I have an ottertail that I use in my sea kayak for a change of pace and
muscles. Only in deep, mostly flat, water. Kneeling in a 22" wide boat
using a single blade paddle would be quite beyond most paddlers I know,
except for sprinter racers. The pics I have seen of Aleuts look like
the are sitting, but I haven't seen them all.

Steve


Michael Daly wrote:
Galen Hekhuis wrote:
Has anyone tried to paddle a
kayak with a canoe type paddle in the open water or is the idea too stupid
to even contemplate?

Aleut paddlers in kayaks used single bladed paddles exclusively in some cases.
They also had double blade paddles, however.

The only problem with a single blade paddle in the conventional kayaks that we
paddle is that it isn't as easy to use from the low, sitting position compared
to a kneeling position. The Aleut used a kneeling position with a single blade
- the coaming of their kayaks was quite high and wide.

Mike