I recently got an Aquaglide Chelan 140 (Chelan 140 – Aquaglide Paddle) which is an inflatable kayak. I will use it on some calm flat water and also in the ocean. Compared to many kayaks discussed it is a bit wide, in part because of the inflatable tubes that make up the outer frame. ( Dimensions: 13’6” (413 cm) L x 35” (89 cm) W x 12” (30.5 cm) H x 10.5″ tube diameter.)
I’d like to buy two decent paddles (my previous ones were fairly cheap and low quality). I’d be interested in trying Greenland paddles, but in the sizing guides I’ve read about them, the possible kayak widths don’t go above 30", while this inflatable is wider than that.
So my question: is this inflatable too wide to even consider a greenland paddle? I realize there is a lot of discussion on here about the merits of different types of paddles, but if the kayak is too wide for a greenland one, then there’s no point in me looking further into them, whatever pros and cons it may have.
Thanks for any insight.
(Note that I have neither skills nor equipment nor time right now to make my own.)
A proper Greenland forward stroke is done with the entire blade in the water so that your hand touches the water every time. In a kayak with a wide beam it would be difficult or impossible to do that. However a lot Aleut paddle works well in both wade and narrow kayaks because the loom is longer then it is in many examples of a GL paddle, and the ribbed face grabs the water with no flutter. I am not sure it would be better then a good euro paddle for such a kayak, but I use mine in an Old Town Loon which is 31 inches wide and in a Chatham17 which is 21" wide, and in several others that go from 22 to 26 inches wide and found it works well with them all. Its flaw is use in shallow water, say, less then 2 feet deep. My long Aleut is 9 feet 1 inch and is 3-3/4" wide and give very good control even in rough water.
Here’s a picture of it. Aleut paddle by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
Depending on the beam of the kayak they can be customized to use easily by making wider or narrower blades and longer of shorter loom lengths.
But as I said, I can’t be sure they are “better” then a good euro in a wide kayak.
They have a lot of reach and lend themselves extremely well to extension techniques for bracing turns and rolls but I doubt rolling is a concern with an inflatable kayak like the one you posted about.
My experience gives me an impression that wide kayaks do well with long paddles, but others may disagree. A shorter paddle length gives less resistance per stoke because of the shorter arc it makes in the water, so longer paddles are often favored by stronger paddlers. It’s not possible for one person to give perfect advice on line because the thing with the most potential variables is the paddler.
I followed a similar path. I decided my time with the Tempest 170 was over, and picked up the Aquaglide Chelan 120 for quieter waters. I had grown quite fond of the GP I crafted and used with the 170. But the Chelan has a beam of 36" and I found it just too beamy for the low angle GP stroke. But my Werner high angle paddle works quite well.
You may find a GP works for this boat. It will depend somewhat on your torso height and paddling form. In the Chelan (which is similar to my Feathercraft Java, a hybrid inflatable sit on top with a tubular frame “spine” instead of dropstitch floor for rigidity and a 28" beam) the paddler sits higher than in a sit inside Greenland style kayak so the paddle can be placed in the water at a higher angle. I’m very short-waisted so I have to use a longer paddle when I am paddling a wider-beamed boat to keep from banging my knuckles on the gunwales. And since a GP is slimmer than a conventional blade paddle, the stroke can be closer to the hull without hitting it. I have used a 230 cm GP in the Java. Your Chelan is 7" wider, but if you are at least 5’ 10" tall your angle from shoulder to the waterline would be pretty close to mine.
My metric from seat to the top of my shoulders is 24" and that is one reason why I prefer a high angled stroke and somewhat longer paddles than are usually recommended for my overall height. What size paddles and types of boats have you used in the past when kayaking, presuming you have been out before? That would be one place to start.
There are quite a few wood GP makers. One option might be to order a fairly long custom one, 250 cm or even 270 cm like Szihn’s Aleut with a standard loom to fit your grip metric. You can always cut down an overly long wooden paddle (if it proves unwieldy) , which doesn’t require anything but a hacksaw, sanding blocks and some elbow grease.
I’d suggest also having a standard blade paddle for your deck spare if you are going to venture out into the ocean or big lakes with a lot of reach (I always have a spare with me). I use GPs for 99% of my outings, but have found at times that I needed the “push” of a conventional broad blade to get back to shore when having to rapidly paddle against winds and strong current.
And I don’t like to beat up my $300 to $400 wood and carbon GP’s during rocky landings and bony channels so it’s handy to have one of my Werner or Aquabound paddles for those situations (have several that people threw in to the deal when I bought used kayaks, so essentially free). Not to mention it’s easier to pass a sandwich or banana to a fellow paddler on a “Euro” blade than with a skinny stick.
That’s a good point about sitting higher in an inflatable and how that could change the situation. I’ve really only kayaked sporadically, but I want to do it more regularly. Before I didn’t really think about the paddles much so this is my first time digging into this.
I’m 5’11” and my seat to shoulder height is ~26”.
Maybe a good course of action would be to start with a decent euro type paddle so that I can start getting out on the water and then experiment with some long rods to see where they hit the water and whether they clear the sides. If a GP or Aleut seems doable, the euro paddle can become backup.
