This evening I was out on a local lake in my Sawyer Summersong solo canoe and was trying out a new (to me) 240cm Werner Camano all carbon kayak paddle for size and efficacy and was pleased with all aspects except the amount of water dripping into the boat from the off-side blade when paddling with the paddle unfeathered…
I was thinking that I’d be needing a 260cm or longer Camano to eliminate drips in the Summersong until the wind picked up and I changed the feather angle from 0 to 60 degrees and noticed that much less water was dripping in the boat than with the feather at 0 degrees.
I repeated the feathering experiment several times and confirmed the observation that at 0 and 30 degrees feathering a lot of water dripped in the boat, but at 60 degrees of feathering, only about 1/5 as much water dripped in the boat. This was a very welcome discovery.
I wonder if this phenomenon is unique to the Camano kayak paddle or if it also applies to other makes & models of kayak paddles and double bladed canoe paddles (DBCP).
BTW, I really like the feel of the all carbon Camano in my hands and the behavior in the water. The adjustble ferrule is very easy and smooth to use and rock solid. I get the impression that it is very durable. It had had about four years of extensive use before I bought it and is still in great condition.
Happy paddling.
I have a 240 cm Camano, but it didn’t
work out as well for me because of my height. Not sure if I want to lower the height of the kneeling pedestal. If I can make the Camano usable, I will drill and modify the ferrule to match the 75 degree angle on my preferred WW paddle.
I find it easy to visualize why 60 degree feather rather than 0 degree would cause more water to flip or drip off the paddle rather than streaming down the shaft. I have also noticed that subtleties of paddling style influence how the paddle and drip rings shed water.
Maybe the Greenland paddle bunch will have comments on how to control water streaming down the shaft.
240cm Camano too short for MR Slipper.
I’d probably need a 260cm or 270cm for comfortable use in my Mad River Slipper with it’s 27.5" gunwale width. The 240cm Camano didn’t feel good in the Slipper yesterday.
The Summersong’s gunwale width is only 21.5" and the 240cm Camano felt pretty good.
Wanna sell your ONNO? You have too
many paddles now, yanoer. Do share.
My wife has claimed the Onno for
paddling her Castine. She likes it better than my other paddles. Sorry.