sounds mostly ok
to me. But analyzing stroke mechanics using a verbal only format…yikes.
I think your paddle length sounds reasonable.
What I am curious about is, what specific goal, or attribute, of a high angle stroke are you not getting? The primary outcome should be that the blade is closer to the boat. Of more subtle note, a longer paddle, or wider stroke changes the angle of attack of the blade.
From a birds eye view, observing the blade angle relative to the boat, a sweep stroke moves through a range of angles. With a high angle forward stroke, the blade angle stays relatively stable. A low angle forward stroke is sort of in between (as an aside, a wing paddle stroke, while it does move away from the boat during the stroke, has a different, ie more unchanging, angle of attack).
Are you meeting the goals of high angle stroke effeciency? Then you are making the paddle work well for the boat.
Now, for the partly not OK. If your top hand starts the stroke at about eye level, but quickly drops to about shoulder level, you are spot on for a very powerful, but racing style oriented stroke. But if your top hand stays at eye level, or worse, higher,well, the paddle might be working well for the boat, but your body is getting worked by the paddle.
Try this. Get down on the floor, and give me 20!
OK, after you have done 20 pushups…or 4, or whatever…extend your arms fully, to support your body in the “ready” position. Ask yourself, how long could you stay in this position? Next, shift your hands along the ground, so that, with the arms still extended, the hands line up below your rib cage. Does this make you feel stronger, or weaker? Next, shift your hand along the ground untill, still with arms extended, your hands line up below your eyes. Next, your forehead. Stronger, or weaker? Or have you collapsed yet (quite likely). Go back to arms extending straight out from your shoulders. I bet it feels quite reasonable there.
This is not some silly game- I use this in teaching the forward stroke. When it comes to stroke outcome, there is always a balance between what works best for the boat, but also what puts the paddler in a stronger, or weaker position.
It may be possible that a shorter paddle could help, but I wouldn’t claim that it could absolutely. Of interest (and I am opening a can of worms here)is that the paddles such as the Kalliste, in a 205, will behave as a noticeably shorter paddle than the Ikelos when used high angle. The longer blade means a shorter shaft. Additionally, the center of effort of the longer blade is farther from the tip.
The higher aspect blade such as the Kalliste does not in any way prevent it from being used high angle.
I just walked downstairs to my paddle collection, and pulled out the Epic “relaxed tour” paddle, which is billed as a low angle paddle. Just as I suspected, it is just about identical in blade length and width to my Epic mid wing paddle.
And yes, I use the relaxed tour paddle in high angle mode.
karl
Matt had me calling him Sir
when we paddled together and I had to stand at attention when he launched and landed… and I am retired! ;+)
Congrats Matt!