"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .
"Michael Daly" wrote in
:


On 9-Mar-2006, "Rick" wrote:

Feathered paddles require a lot of wrist rotation, another reason not
to use them, especially on multi-day or extended trips. A little
tendinitis goes a long way.

Only if the feather is not selected to suit the paddling style. Large
feather angles will require large wrist rotation.

I'm going to disagree with both of you here. Specifically, that a *lot*
of
wrist rotation is *required* to use a feathered paddle.

I should clarify. When I say a lot of wrist rotation, I am referring to the
number of times (frequency) the wrists must be rotated, not the degree of
rotation. I began paddling feathered. Learned to paddle, as Brian said,
without a control hand. This does work (you do the push/pull with open
fingers and the paddle will remain at 90 degrees, as long as you don't push
too hard), even with a feathered paddle. I eventually gave feathered up as
being incompatible with having complete confidence in my strokes (and rolls)
if I didn't settle on a single method.

While I *will*
agree that performing an offside high brace can be difficult with rotating
the control hand wrist, for a normal forward stroke I don't believe it is
required. When I first learned how to paddle I was told that when taking
a
stroke on the off-side that bending the wrist backwards would produce the
proper blade angle. However, I've subsequently learned that I can get
exactly the same blade angle by bending my control arm elbow.


You can. The problem is that static stresses on joints when they are not
well aligned can lead to repetitive stress injuries. With an unfeathered
paddle, I find very few instances where I have to make such adjustments.

In the context of this thread, the question is whether sea kayaking, and
specifically the use of a feathered paddle can cause wrist injuries. I am
suggesting that, yes, repeated bending of the wrist to it's maximum range
of
motion likely will cause injury, but if one drops their elbow a bit and
bends their wrist a small amount, paddling with a feathered paddle won't
inherently cause wrist injuries. That is; it's not the paddle that causes
injuries, it's how one uses it.


I agree, to a point. Having done some studying of ergonomics, however, we
found that even slight wrist bends can lead to RSI's. The greater the wrist
angle, the more quickly RSI's occur, but they don't completely go away.
There is may be a wrist angle that produces zero RSI injuries, but the risk
of injury is greater due to feathering. On a long trip, I'd prefer not to
take that risk. On single-day paddles, it is unlikely paddlers will
encounter a significant injury of this type.

....stuff deleted

Unfeathered paddles, contrary to popular misconception, require wrist
rotation. However, it is small and opposite that required for a large
feather angles.


As John and Brian point out, this can be avoided. I never seem to have to
adjust my wrists when paddling unfeathered. The paddle seems to easily find
its proper orientation if I use a loose grip and let it find its face on the
water. Once the paddle begins to grab, especially in windy conditions, I may
clamp down the fingers a bit, but only in certain winds do I actually have
to grab and hold the paddle. On calm days, the shaft just floats in my
hands.

I use both feathered and unfeathered paddles (former a Lendal
Archipelago w/ bent shaft set to approx 30 degree feather; latter a
Greenland-style paddle). If I get into a serious wind, I switch to my
spare storm paddle with a sliding stroke. Regardless of paddle, I
don't notice the problems that most people complain about. Matching
the paddle to the technique seems to solve them.


Mike, I found that switching back and forth confused my muscle memory too
much for me to feel secure. Others may not have this problem, but I
certainly do.

Rick