Gene,

I gave up on feathered paddles years ago and still fail to see the benefit.
I am much more comfortable with an unfeathered paddle, though if the blade
were really narrow, I guess it would not matter much. I would say that
switching back and forth is a mistake, at least for me. My muscle memory is
such that I cannot now roll with a feathered paddle without taking a long
time to consider the process and a couple of uncomfortable near failures.
Your mileage may vary. Dowd (I believe it was he) wrote that only in a
direct headwind does a feathered paddle produce any advantage. I switched
while paddling in a storm with the wind on my beam, and I never went back.

Rick

..
"Gene Cosloy" wrote in message
om...
I'm quite comfortable with a 60 degree feathered paddle and understand
the advantages in windy situations. However I've recently begun to
learn and practice Braces. would't the learning curve be quicker in
learning to brace quickly either side if you used an unfeathered
paddle? Same goes for learning to roll? I really don't have to think
about feathering with my index hand since the forward stroke has
become second nature or intuitive due to repetion. Bracing, or rolling
however is not yet intuitive and during practive I forgot to twist my
wrist on the index side and the brace failed by having the paddle dive
into the water with me following. I know the stock answer will be with
practice, the proper indexing will also become intuitive during
bracing /rolling. My point is that while I may devote whole days to
the forward stroke, I can only afford an hour or so once a week to
practice. Does it not make more sense to switch to an unfeathered
paddle for all strokes and trade off the few times wind becomes a
severe issue

Gene

Rick wrote:
Gene,

Dowd (I believe it was he) wrote that only in a
direct headwind does a feathered paddle produce any advantage.

Defintely words of wisdom and absolutely correct. When you consider that
when paddling into a headwind, the paddler is in the strongest, most
stable position, the difference that a feathered paddle makes is not
that great. Also, feather angles less than 90 degrees will cause the
paddle to lift or dive in a headwind. Overall, I found feathering to be
an overall disadvantage.

Brian Nystrom wrote:

Dowd (I believe it was he) wrote that only in a
direct headwind does a feathered paddle produce any advantage.

Defintely words of wisdom and absolutely correct. When you consider that
when paddling into a headwind, the paddler is in the strongest, most
stable position, the difference that a feathered paddle makes is not
that great. Also, feather angles less than 90 degrees will cause the
paddle to lift or dive in a headwind. Overall, I found feathering to be
an overall disadvantage.

Some people think a feathered paddle (45-60 degrees) feels more natural
during the paddle stroke, and blades are always in a nearly ideal position
for offside bracing. Feathered paddles can be shorter (due to different
technique used) and therefore lighter. It's individual preference.

Who else has tried paddling with an adjustable feather paddle unlocked? When I
did it (Seven 2 paddle) I found 22 degrees to be my natural feather.

I normally paddle with a 218cm, unfeathered, with a pretty vertical stroke.

Brian B

Bill Tuthill wrote:

Brian Nystrom wrote:

Dowd (I believe it was he) wrote that only in a
direct headwind does a feathered paddle produce any advantage.

Defintely words of wisdom and absolutely correct. When you consider that
when paddling into a headwind, the paddler is in the strongest, most
stable position, the difference that a feathered paddle makes is not
that great. Also, feather angles less than 90 degrees will cause the
paddle to lift or dive in a headwind. Overall, I found feathering to be
a disadvantage.


Some people think a feathered paddle (45-60 degrees) feels more natural
during the paddle stroke, and blades are always in a nearly ideal position
for offside bracing.

If you think about it, what could be more natural than a paddle that's
perfectly symmetric? The motion is identical from one side to the other.
By definition, you MUST do something asymmetric in order to feather a
paddle. Proper feathering technique must be taught, but anyone can use
an unfeathered paddle with little or no instruction.

Feathered paddles can be shorter (due to different
technique used) and therefore lighter.

How do you figure that? There's no difference in technique that would
require a different length paddle, one way or the other. You seem to be
assuming that there's a difference in paddle placement, paddle angle,
torso rotation, etc. when there isn't.

It's individual preference.

True.

Brian Nystrom wrote:

Feathered paddles can be shorter (due to different technique used)
and therefore lighter.

How do you figure that? There's no difference in technique that would
require a different length paddle, one way or the other. You seem to be
assuming that there's a difference in paddle placement, paddle angle,
torso rotation, etc. when there isn't.

Hard to describe in words, without a paddle in hand.

With unfeathered blades, your two hands have a paddling motion
in two parallel circles, like cranking two old Model-T starters.

With feathered blades, your shoulders get involved in the strokes
and (with proper personal angle) the wrists and forearms stay
mostly stationary with respect to the paddle. Upper-arm movement
substitutes for a certain amount (10cm?) of paddle length.

On 15-Jun-2004, Bill Tuthill wrote:

With unfeathered blades, your two hands have a paddling motion
in two parallel circles, like cranking two old Model-T starters.

With feathered blades, your shoulders get involved in the strokes
and (with proper personal angle) the wrists and forearms stay
mostly stationary with respect to the paddle. Upper-arm movement
substitutes for a certain amount (10cm?) of paddle length

I don't see why you have this difference. I use the same technique
(closest to your second description) whether feathered or not.

The former technique is what I tell folks to stop doing and the latter
is what they should do.

Mike

Michael Daly wrote:

On 15-Jun-2004, Bill Tuthill wrote:


With unfeathered blades, your two hands have a paddling motion
in two parallel circles, like cranking two old Model-T starters.

With feathered blades, your shoulders get involved in the strokes
and (with proper personal angle) the wrists and forearms stay
mostly stationary with respect to the paddle. Upper-arm movement
substitutes for a certain amount (10cm?) of paddle length

This is a common misconception, typically propagated by proponents of
feathered paddling. It's nonsense. There is nothing about paddling
unfeathered that forces this kind of difference in technique.

I don't see why you have this difference. I use the same technique
(closest to your second description) whether feathered or not.

The former technique is what I tell folks to stop doing and the latter
is what they should do.

Exactly. There is no difference in proper technique, whether the paddle
is feathered or not. Placement is placement. Torso rotation is torso
rotation.