My wing paddle's length adjustment has gradually migrated to 85" (216 cm) over
the few years I've been using it.

The Werner Camano that I currently use for surfing my WaveWitch is
80.25" (204 cm) and feels about right to me.

But now I've got a waveski coming sometime in Feb and the word I'm getting is
that for a waveski, one benefits from a much shorter paddle - something not
longer than 72" (183 cm) and maybe even more like 68" (173 cm).

Not only that, but I'm also hearing that for waveski use, the blade sb "flat".

But the whitewater paddles I've looked at so far (Camano, Lendal) all have some
of what they call "dihedral". Dunno precisely what that is, but its obviously
curvature in one plane or another.

So:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
- How flat is "flat". Seems like the "flat" requirement relates to
using the paddle to initiate turns on the face of a wave by dragging
it in the water - as per http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JxCyK9T-fU

- How about length? 173-183 seems like a kiddie paddle on most listings
I've seen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anybody been here?
--
PeteCresswell

(PeteCresswell) wrote:

of what they call "dihedral". Dunno precisely what that is, but its obviously
curvature in one plane or another.

Spoon is the curvature from root to tip. Dihedral is the angle between two
sides of the blade. Imagine a section cut through the blade at right angles to
the length of the blade - the angle (if one exists) will be seen on that section.

- How flat is "flat". Seems like the "flat" requirement relates to
using the paddle to initiate turns on the face of a wave by dragging
it in the water

That's a low brace and the paddle blade should be skimming the surface of the
water to support you while carving a turn. If you want more turning moment, you
can push the paddle down into the water. The deeper the paddle, the more the
turning moment but the more braking too.

I haven't seen too many flat kayak paddles around lately except for cheap ones.
This might be a special purpose paddle that you'll only find in a surf-mad
community.

Mike

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
My wing paddle's length adjustment has gradually migrated to 85" (216 cm) over
the few years I've been using it.

The Werner Camano that I currently use for surfing my WaveWitch is
80.25" (204 cm) and feels about right to me.

But now I've got a waveski coming sometime in Feb and the word I'm getting is
that for a waveski, one benefits from a much shorter paddle - something not
longer than 72" (183 cm) and maybe even more like 68" (173 cm).

That sounds awfully short to me. I don't see how you could use it
effectively without sliding it back and forth like a Greenland "storm"
paddle, which BTW is typically the same length.

Not only that, but I'm also hearing that for waveski use, the blade sb "flat".

But the whitewater paddles I've looked at so far (Camano, Lendal) all have some
of what they call "dihedral". Dunno precisely what that is, but its obviously
curvature in one plane or another.

"Dihedral" refers to a blade with a ridge down the center and faces that
slope away from it toward the edges of the blade. Your Camano is a
perfect example. I assume a "flat" blade would be one that's flat across
its width, but not necessarily along its length. Nigel Foster's paddles
are like that, with a smooth back for good water flow when used for
turns, rudders, sweeps, etc.

There are surf specific paddles that some companies make...
Lendal Mystic
Onno makes one called ~the New Wave (weird also because it is
symmetrical top-bottom).....
there is a whole bunch of wood paddles that the San Onfre guys use as
well....
i hear tell that a squirt paddle works well too....

in my surf boat i use:
a) Seven2 Airidium....this paddle has NO dihedral-it does flutter a bit
when paddling because of that....
b) Jackson Kayaks kids paddle....i am testing this one out....so far it
does VERY well...shorter because the deck of my boat is not that
wide....the hull is wide so you can have a hard edge to carve on but
the deck is thinner and you keep your knees almost completely together
(think of a pyramid shape without the top being pointy)....because of
that open area i can get away with a shorter paddle without banging my
knuckles on the boat....you only use 1/2 the paddle on the wave if that
anyway-so a shorter paddle is making sense.....
r

OOPS...forgot this part...

in my surf boat i use:
a) Seven2 Airidium... This one is a 194cm

b) Jackson Kayaks kids paddle.... This one is a 175cm.....

btw: a great guy in the northeast to chat with is Sing...he is on p.net
nesurfkayakers.com npmb.org......should find him pretty easily.....

surfzone on bt has lots of info about paddles too...

Brian Nystrom wrote in
news:JGmth.2879$qN1.2764@trndny02:



"Dihedral" refers to a blade with a ridge down the center and faces
that slope away from it toward the edges of the blade. Your Camano is a
perfect example. I assume a "flat" blade would be one that's flat
across its width, but not necessarily along its length. Nigel Foster's
paddles are like that, with a smooth back for good water flow when used
for turns, rudders, sweeps, etc.

The Lightning Std. also has a flat blade and is much more affordable than
Nigels Paddles. Up until a few months ago when I bought a Werner Cyprus I
used one for many years and loved it especially for ruddering strokes and
sculling.

John Fereira wrote:

The Lightning Std. also has a flat blade and is much more affordable than
Nigels Paddles. Up until a few months ago when I bought a Werner Cyprus
I used one for many years and loved it especially for ruddering strokes and
sculling.

I think Lightning went out of business, but the NRS catalog or website
(nrsweb.com) offers some flat-bladed paddles oriented towards beginners,
including Ainsworth.

Bill Tuthill wrote:

I think Lightning went out of business,

It looks like they did according to something I've seen on a web site.
Lightning's website is gone too.

Too bad, they made some nice paddles.

Mike

Trik style paddle blades by Jim Snyder are certainly "flat" - check
out www.jimisnyder.com for more.