From: "Michael Daly"
Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle,rec.boats.paddle.touring
Date: Tue, 29 Jul 2003 04:48:46 GMT
Subject: FS: Carbon Fiber Paddle

On 28-Jul-2003, "David J. Van den Branden" wrote:

As far as longer paddles
substantially increasing the effort, I'm not convinced.

If you have a longer paddle, the force on the paddle blade is acting
thru a longer moment arm. This increases the torque you have to
apply with arms or (preferably) body rotation to get the same forward
motion.

Substantially, though? It also decreases your stroke rate and decreases the
range of motion that your body has to go through to move the paddle across
the same distance in the water in order to move the kayak forward at a
reasonable speed sustainable over long distances. Assuming your not in a
rush.

I think it's a much more dynamic model. The paddle may require slightly more
input to keep the kayak moving at the same speed as with the short paddle.
But if I decrease my speed by 1/2 or 1 MPH and reduce my cadence and range
of motion a bit, I conserve that energy. The net may be less effort overall
or may be a wash... in which case it comes down to preferences. Food for
thought.

DV

On 29-Jul-2003, "David J. Van den Branden" wrote:

Substantially, though?

That depends. If you 're out for a short paddle, probably not. If you're out for a
long trip, maybe so. It all adds up. Going from 220cm to 240cm is an increase
of 9% - hefty if you're doing a lot of paddling. When I started paddling, 240 was
the recommended length for me. I use 220 now. It also represents more wear
and tear on old joints - significant for me. YMMV

Assuming your not in a rush.

I think it's a much more dynamic model. The paddle may require slightly more
input to keep the kayak moving at the same speed as with the short paddle.
But if I decrease my speed by 1/2 or 1 MPH and reduce my cadence and range
of motion a bit, I conserve that energy. The net may be less effort overall
or may be a wash... in which case it comes down to preferences. Food for
thought.

In this case, you may be comparing apples and oranges. If you're with a group,
slowing down may not be an option. If you're caught in nasty weather and have
to get to your destination, you lose that option as well.

If you compare the same kayak and the same course and speed, the shorter
paddle is more efficient. What you do with that info is up to you.

Mike