Brian Nystrom wrote:

Why would you want to "rudder on both sides"?

Why not? You use a rudder stroke on whatever side it most convenient at
the time. That's SOP in kayaks.

Then it's no advantage as previously claimed?


You only need or want to paddle on both sides in white water or some
other extreme conditions where efficiency is questionable, and when
poling is sometimes better.

Why? What's the downside of doing it all the time? I realize that it's
not traditional to do so in a canoes, but other than that, why would you
not want to?

We were trying to establish an advantage of one over the other?
You claimed an advantage for being ablt to "ruudder on both sides".
Now the advantage you claimed for steeing on both sides seems to have
disappeared.



That's only a problem in a short boat. Once a canoe exceeds about 12 ft
in length a moderate paddle stroke will maintain a steady rate of
speed.

I beg to differ. Every stroke accelerates the boat and every pause
allows it to decelerate. If the boat is heavily laden, the changes may
be quite small, but particularly when paddling a light boat unladen, it
makes a difference over several hours of paddling.

I have to disagree. A canoe has more momentum.
You have a point though when thewind blows.

Gettin timed out .....


- a paddle blade is better formed to act as a rudder

We're talking about paddles, aren't we? If you mean a canoe paddle is a
better shape than a kayak paddle, that would depend on the type of
paddles you're comparing. For example, I would think that a bent-shaft
canoe paddle would make a less than ideal rudder and would be less
effective than a kayak paddle.

- the handle of a paddle has a grip at the top to facilitate twisting
the blade. Twisting the blade in the water is part of a normal canoe
stroke.

It works fine with a kayak paddle, too. It doesn't take much twist to
rudder a boat, nor does the twisting action require much effort.

- in a canoe the solo paddler sits amidships like a kayak paddler but
because a canoe is wider the paddler sits to one side where the paddle
can be dipped vertically into the water. For a solo canoe paddler, a
kayak paddle is not as efficient. The canoe is too wide amidships. A
kayak paddle with a sufficiently large blade may be more powerful, but
not more efficient.

I can see where the width of the boat could be problematic, but that can
be overcome to some degree by using a long enough paddle to easily reach
the water on both sides.

For someone who mostly uses a kayak paddle it may feel more efficient
than a canoe paddle but that's because the person is conditioned to a
kayak paddle. I've used both kinds in the small boats I built. The
shortest boat needs a kayak paddle because it does't track well. It's
like one of those short white water kayaks.

There's a difference between the inherent efficiency of the paddle
itself and the efficiency of the boat/paddle combination. The
alternating stroke of a kayak paddle reduces "dead spots" in the stroke
as well as the need for a "J" stroke or other technique for compensating
for paddling on only one side. Any time you add a ruddering component to
a stroke, it reduces the efficiency of the stroke.

I was interested in the account of using a kayak paddle when paddling
double in a canoe. Sitting in the end of the canoe would be narrow
enough to make a kayak paddle practical. I've never tried it but think
it would be interesting. There would still be the problem of the kayak
paddle not acting well as a rudder, but on a straight course it would
be interesting to try. People use bent blade paddles on straight
courses so there is a precedent.

Trust me Bill, a kayak paddle works just fine as a rudder; there are
thousands of years of precedent for that. The extra length of a kayak
paddle also allows for extended sweep strokes, which are a more
efficient means of correcting a boat's course than ruddering, as the
stroke propels the boat forward as it turns it, rather than just
creating drag as ruddering does.