Kayak Fishing Paddles

ANybody want my Bending Branches Twilight?  Adjustable length, carbon, light.....

ANybody want my Bending Branches Twilight?  Adjustable length, carbon, light.....

What do you want for it? I looked for twilight on BB website but theres a bunch of different twilight's. The Hobie paddle is just not fun, especially with the tank(outback), i can feel the blades practically bending in half when i paddle.

With regard to cadence and high-glide boats.....

Is there a threshold of sorts?  It seems to a dumbazz like me that, after a certain number of strokes/min, you'd start interfering with the resulting glide, and actually cause the boat to slow.  In my mind, each paddle stroke results in a bit of high-efficiency glide.  The thrust is transferred to the forward motion of the boat, and then declines at a certain rate.  Hitting the beginning of said decline with another stroke keeps a constant forward speed.  Hitting the timepoint too late results in a momentary reduction in speed.  Hitting too early, then, would seem wasteful.  Make sense?  This is how my mind has wrapped around it, but, after reading this thread, I am getting confused.

I think I understand the physical mechanics of torso rotation and use of leg, but this sort of thing has always escaped me.  Thoughts?

It is kinda confusing. If you do things just right, the blade stays perpendicular to the water surface, and exits with a slice and no resistance. technically you are correct, but the top speed of kayaks isn't fast enough for your stroke to get in the way like that....if all things in the technique were perfect.

If they aren't perfect, you can definitely create drag with the paddle etc. most of the time it's caused by "shoveling". when you pull the blade past the hip, it scoops up water and brings it to the surface like you were shoveling dirt. that sinks the stern and creates more drag and decreases stability.

I'm actually going to take a forward stroke class again in July to brush up and get someone else's explanation. you kind of never stop working on that particular stroke.

J

With regard to cadence and high-glide boats.....

Is there a threshold of sorts?  It seems to a dumbazz like me that, after a certain number of strokes/min, you'd start interfering with the resulting glide, and actually cause the boat to slow.  In my mind, each paddle stroke results in a bit of high-efficiency glide.  The thrust is transferred to the forward motion of the boat, and then declines at a certain rate.  Hitting the beginning of said decline with another stroke keeps a constant forward speed.  Hitting the timepoint too late results in a momentary reduction in speed.  Hitting too early, then, would seem wasteful.  Make sense?  This is how my mind has wrapped around it, but, after reading this thread, I am getting confused.

I think I understand the physical mechanics of torso rotation and use of leg, but this sort of thing has always escaped me.  Thoughts?

yes if you butcher it, this happens. They key is to keep the blade perpendicular to the surface, throughout the stroke, so it's working for you consistently the whole time it's in the water. Yes at a certain point you go faster than you can keep your cadence at, like surfing, but then you let the boat glide and stop paddling. Not only that, but straight paddling, the boats have a maximum speed before the hull plains and the bow wake turns into a wall you can't surpass....like hitting the sound barrier in a jet. so it's not a very realistic dilemma you are asking about. you'd have to be surfing or getting towed by a PB for the boat to move faster than your cadence will allow for.

also- you are correct about interfearing with glide. once the boat is gliding, you literally just apply enough power to keep the boat gliding, rather than the larger energy required to GET  it moving, although I think this very rarely happens, because most people can't maintain a high enough speed for their stroke to actually interfear.

Nanook - did you mean parallel?  Not being a smarta&$.

no, the blade is perpendicular to the surface. parallel would not catch any water, it would skim the surface.

It's a function of surface area. blade @ 90 degrees to the surface throughout the stroke presents the most possible surface area to catch water. if you enter the blade in at anangle or exit it at an angle, you have reduced the surface area and aren't catching as much water as you could.....or you are shoveling water up past your hip. either way = less efficiency.

ANybody want my Bending Branches Twilight?  Adjustable length, carbon, light.....

I am still interested. I just have not been able to get to Seattle. I had pm'd you about it in the past.  However,  Coosbayyaker may be in more need for it than I am at this time.  If he doesn't want it, I am still interested.
-Craig

no, the blade is perpendicular to the surface. parallel would not catch any water, it would skim the surface.

It's a function of surface area. blade @ 90 degrees to the surface throughout the stroke presents the most possible surface area to catch water. if you enter the blade in at anangle or exit it at an angle, you have reduced the surface area and aren't catching as much water as you could.....or you are shoveling water up past your hip. either way = less efficiency.

Gotcha.  I was mixing up stroke and blade angle.  I was picturing a perpendicular 'stroke' (as in canoeing) and tend to think that would be inefficient on a kayak where you would want something less than 90 deg.

really it's the same with canoeing, you just have half the paddle. I think we are getting at the same thing, but I'm not explaining it well.

that's why they have those bent shaft canoe paddles, the blade stays perpendicular in the "power phase" longer, so it catches more water than a strait canoe paddle. Seems wiered that the blade tilits forward, but if you spear it in and rotate through the stroke, you will see the blade stays at that 90 degree angle longer.

anyone have experience with the "gullwing" paddle?

That one looks like it got slammed in the car door a few times.   

Kallitype; you still offering that BB Twilight, or has it already found a new home?? [i seem to have missed that part]

Still have it....a couple inquiries, but no firm takers. Interested???

  Am in PDX housesitting for the kids, who are in Italy.  Will be home Sunday---really antsy, a PB friend keeps calling me to tell me of the nice kings he's catching around Vashon, says they're in, but not huge, he's put 9 in the box mostly 12-15# but one was 27#.  Gotta get out!!!!!!!!!!!

PM me, or call at (206) 463-2671  Sunday PM

Joost Zeeger, the paddler who won the Elk River Challenge here last weekend, is a competitive paddler from Bellingham, WA. He did the 7-mile course in 58 minutes, 3 seconds, beating out the 2nd place finishers by a lead of exactly 4 1/2 minutes.
The 2nd place boat was a rowing shell (with an 8-person crew, plus coxswain) from Portland, who call themselves Oregon Rowers Unlimited.
I talked with Brady of Brady's Oysters, who hosted the event Tuesday morning when I was launching near there. He said that Joost was an "incredible machine" who never slowed down or missed a stroke. He was in his sprint kayak. I wasn't there, but in the photo of him competing there last Saturday, he's using a straight shaft paddle.