roo wrote:

I assume it's a relative assessment, but...

Large blades provide more power, but give a higher chance of injury?

Small blades allow/require a higher stroke rate for equivalent large
blade propulsion?

As a sea paddler, I find that narrower blades work better in my
particular case. It's like a lower gear on bike, you do have to keep up
a higher work rate, but putting less power into each stroke I find I can
keep going longer in comfort (never mind injury, my arms are just less
fatigued at the end of 20 miles). Also the case that paddling in big
winds is less of a problem with a smaller blade. If you look at
traditional Greenland paddles they're *very* narrow, about 3" or so, but
quite long. By routinely extending one's grip this allows more control
than you might think, and the buoyant nature of the wood makes rolling
and bracing far better than you'd imagine too. A friend of mine that
makes them has been seen happily surfing a playboat at St. Andrews using
Greenland paddles!
I use Lendal Archipelagos, which are about 10% smaller than the
Nordkapps most of the folk in my club use but otherwise the same
(Nordkapps are in turn a little smaller than Powermasters but otherwise
similar). I have Paddlok interchangable blades and a spare set of
Nordkapp blades, so I could easily test the different blades on the
exact same shaft. Doing this I chose the Archs as my main paddles.

Is the size irrelevant, because all that is required is enough
friction to plant the blade and pull yourself past the shaft?

If it is, I'm kidding myself one helluva lot in that last paragraph!

My arms aren't especially *strong*, but they have a fair bit of stamina
so can keep rolling around. The ladies in the club that have borrowed
my paddles also like them in comparison to the club's own Nordkapps. A
couple use and like Seamasters, no longer made but another narrow paddle.

Should I buy some new paddles with normal sized blades?

Do you need more raw power from single strokes? Are your current blades
proving a problem? If you like them and they do what you want, I'd keep
them!

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/