C Stroke vs. J Stroke vs. Canadian?????

Advice
#41

Noise varies with paddle, for me anyway.

– Last Updated: Apr-20-09 6:11 PM EST –

I was messing around with three paddles today in my Curtis Ladybug and they varied in noise / vibration with in-water recoveries. Listed with the quietest first:

1. 1988 era Grey Owl Freestyle, almost completely silent.

2. Camp beavertail (about 5 years old) bought on ebay from Foxworx, most similar to the Foxforx Foxtail in their current line up. Blade dimensions: 6.0" x 27" (longer and narrower than the current Foxtail).
Edit: It was probably a special order or experimental model (I just talked with Foxworx). Foxworx would make me a custom size to my preferred blade dimensions for a little more money.

3. Grey Owl Tripper (current model, I think).

My expectation is that different specimens of the same models would have either more or less noise depending on the finished shape and smoothness of the surface.

I suspect that they'll all get a little quieter as my technique improves.

I'd never tried the indian stroke until today and really enjoyed it while exploring a lake with lots of nooks and crannies. It felt most natural with the Foxworx paddle and then the Grey Owl Tripper. The Foxworx has a thicker shaft and larger grip. It took a few minutes to adjust to the different shaft and grip size when switching between those two paddles.

Thanks for all of the great descriptions and discussion.

#42

Canadian Stroke
One side benifit of the Canadian or Knifing J for me is that those real Long bladed ottertails and such work much better with this stroke than a J. Using a J with them it seems such a high lift to get them out of the water for the recovery.With the Canadian the water actually helps you lift the paddle out of the water and the angled(as opposed to vertical) paddle angle also makes a shorter lift.Canadian stroke for a Canadian shape paddle-makes sense. I also have found that my ZRE straight works well for this stroke due to it’s thiness and sharp edges.

Turtle


#43

Kayak > single place canoe
I find this encouraging and try to “sell” the advantages to ageing 'yakkers whenever I encounter them on inland flatwater. They’ll often respond with understandable praise of the closed deck, but I notice particular attention paid when I hop out at the take-out, shoulder my boat, and toss it on the roof of my car!



Good for you, Matt! It seems you are having fun making the transition.