Kieran wrote:
I might be taking on a project where we try to determine the power
(force and velocity) developed by a kayaker while paddling. I'm
wondering if anyone out there knows of any research that's been done
like this. I know that it is a fairly common thing for rowing crews to
be "instrumented" with strain guages on the oars, and potentiometers on
the oarlocks, to get force/time curves for on-water rowing. So, I'm
wondering if anyone is aware of this sort of study having been done on
kayaking or canoeing.

For swimming, one method I know of consists of a line with floats
attached to it in a pool. The swimmer then pushes his hands against the
floats with each stroke and the power for each stroke is then measured
in the floats IIRC. There ought to be a better description of this on
the web. Another method might be to just drag a kayak with a line
accross the water at paddling speed and measure the force needed to do
this, but I suspect you want some more detailed measurements. Maybe you
can combine this with a videocamera.

greetings,
Michiel