Re: Paddle Size

Posted by steve on Jan 30, 2007

Yeah look the thing to do is to get a cheap wooden shaft or make one from a rounded length of Oregon or pine say 1 1/4 inches or maybe less what ever suits you hands. Cut out some blades... maybe copy the shape from another paddle from light ply and screw these to the ends. Offset if you wish. From tip to tip the paddle should be about the length of the floor to your fingertips or knuckles arm held over head. Now try it. If it feels too slow or too much work through the water reposition the blades inboard say 1/2 inch at a time. Soon you will find what is most efficient. Next try removing width from the blades say 1/4 inch from each edge at a time. This will make the paddle faster through the stroke. Same story, eventually you will find a blade width to give you a stroke rate that is most efficient for your strength and aerobic capacity. You may try making a greenland stick. They are cheap, quite versatile and can be paddled with a wing or propeller effect in the water that a larger blade cannot.

In Response to: Re: Paddle Size by Dave Houser on Jan 29, 2007

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