Paddles?

Werner, corryvreckin (not sure I spelled that right) I haven't paddled the revo much, but man, it moved the hell out of my Tarpon 160.

That's a lot of paddle with the oversized face and the long length.  You must have really made that Tarpon move.

Sumpnz (Some Pansy?  ), I wouldn't have picked you for a 240 guy, just from your build and paddling style.  But of course personal preference comes into play.

-Allen

So, how do you know the paddle you "should" be using?  I have a 240 cause that is what came with my yak.  I am 5'10", 260... and not a whitewater guy... since that seems to have some impact on the conversation.

There is a reason why the sales reps have 230's with regular faces for the majority of their demo paddles.  They'll work just fine for 90% of the population on SOT's.  Actually, they'll work just fine for everyone, with any deviations from this just being a refinement.

Are you a high angler paddler?  How do you tell?  If your off hand on the stroke ends up in front of your face or over to the opposite side, you're likely a high angle paddler.

What is the difference between a 230 and a 240?  Well, 10 cm, which is ~4 inches.  That's 2 inches per side.  Do you think you'll really notice the difference between 2 inches?  Well, most people won't, but many will.  When the occasion arises that I'm paddling a 240, I often times know in the first few strokes.

-Allen

You are the engine and the paddle is the transmission.  A low angle paddle does really well at cruising speed with minimal effort but as soon as you push beyond the sweet spot, the low angle paddles lose their efficiency and effort increases dramatically.  Also you cannot vary your paddle stroke to much with out loosing efficiency.

Paddle strokes can be varied much more with the high angle paddle without the loss of efficiency.  They have more get up and go on the low end and can go beyond cruise speed with more efficiency.  the trade off is with the larger blade surface area your engine uses more energy at cruise speed.

If the paddle is longer than needed energy will be wasted moving the blade through the water as well as unnecessary stress on your joints.

Presently I have been using a low angle paddle and am not a fan, will be switching back to a high angle big blade paddle in the near future.

Scott

Cedar Greenland paddle,  $2.49 (plus labor) from Home Depot and it weighs about 22 ounces. It has been a proven design for thousands of years.  Of course, when your only wood is driftwood it may be hard to carve a Euro blade.    I believe it may be about 230 cm.  I can't remember.  I can paddle all day at a low angle with a narrow sit inside.  I have never tried it on my Outback yet. For that, I bring the Hobie paddle  because it has a Slayride sticker on it.  I was told that the sticker adds fishy mojo.

The Greenland looks great! I've always been intrigued and wanted to try one but have never made it happen. How does it perform when you try to daw, pry, or rudder?
Does it give you enough blast off to charge into and over that wave rising up in front of you?
Im curious how well it will propel a fuller figured chunk of plastic.
Beautiful work.

Even though I've used the Corry 240 for years, and I've really enjoyed its extended reach and satisfying grab, its too big for me.  I felt like I needed the extra length to manipulate the bigger fishing boats.
Having been using shorter paddles lately, they have forced me back to a even higher angle and in the forward stroke, I feel stronger and more efficient. A few days ago I paddled with the Corry 240 and now I want it to be shorter.

I think the 240 is perfect for the XXL guys in XL boats and I would've thought PolePole would have really enjoyed swinging the longer blades with his wing span. For the standard issue human size guys like me, I agree with Allen. The 230 or less is the better fit. Practice and better technique will make up for the lost 10.

All right.  Serious question.  The paddle I won at the ORC is a 230cm Werner Camano.  D-Rock said he can order a 240cm and swap it out, but I'd have to either pay shipping ($30-40 round trip) or go to Hood River (500+ miles round trip) to make that swap. 

My current paddle is an old style Camano with the blue shaft and creme blades and is a 240cm.  I haven't noticed any problems with it, but then again it's the only paddle I've ever used.

Would I be better off to keep the 230cm or swap it for the 240?  FWIW, I'm 6', about 210, and my boat is a 28" wide OK Prowler.  Paddle style?  Newbie - probably doing it wrong anyway.

Sumpnz (Some Pansy?  ), I wouldn't have picked you for a 240 guy, just from your build and paddling style.  But of course personal preference comes into play.

Must have skimmed past that one before.  I'd take that as a vote for a 230?

As to my screen name - long stort that I told about 10 times at the ORC.  It dates to my year as an exchange student in New Zealand in 1994.  My host dad called me Sump because I more than doubled their grocery bill when I stayed with them.

Sumpnz (Some Pansy?  ), I wouldn't have picked you for a 240 guy, just from your build and paddling style.  But of course personal preference comes into play.

Must have skimmed past that one before.  I'd take that as a vote for a 230?

As to my screen name - long stort that I told about 10 times at the ORC.  It dates to my year as an exchange student in New Zealand in 1994.  My host dad called me Sump because I more than doubled their grocery bill when I stayed with them.

I would keep the 230.  I am 6 feet and that is what I use on my 28 inch wide SOT.

I have both sizes and prefer the 230. I'm  6'1" and have an overhand style.

The Greenland looks great! I've always been intrigued and wanted to try one but have never made it happen. How does it perform when you try to daw, pry, or rudder?
Does it give you enough blast off to charge into and over that wave rising up in front of you?
Im curious how well it will propel a fuller figured chunk of plastic.
Beautiful work.

It works fine for the draw stroke and I can accelerate fairly well with it, you just paddle a little faster.  However, I have only used it a couple of times on flat water during a relaxed Tualatin River paddle and never really tried the various strokes.  I t is definitely not a white water paddle. 

Once, for kicks, I paddled hard over a short distance to see what my "top end" would be using both paddles and a GPS to measure.  They were both about the same, but I was not paddling the Greenland paddle using the proper "Greenland" technique.   I was using the "paddle harder I hear banjos" technique (high angle). 

Here is the how too on making one plus an article regarding the paddle and the technique.  Supposedly they work extremely well for Eskimo rolls.  I have yet to try it. 
http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/makegreen2.pdf

When you consider your height, you should think about ape index as well.  If you have a high ape index like me (long torso and arms, short fred flinstone legs), you need a longer paddle.  When I paddle, it's high angle, and I'm only 5'8", but I still need a 240cm paddle. 

So that's why TLW calls me a monkey.

Sumpnz (Some Pansy?  ), I wouldn't have picked you for a 240 guy, just from your build and paddling style.  But of course personal preference comes into play.

Must have skimmed past that one before.  I'd take that as a vote for a 230?

As to my screen name - long stort that I told about 10 times at the ORC.  It dates to my year as an exchange student in New Zealand in 1994.  My host dad called me Sump because I more than doubled their grocery bill when I stayed with them.

I would keep the 230.  I am 6 feet and that is what I use on my 28 inch wide SOT.

So I tried out the 230 when I went crabbing on Sunday.  It was only about a 1/2 mile paddle out and then back, but I think I like the 230 better.  Seemed like it forced me into a better form.  We'll see.  I'll probably alternate between them a couple times before I finalize my decision.