expert on GPs by any stretch of the
imagination but that's not going to stop me from responding anyway.

I've never seen a fiberglass greenland paddle but I have seen carbon fiber
versions. I tried a carbon fiber storm paddle several years ago and didn't
care for it. I found it to be very slippery in the hands and it made a loud
knock whenever it contacted the boat. The reason that you don't see too
many greenland paddles made of fiberglass or carbon fiber (or even wood)
sold commercially is that a GP is more "custom fit" for the paddler.
Measurements for overall length, loom length, and blade width are critical
if a GP is going to fit a paddler correctly. It's just not economically
feasible to produce every combination of overall length, loom length, and
blade width to fit a wide range of paddlers.

Any suggestions on where to take lessons . I live in Ohio.

Your best bet would be to take some time off and attend a symposium
dedicated to Greenland paddling techniques (or at least has sessions on it).
It'll likely require some travel but 2-3 day symposiums make great mini-
vacations. The Delmarva retreat just happened a couple of weeks ago but
would be a good one to put on your calendar next year. I've heard great
things about the Great Lakes Sea Kayaking symposium (a lot closer to you)
but don't know if they have sessions on GP (most decent symposiums do now).

Couldn't find
the book on amazon. .
Look at the issue of Masik that was just recently posted. Chris Cunninghams
(editor of Sea Kayaker mag) book on building a Greenland boat also has a
long chapter on building a Greenland Paddle.

I've seen suggestion on make the paddle more
visible to other boaters , ships . Any suggestion on how to make what
to make the paddles stand out ?

Painting the tips with bright marine grade paint would help. You can also
buy reflective tape. Whichever method you use, you don't need to paint/tape
both sides of the blade. Do the powerface on one blade and the backface on
the other. That way you'll be more visible from both directions.


John Fereira wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote in
news:%FwPg.584$x11.38 @trndny02:

Drew Cutter wrote:
Has their been any studies on how much more energy you use on
different water conditions ?
Not that I know of. All I can tell you from experience is that your
effort level can go up exponentially in rough water, particularly if
you're uncomfortable or you have to do a rescue in it (self or
assisted).

I suppose it also depends on which way the wind is blowing.
I want to take some Greenland paddle skills classes. Good idea!

Congrats on the publishing of your "Greenland Paddles - Step by Step"
book. Could you send me info on ordering a copy?

[Brian Nystrom]

John Fereira wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote in news:%FwPg.584$x11.38
@trndny02:

Drew Cutter wrote:
Has their been any studies on how much more energy you use on different
water conditions ?
Not that I know of. All I can tell you from experience is that your
effort level can go up exponentially in rough water, particularly if
you're uncomfortable or you have to do a rescue in it (self or assisted).

I suppose it also depends on which way the wind is blowing.

Yeah, that, too!

I want to take some Greenland paddle skills classes.
Good idea!

Congrats on the publishing of your "Greenland Paddles - Step by Step" book.
Could you send me info on ordering a copy?

I've emailed you and Drew with information about the book.

[Brian Nystrom]

Drew Cutter wrote:
Since you seem to be the expert on Greenland paddles. I've found only
two source for paddles . One wood and the other fiberglass.

There are several companies selling GPs, but they're mostly small.
Cricket, Don Beale, Tuktu and Superior are some that come to mind. It
seems that most people just make their own.

Superior's paddle is carbon fiber. I've tried one and I was impressed
with it's performance. However, I can make more 15-20 paddles for the
cost of one of theirs. ;-)

Any
suggestions on where to take lessons . I live in Ohio.

I'm on the east coast and not familiar with what's available in your
area. I agree with John that attending a symposium or two is probably
your best bet. Unfortunately, all the major ones are over for this year.
I would suggest posting your question about instruction on the Qajaq USA
forum (www.qajaqusa.org). There are avid Greenland-style paddlers from
all over the country there. Someone is bound to have some useful info
for you. You may even be able to find other GP enthusiasts in your area.

Couldn't find the book on amazon. .

It's a self-published book that's not available on the major bookseller
sites, at least not yet. It's available directly from me or through
Chesapeake Light Craft (clcboats.com), The Woodenboat Store
(www.woodenboatstore.com) or Newfound Woodworks (www.newfound.com). I've
emailed you information about it.

I've seen suggestion on make the paddle more
visible to other boaters , ships . Any suggestion on how to make what to
make the paddles stand out ?

The easiest way is to make the tips bright. I prefer to use white-tinted
epoxy for that, as it also serves to harden and protect the tips. The
difference in visibility is night and day. As John indicated, if you
paddle at night, reflectivity is very important. One of the
retro-reflective tapes commonly used on trucks and such work well for
paddles. You can also gain some daytime visibility by using prismatic
tape, similar to that used on fishing lures. Both of these types of
reflective material are available at auto parts stores and through
sources on the web.

BTW, you can find pics of GPs and lots of other kayak-related info in my
Webshots albums at:

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg



John Fereira wrote:
Brian Nystrom wrote in news:%FwPg.584$x11.38
@trndny02:

Drew Cutter wrote:
Has their been any studies on how much more energy you use on
different water conditions ?
Not that I know of. All I can tell you from experience is that your
effort level can go up exponentially in rough water, particularly if
you're uncomfortable or you have to do a rescue in it (self or
assisted).

I suppose it also depends on which way the wind is blowing.
I want to take some Greenland paddle skills classes.
Good idea!

Congrats on the publishing of your "Greenland Paddles - Step by Step"
book. Could you send me info on ordering a copy?

[Brian Nystrom]

Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

I love the tuktu paddles. Question do you carry more than one style of
Greenland paddle . One for bad weather (storm) and another for more calm
condition when you are on open water (like the great lakes ) ? I kind
feel like I'm buying a bamboo fly rod as i look over the tuktu paddles.

I do carry two paddles, but my "storm" paddle serves primarily as a
conveniently-sized spare that fits nicely on my foredeck. The "storm"
moniker is actually a North American term. In Greenland, it would be
referred to as a "short" paddle for use with a sliding stroke. They
are/were used for all paddling in certain areas of the country. There
are also medium-sized paddles that are used with a partial sliding
stroke. You can see John Petersen using this this paddle & technique in
the video "Amphibious Man". He's so smooth that you barely even notice
that he's sliding the paddle one hand width on every stroke.

[John Fereira]

Drew Cutter wrote in :

Brain ,

I love the tuktu paddles. Question do you carry more than one style of
Greenland paddle . One for bad weather (storm) and another for more
calm condition when you are on open water (like the great lakes ) ? I
kind feel like I'm buying a bamboo fly rod as i look over the tuktu
paddles.

I own three bamboo fly rods. Even if you buy a new GP they're considerably
less expensive than a bamboo fly rod. However, I bought two of mine used
(the other was given to me) and paid just a bit more than the Tuktu prices
for a new paddle. Fortunately, a GP is much easier to make than a bamboo
fly rod. A long long time ago I had a roommate whose father owned an
antiques shop which had a large wood shop in the basement where he built
bamboo fly rods. He bought the raw bamboo and built the blanks himself. it
was quite an operation. About 20 years ago or so they were selling for over
$1000.

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
Since you seem to be the expert on Greenland paddles. I've found
only two source for paddles . One wood and the other fiberglass.

There are several companies selling GPs, but they're mostly small.
Cricket, Don Beale, Tuktu and Superior are some that come to mind. It
seems that most people just make their own.

I paddled with someone last weekend that had a Don Beale paddle. It seemed
like a nice paddle but it was really heavy for a GP. A friend of mine just
started carrying Sawyer paddles and got a couple of their Greenland paddles
in. They were also very heavy and even their shortest length was about 4"
too long for me. Malone of Maine *used* to make a nice looking paddle
called a Firestick but I don't think he's making them anymore. Betsie Bay
also makes some GPs.



It's a self-published book that's not available on the major
bookseller sites, at least not yet. It's available directly from me or
through Chesapeake Light Craft (clcboats.com), The Woodenboat Store
(www.woodenboatstore.com) or Newfound Woodworks (www.newfound.com).
I've emailed you information about it.

I found the book described in the "New" section on the Newfound site but it
didn't show up in the list of books that could be ordered. I have always
found the CLC site a bit difficult to navigate but I eventually found the
order form.


I've seen suggestion on make the paddle more visible to other boaters
, ships . Any suggestion on how to make what to make the paddles
stand out ?

The easiest way is to make the tips bright. I prefer to use
white-tinted epoxy for that, as it also serves to harden and protect
the tips.

I wonder if there is some sort of reflective additive that could be mixed in
with the epoxy. I've seen lots of diffrent colors at our local marine store.

[[email protected]]

There are some. The tricky part is that most kayak ferrules are
narrower than most GP looms, so there is likely to be a funky area in
the middle.

Steve

Drew Cutter wrote:
I suppose their is no way to break down (Split) a Greenland paddle to
make to transport easier on the plane or car ?

[Brian Nystrom]

Drew Cutter wrote:
I did some more research today on wood vs graphite vs fiberglass.
Apparently the amount of bend (flex ) that a wood paddle does , it
provides stress relieve to your joints , etc.

It certainly can, but it depends on the design of the paddle. If you
build your own wood paddles, you can make them as stiff or flexible as
you like. Personally, I prefer a paddle with a bit of flex and snap to
it, as opposed to a paddle that's really rigid. The other means to
reduce stress on the joints is to make the paddle shorter and/or the
blades narrower and use a higher paddling cadence to move at the same
speed. It's analogous to using lower gearing and a higher cadence on a
bicycle.

What are the different
things that you can do to the grip to make if comfortable , etc ? Since
the Greenland paddle is very customized to the paddler.

First, the cross-section of the loom should be sized to the paddler's
hands. The shoulder size, shape and angle can be modified to suit one's
preferences. Some paddlers prefer a paddle with no shoulders. If you
look in my "Greenland Paddles" album on Webshots, I've just added a
photo of various shoulder and loom configurations.

http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom-reg

I also cover sizing paddles in detail in the book.

I suppose their is no way to break down (Split) a Greenland paddle to
make to transport easier on the plane or car ?

Feathercraft sells a takedown GP, but it's rather heavy. The problem is
that the only commercially available center ferrules are too small and
the wrong shape (round) for a GP loom. In order to get adequate strength
at the loom-ferrule junctions, you need to use a hardwood or
hardwood-reinforced loom, which makes the paddle heavier than a typical
cedar paddle.

For transportation, a 4" PVC tube with a glued-on cap on one end and a
screw-on cap on the other holds 3 GPs and protects them quite well when
traveling by road, rail or air. It can easily be strapped to a roof rack.


Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

I love the tuktu paddles. Question do you carry more than one style
of Greenland paddle . One for bad weather (storm) and another for
more calm condition when you are on open water (like the great lakes
) ? I kind feel like I'm buying a bamboo fly rod as i look over the
tuktu paddles.

I do carry two paddles, but my "storm" paddle serves primarily as a
conveniently-sized spare that fits nicely on my foredeck. The "storm"
moniker is actually a North American term. In Greenland, it would be
referred to as a "short" paddle for use with a sliding stroke. They
are/were used for all paddling in certain areas of the country. There
are also medium-sized paddles that are used with a partial sliding
stroke. You can see John Petersen using this this paddle & technique
in the video "Amphibious Man". He's so smooth that you barely even
notice that he's sliding the paddle one hand width on every stroke.