Peter Clinch wrote in message ...
Charlie wrote:

I conce tried
some Inuit blades that seemed little more than a stick flattened at
each end,

"Little more"? shurely "nothing more"? ;-)

I cant speak for Charlie directly but I think that he probably meant
"little more". Sounds like the blades were a bit more than a stick
flattened at each end? ;-) If they were "nothing more" wouldn't he
have described a stick flattened at each end that he conce tried to
paddle with.....

Rolling is fine, as is bracing and extreme leaned turns, as long as you
remember that using these paddles is at least partly about routine use
of extended grip.

Explain the extended grip to me for use with these paddles, please.

Cheers for the info people, I'm sticking with my blades for now until
I get an offer I can't refuse.

hf
roo

Inuit blades are a little more complex than Peter implies, but the
extreme styles do have blades that are probably no more than twice the
width of the shaft and most of the length of it. Being long and thin
they don't catch the wind so don't need to be feathered, I think the
shafts are ovalled for hands though as most of us are used to on our
paddles these days!

Extended paddle position - you just slide your hands along to one end,
like when you teach beginners to do pawlata rolls. The very narrow
blades mean that this is much easier, which is lucky as it's necessary
to get the extra leverage for certain strokes.

Never had a chance to try proper ones myself, although a friend made
some roughly in the style many years ago.

JIM

roo wrote:

Peter Clinch wrote in message ...

Charlie wrote:


I conce tried
some Inuit blades that seemed little more than a stick flattened at
each end,

"Little more"? shurely "nothing more"? ;-)


I cant speak for Charlie directly but I think that he probably meant
"little more". Sounds like the blades were a bit more than a stick
flattened at each end? ;-) If they were "nothing more" wouldn't he
have described a stick flattened at each end that he conce tried to
paddle with.....


Rolling is fine, as is bracing and extreme leaned turns, as long as you
remember that using these paddles is at least partly about routine use
of extended grip.


Explain the extended grip to me for use with these paddles, please.

Cheers for the info people, I'm sticking with my blades for now until
I get an offer I can't refuse.

hf
roo

Jim Wallis wrote:
Inuit blades are a little more complex than Peter implies, but the
extreme styles do have blades that are probably no more than twice the
width of the shaft and most of the length of it.

My friend wot builds his own Baidarkas also makes trad paddles that
really are pretty much a flattened log, certainly nowhere near twice as
wide as the centre. And he uses them to great effect too! I should
have a pic of Alf in action doing a monster lean with one in a Baidarka;
if I can find it I'll put it on a page and post the address.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

roo wrote:

I cant speak for Charlie directly but I think that he probably meant
"little more". Sounds like the blades were a bit more than a stick
flattened at each end? ;-) If they were "nothing more" wouldn't he
have described a stick flattened at each end that he conce tried to
paddle with.....

Sounds like a description of at least some Greenland paddles to me! ;-)

Explain the extended grip to me for use with these paddles, please.

Slide the paddle through your hand before turns (or rolls) so you're
holding it well away from the end that handles the action. This way the
paddle can be used as an outrigger as well as extending the sweep of the
blade considerably, so you get more turn and more stability in radical
(or at least radical for a long boat!) turns.
This is very, very handy with any sort of paddle in open water, I'd
imagine it would be rather less so in white water...

Extended grips aren't in any way limited to Greenland paddles, though
the high natural buoyancy coupled with long length and no real blade to
get in the way does make them especially suited.
I once saw a criticism of cranked paddles saying it prevented use of
extended grip, but that sounds like tosh to me: my main sea paddle is a
Lendal Mod Crank, and I use extended grip on most of my leaned turns in
the sea boat.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/