feathering a paddle

Currently there is a market Catch-22
Manufacturers make feathered paddles because consumers predominately purchase feathered paddles. Consumers purchase feathered paddles because manufacturers predominately make feathered paddles.



Over the years the standard feather angles of whitewater paddles have dropped from 90 to 60 to 45 to 30. Currently, most major manufacturers offer 30 degree offset as standard on their whitewater paddles, and some offer other angles as well. Last month Werner made the decision to stop offering 45 offset whitewater paddles as standard (you can still order them as a custom angle). The decision was made because over the span of two weeks this winter Werner’s top four retailers (coincidentally) drastically reduced their orders for 45 degree angle whitewater paddles.

agreed
If one is paddling upwind and the wind is so strong that it may rip the paddle from one’s hands, one has bigger issues. I’ve only been there a few times but lowering my stroke usually minimizes the issue.

because they are “them”, not “you”

culture
Good posts. This becomes cultural: students get into kayaking, take a class, are taught to paddle feathered, grow in experience, become the next generation of teachers and teach their students feathered – sometimes without questioning fundamental beliefs.



A year ago I taught a forward paddling class with Ken Fink. During our discussion I mentioned that I used a wing paddle unfeathered and he was simply flabbergasted and shocked. He did not deny my claim and he respects my skills, but the idea that you HAD to feather in order to paddle a wing with a high stroke (to square the non-controlled hand blade) was so ingrained in his mind, that he no longer questioned it.



I find there are many things that we learn in kayaking 101 that we take as gospel and never question again. For example, when you start to use a GP or a wing you quickly learn to throw away advice that was once commonly taught such as “never let your pushing hand cross the center-line of the kayak”. These ingrained beliefs are difficult to shake and cause confusion because often you don’t even realize that they are part of your thinking (or muscle memory).



Challenging ingrained beliefs, either within yourself, or the paddling community, is not easy. Skills become vested, especially among individuals and organizations that teach and certify them, so change is always a messy, turbulent process. Muscle memory doesn’t like change, so any change feels awkward and strange for a long time.



Having said all this, please don’t think that I am endorsing unfeathered as “the way”. Both feathered and unfeathered have their strengths and weaknesses. A good paddler will understand this and excel with the method they choose.



Greg Stamer

A benefit not listed yet for feathering
I am a high angle paddler that normally does not feather my large blade paddles. When going straight into a head wind the blades develop a lot of spray when raised. In the summer not a big deal, even welcome on a hot day. In the cold, not fun. Feathering at least 60 degrees cuts the ice building spray a lot.

As for the purpose
of feathering, I agree with bowrudder. The wind resistance thing only works if you’re paddling directly into or against the wind. I’m usually not that fortunate.

2nd that
I truly believe that this is an example of “chicken/egg”

I taught a class with Ken Fink as well, my experiences are quite similar to yours.



Here is an article on K4 paddling - http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sport/a/-/other/16543560/awesome-kayak-foursome-do-it-easy/

reading the article is optional, but a cursory examination of picture is mandatory. Additional attention is suggested for paddle blades out of the water.



Now, these are world class paddlers, probably even top world paddlers, even though they are from the bottom. Looking at the picture one could assume that all 4 are at the same phase in paddle stroke, since they are a highly synchronized and successful k4 team. It is safe to assume that all of the paddlers for k4 were chosen for their skills and not good looks. Then, attention is quickly drawn to the paddle that looks a little bit different form others - 3rd from the left. After some flight of fancy one could surmise that the blade appears to be at a different angle to the camera than other blades. Now, some angles can be realy strange when a picture is taken with a wide or ultra wide angle lens, but by geometry constraints a very narrow angle, or long focal range lens was used. Hence, the angle of the top blade is different, and not just by a fraction, and that paddler is good enough for a top k4 team.

Then one says WTF,I guess everything I ever learned on the internet about feather angles must be just plain wrong?

Oh yeah, just because everyone is doing it, doesn’t mean it is the only right thing to do.


good point
An unfeathered wing is a wetter ride. Worth it.



Ryan L.

From a wind resistance standpoint…
…feathered paddling has a very limited range of directions where it is advantageous and a much larger range where it is a disadvantage.



As the original poster pointed out, when paddling into a headwind, a paddle with any feather angle other than 0 or 90 degrees is going to have one blade that tends to rise and the other that dives. This can cause significant control issues, since the forces involved are trying to capsize the paddler. The same is true with a tailwind. With crosswinds, the blades catch wind (especially with 90 degree feather) and are pulled forward or back, depending on the wind direction.



It may be difficult to paddle unfeathered into a straight headwind, but at least it’s consistent and there are no forces on the paddle trying to capsize you.



As to why many people still start out paddling feathered, it’s generally either that they’re taught that way or that they’re taught the outdated concept that they must have a “control hand” when they paddle. If you’re gripping the paddle firmly with one hand, it forces you to use a feathered paddle unless you use a very low stroke. As the paddling angle increase, the paddle naturally twists progressively more during the stroke, even with no wrist rotation.



If you maintain a loose grip on the paddle with both hands, feathering is unnecessary, regardless of the height of the stroke. That’s why Greenland paddles work at any angle; Greenland technique does not use a control hand. The same is true of an unfeathered Euro paddle; as long as you don’t use a control hand, it works just fine.



For some reason, this has been a difficult concept for some feathered paddle devotees to grasp over the years that this debate has been raging. That’s probably because using a control hand can be difficult to unlearn once it’s become an ingrained habit and until you learn to “let go”, unfeathered paddling will not feel right.

I started unfeathered but when I
tried feathering, it was a positive action for my wrists for my style of strokes, body shape, rotation angle, depth I sit in my ‘sinks’, etc. all which work together to make a pleasant day of paddling. For me!

All in all, I don’t really care what someones style is, nor do I look down on any whose is or use a different style of paddle than I have.

I paddle because it’s what I have a passion for and I hope you do to. Being outside on the water or hiking in the out of doors, away from the noise of the ‘idiot’ box in my living room and out in nature is my thing.

We’ve all grown up in different family cultures. Some good, some not so good, but we’re each an individual, different in many ways, but you are you and I am me. Accept each other for that. I have and I’ve met many fantastic people.

Spring is definitely very near. Enjoy the season.

Most people have a preferred hand
The more someone relies on a control hand, and the more dominant their dominant hand is when they paddle, the more asymmetrical their stroke. The reason having a control hand is still around is because people have a dominant hand and it feels natural for that hand to do most of the work.



There have been a few studies of Olympics level paddlers that looked at power output for each side of the stroke. All the paddlers in the studies were right handed and all had significantly more power output on the right side of the stroke. As you would imagine, there needed to be a counter force to compensate. Most of the paddlers subconsciously modified their stroke asymmetrically to compensate for the more dominant hand. It is not that the concept is hard to grasp with the mind, it is that the concept is easy to grasp with the hand.



When using a feathered paddle the ergonomics are asymmetrical, it may feel more natural, but it is not balanced. In fact, there is no study that proves an ergonomic advantage to feathered paddles.

that may very well be the case
Or it could be that people teaching and learning to roll do not bother learning different mechanics (albeit slight ones) for each side. I also think there is a psychological barrier that is created by thinking in terms of on-side/off-side and by most people visualizing and talking about rolling in terms of one side only.

There are not any published studies
that address the biomechanics or kinematics of a feathered paddle. At least there are none I have found and that is the basis of my Master’s Thesis.

non feathered popularity

– Last Updated: Apr-07-13 7:44 AM EST –

Almost all recreational kayakers (recreational boats) use unfeathered simply because feathering is not necessary for them. They are not usually battling high winds nor are they getting high end kayak training prior to buying their boats. These people sometimes advance to more advanced kayakers and a new generation of free thinkers is born. I started with a 90 degree feather (Derek Hutchinson philosophy). I now am mostly GP but sometimes use my unfeathered Euro. Why unfeathered - because I never found any benefit in feathering. Actually I struggled to learn to roll with the feathered paddle.
Kayaking has grown enormously and shear logic alone dictates that more diverse opinions on paddling philosophy has to emerge. (thank god) I remember being out in very strong winds when I first started and wondering why my feathering was not working but accepted that the feathering was supposed to work when it was most needed - wind in my face. If people find it helps them or feels good twisting a paddle, it's fine by me, but I'll never be convinced there's any advantage to it.

Nonfeathered Wing& “Proper” Stroke
The argument about better vertical planting and stroke with feathered just does not make sense to me… I paddle I unfeathered wing a lot with a surf ski or a regular kayak and there is simply no need to feather in order to get a good stroke.



I started feathered with a right control hand. It took me quite a while to unlearn, once I started using GP. It is not a quick process to switch. Nowadays I can paddle feathered if I want to and can feel it works very well too and is more efficient for forward paddling due to wind resistance, but I don’t feel there is an ergonomic benefit…



What I don’t get is WW paddlers who use 30 or 15 degree offset. I know why (habit and availability, the Catch 22) but it is just ridiculous. Has absolutely no benefit on the water or in the air. Bought a 15 degree WW paddle hoping it would be close enough to 0 but it is not - messes up my roll enough so that I “fixed” it to a proper 0 degree… Much better now -:slight_smile:

video example
This vid explains it well imho.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lThvWNLOTWQ

Paddling into wind
is a comparatively rare event for me. Most of my paddling is done in winds that are abeam (as, I believe is true for most paddling situations). Winds are varaible and gusts are truly unpredictable, so even when paddling into a headwind, I still paddle without a feather. This is due to experiences I’ve had while paddling in storm.



I do not grip my paddle, I rest it cradled in my fingers on the pull and between the thumb and finger on the push phase of the stroke. When paddling in a heavy beam wind, even from the front quarter) a feathered paddle cannot be controlled and can even be blow out of my hands (yeah, I should switch to a greenland paddle, but I’m cheap and don’t replace things that aren’t broken). When in heavy weather one day in Monterey, my paddle blade continued to catch wind and was blown from my hands. Actually gripping the paddle was worse since whenever the power side of the paddle was in the water, the other end of the blade grabbed enough air that I had to release my grip or capsize. I was effectively performing a high brace on the wind on the wrong side of the boat. Yeah, I could handle it, but it wasn’t pleasant. I switched my paddle to unfeathered and that’s the way it will stay.



For me, and the conditions I often paddle, feathering increases the risk of wrist injury as well as capsize.



Rick

good stuff you guys
I believe you’ve explained it precisely.

Rolling, Paddles, and Diversity

– Last Updated: Apr-07-13 12:46 PM EST –

The importance of the brace and roll hit home several years ago in my corner of the world. A local WW paddler was in a roll-or-die situation and died. I understand he blew several roll attempts then got caught up in a submerged root ball. I couldn't help but wonder if the guy was using a feathered paddle and if that was a hindrance to his roll. In my opinion the GP shape is the best tool for getting upright. No power face; no up or down, and naturally indexed. If I was going to get into the WW thing I'd make a shorter, wider GP and I WOULD stay or get upright.

I understand the response to this guy's drowning might be: "He didn't have the right stuff." meaning skills. I'd reply "Maybe. And maybe he was using a lousy tool for the job."

Yup, it illustrates my point
n/m