GP questions

As a newcomer to
the Gp and no formal instruction available, holding the blade roots feels best to me. I try to maintain a canted aspect but it seems when I actually plant the blade I have only a small amount of angle, if any. Perhaps I’m planting the blade too far forward?



I’m using a Beale and very happy with it. The thing that really amazes me with a Gp is I feel as though I could paddle nearly forever with it. My stroke gets sloppy (noisy), when I try to play ‘racer boy’ with it, but a cruising stroke just seems effortless and gobbles up the miles.



I’m a landlocked paddler but I can’t see myself ever going back to a Euro paddle for anything but river use.



Holmes

It’s a paddle
not a chin bar!

"Hollowed…"
shaft to upper part of the blades and thus lighter would be the main reason why I would be interested in doing a laminated paddle.



sing

THANKS!
Thanks for all the input, advice and discussion! This is a great board and a real resource for information. I’m calling Don Beale after work tonight to place my order.

See ya on the water! I’ll be the guy floundering around with the skinny paddle in the next few weeks!

Bob

Oh, I doubt it.
You will feel ill-at-ease for about 5 or 10 minutes, but by the end of the day you will be grinning from ear to ear.

Just remember to rotate your torso and keep the right angle of attack for the blades.



Have fun!



Jim


Hollow
True, hollow shafts would be one reason to laminate. I guess it’s a question of how light a paddle you are seeking and how much work you want to do. A solid GP made from woods like spruce or cedar is already very light weight – at least for my preference.



While I like the simplicity of a solid wood paddle (I’m a minimalist) there may be some benefits to the “swing weight” of the paddle by having the blade tips heavier than the rest of the blade. While the Greenlanders achieve this with heavy bone edging and tips on the blades (their paddles must be bombproof for safety) hollowing the loom might have a somewhat similar effect.



For sea kayaking in heavy weather it’s possible (although disputed) that there are some real benefits to having the weight distributed toward the ends of the paddle to create a “flywheel” effect to smooth out your stroke and give your stroke momentum in heavy weather. I’d like to experiment more with this – I have usually avoided “armored” tips to save weight and building complexity. Some Greenlanders feel that this “armor” is necessary for dealing with their local conditions (beyond the obvious protection that it gives for ice).



There’s always something else to explore…



Greg Stamer


Canting and planting
If you reach as far forward with a GP as is recommended for a Euro paddle, you may find that you actually end up with a “reverse cant” (lower edge forward) at the catch. The canted stroke is more natural when the catch is at ~mid-calf and the stroke ends well past the hip.

BBK paddle design
IMO it’s a poor paddle design, as it pretty much locks you into using Doug’s technique. The fact that the loom is not faired into the blades (as it a one-piece paddle) makes it less comfortable to use with one’s fingers wrapped over the blade root and less efficient when used with a canted stroke (the loom edges cause turbulence). OTOH, a paddle with a smooth blade surface can be used with either canted or non-canted technique efficiently and in comfort. BBK paddles are also rather heavy, but that’s true of most commercial laminated paddles (Cricket, Mitchell, etc.)