inuit and aleut paddles...

The Inuit had it right, and traveling kayakers are starting to notice. For distance, rough conditions, and kindness to your body, the traveling kayaker wants a narrow bladed paddle.

I traded my paddle along with my boat to edsel, I'm in the market for a new paddle.

How about these paddles:

http://www.nashwaakpaddles.com/

it does seem like a narrow bladed paddle would catch less wind, and in general be better for kayak fishing.
Plus, you can stick whitey in the eye with the pointy end when he taste tests the end of your yumyum
yellow craft.

-j

Rickey Mitchell / Paddle and Flies LOVES his Greenland paddle....it looks pretty slick!

here's a pic of the paddle....



http://www.turtlepaddle.com/kayak.htm

Greenland style paddle is used primarily when you want to roll your kayak. You have much more leverage to roll up when you use a paddle like that. I'm pretty sure you don't want to eskimo roll your Sit-On-Top. (It won't let you do that anyway )
They are mostly made with wood, so you have to be a little gentle to them too.
I actually have a greenland paddle for sale since I sold my Feathercraft Khatsalano. But I just don't think a paddle like that serves kayak fishing too well.

In my seakayak paddling I have preferred narrow paddles. For whitewater, I prefer a big wide blade for maximum leverage.

The advantages of narrow blades for seakayaking-

- the narrow blades have less area for less wind resistance.
- the smaller area means less resistance in the water, and less shock to soft tissue. It also means the boat will move less per stroke, which means a higher cadence to accelerate.
- the narrow blades mean less twisting of the paddle(fluttering) during the stroke. Wide blades compensate by being shaped asymmetrically, so that when the paddle is put in the water at an angle, equal amounts of blade area are submerged on either side of the paddle shaft.

Wood paddles can be quite durable, depending on woods and construction details, and relatively inexpensive compared to highend composites.

In the end, like most everything else, it all boils down to personal preference. Trying a big variety before making a purchase  is always a good idea.

Different paddles are made for different purposes.

Long and skinny are made for low angle of entry paddling.  This is typical of sit inside kayaking in which you are lower to the water and  your paddle is out away from you.   Note that these paddles are often times longer as well and the paddle is farther away from the boat.  It works well in long boats that track well as the boats compensate for the extra turning torque applied in this scenario.

Fatter paddles are made for high angle of entry.    This is typical of SOT kayaking as you are further off the water.  They usually have a cut angle at the outside edge for the symmetry reasons Pisco talks about.  I would not think that long and skinny would work as well for SOT.  Of course if you had a much longer paddle the angle of entry would be less severe.  But you would have greater turning torque and the shorted SOT would not be able to track as well.

In whitewater, you are paddling closer to the kayak because if you don't your boat will turn as they have very little keel to keep them tracking forward.  In this case, you angle of entry is higher.  And your paddle is shorter.  In this case you have short and fat blade with less cut at the end as the paddle is almost straight up and down and is mostly symmetrical in that case.

While it is good to try different paddles, keep in mind that different paddle types are made for different paddling.  I'd try different paddles within the general guidelines for the intented usage.  Anything outside that and you would be trying to fit a paddle for something outside its intended usage.

-Allen

that is all good advice, thanks folks.

salmon fishing would be a long paddle, followed by possibly coming back in
wind and chop, all of which favor a narrower blade. I have a scupper pro,
which is narrower and lower-seated than a lot of SOTs,
so I'm going to give this a try. They are selling me a
blem/second for a good price. It's 224 cm, perhaps a little short, we'll see. Full price
is a big luxury for sure. sometimes I really just like trying the weird
retro thing.

I'm going with the aleut paddle, the pointy one, not the greenland one.

I had one day last summer when I paddled out in 15+ knot
wind and chop as an experiment (and actually I did catch fish, it was kinda fun).
the wind would catch the blade, so would the chop. It was that experience
that made me consider these paddles (and realize that eskimos are way burly).
Also I have done some endurance stuff in my life like triathlons,
and I know that avoiding tendonitis and that kind of
thing for me involves a 'lower' gear, so a skinny paddle will be better from
that perspective too.

Well, I'll know about this time next year whether I made a mistake or not,  .

-j

Here's a link to George Gronseth's Kayak Academy- including a course on Greenland paddle carving and technique. I've never taken one of Georges classes, but I've been reading his name (and articles) in Sea-Kayaker magazine for years. The surfing course is most tempting for me- sounds like a blast.

http://www.kayakacademy.com/

After trying rickey's I got a greenland paddle like his its 230cm witch is as long as my old one but the blade is much longer and skinneyer.  I like it it so far but im not sure I will like it if I have to go uphill into the wind.  Time will tell. mabe sturgeon fishing the bay will be a good place to test this .