Kieran wrote:

I might be taking on a project where we try to determine the power
(force and velocity) developed by a kayaker while paddling. I'm
wondering if anyone out there knows of any research that's been done
like this. I know that it is a fairly common thing for rowing crews to
be "instrumented" with strain guages on the oars, and potentiometers on
the oarlocks, to get force/time curves for on-water rowing. So, I'm
wondering if anyone is aware of this sort of study having been done on
kayaking or canoeing.

If you just want average power generated then you could use some of the
test and model data from Sea Kayaker magazine in their kayak test
reports that shows the drag force of each boat model at various speeds.
Combine this with measured speeds of paddlers in races and it should
give an idea of the effective paddling power.