Feathered paddles

Racers use feathered paddles…
…to reduce the wind resistance on the upper blade, which can save them a few seconds in a race. The stroke technique was developed to accommodate the feather, not the other way around.



They also use wing paddles, high seat positions and extremely narrow, highly unstable boats which may be optimum for racing, but have little utility for the touring paddler. The fact that racers do something doesn’t that’s what’s best for everyone.

‘Euro’ paddle blade
A friend noted the other day, that calling them Euro may be giving too much to the other side of the sea. She mentioned that some Native Americans used beaver tails for blades.



My understanding is that the narrowness of GP paddle blades is related to the scale of wood that could be found to fashion into paddles.

shaft rotation
maybe I am only imagining this but with a feathered paddle and high stroke angle I can get a more perpendicular blade positon, in relation to the forward stroke, without twisting my wrists. I have never heard anyone explain it like this but here it goes. Without the feather, I am not placing the blade square to the boat or the surface of the water on both sides unless I cock my wrist. The feather eliminates the need to twist the blade to get it square. I want the paddle to stick and not slide. I want the blade grabbing all the water it can. Maybe it is just my imagination telling me feathered makes for a truer stroke with a better purchase. Seems to work better for me. Results vary for others.

Does anyone else see a relationship between a high stroke angle and feathered blade bite.

PS I dont think this has as much to do with racing as much as it does with developing a good effortless forward stroke.

I paddle the same way

– Last Updated: May-24-05 8:23 PM EST –

I paddle the same way whether I'm racing or touring. The most efficient forward stroke is the most efficient forward stroke whether I'm on my surfski, spring k1, or QCC Barge.

Scott has the right idea with regard to getting the blade square for the catch when using a high stroke angle. Unfeathered would require a wrist cock on both sides. Matching the feather to the stroke angle allows both wrists to stay straight; the control hand sets the angle and the shaft just rotates through the other side. The wrists remain straight the entire time. Too much or too little feather for the shaft angle and the wrist has to cock to square the blade for the catch.

It is good to hear
someone else explain why feathered paddles CAN make for a more ergonomic forward stroke, especially with a high angle stroke (not just for racing, more about being about to paddle long distances), by removing the wrist cock that would be NEEDED for an unfeathered paddle to achieve the same catch. I was beginning to think, after listening to Brian for the past four years, that I had convinced myself of something in my imagination. The advantage of feathering a paddle, for me, has much more to do with the catch phase of the stroke than lessening the wind resistance of the upper blade. Windage is not a consideration for me when I choose a feathered paddle. I have been trying to say that for years now with nobody agreeing with me. Thank you. Bunk revealed.

I agree with you, reef
I paddle unfeathered just because it does require less attention and the benefits of a feathered paddle in the winds I paddle are minimal. Perhaps if I paddled in 25 MPH winds, it might be worth it.



I always want to comment when I see a feathered paddle in calm winds. It’s like seeing a rudder down in flat water. It really looks more like an affectation than a useful ploy. I know of some paddlers who simply got so used to it that they stay with a feathered paddle all the time.

Feathering helps even in calm conditions
It’s benefits are simply less noticable. That small amount of additional resistance takes it’s toll on a long paddle though. The example I cited a few posts above occured on a calm day. Cadence also plays a large part in how much resistance you get from pushing a flat blade through the air.

feeling over facts sometimes
Here we go again. Each of us has such a personal experience of each and every thing we do on the water, makes it hard for us to separate facts from feelings, going looking for facts to back up our experience, using facts to not understand someone else’s experience and that a different way just might work better for them. Makes it hard for us to be open to understanding that a way we have been 100% sure of doing for several years just might lead to a wrist injury, or be fine for us but poison for someone else.



I have been guilty of all the above. Now I just think, OK today here is how I do it. I wonder how this all may look and change by tomorrow!



Facts separate from what works for each appear to quite mixed about feathered paddling benefits and detriments. Evidently appears to be very much a matter of what direction the wind is coming from, how one hold’s ones paddle, what kind of stroke, length of paddle, width of boat, etc.



Just hoping this post is in direction of reducing dogma and increasing possibilities for each to look at.

Misconception
"My understanding is that the narrowness of GP paddle blades is related to the scale of wood that could be found to fashion into paddles."



That’s not true at all. Wood commonly arrives in Greenland in the form of huge trees, not the “splinters” that are often assumed. Greelanders DID make wider paddles for use with their larger boats type, the “umiaq”. Also, many historical Greenland kayaks have keel/stem combinations that were cut from boards more than 6" wide.

It funny that…

– Last Updated: May-25-05 2:40 PM EST –

...I find no need at all to cock my wrists with an unfeathered paddle, either Euro or Greenland, nor do the others I paddle with who use unfeathered paddles. You simply don't use a "control" hand to grip the paddle, since you don't need it. Using a loose grip on both sides allows an unfeathred paddle to orient itself just fine, whether the stroke is high, low or somewhere in-between. As I said before, the racing stroke (or whitewater stroke) with it's control hand technique was developed to accommodate feathering, not the other way around. I never said that it didn't work - it obviously does - but claiming that feathering orients the paddle blade better than not feathering is nonsense. You just have to match the technique to the paddle and either feathered or unfeathered works just fine. If you mis-match the techniques and paddles, you won't get good results.

Feathering equals finesse for me
You may or may not have seen the type that “club” their way across the water. Gorilla Gripping their paddle shaft as they forge ahead. They come back asking us about blisters, sore muscles, lack of speed. For me personally, feathering meant a loose yet controlled grip on the shaft. Less wrist/fore arm stress; more finesse. Part of the mantric (if you will) rythum you get into when paddling long distances. I’m such a creature of habit that I cannot use a double paddle comfortably without it being feathered now. My right wrist is programmed for the wrist flick now on every stroke. It really does help too with euro designed blades and headwinds.

Enjoy!

Pick what you like
after trying different options, and go paddling!