@Guideboatguy , I am frequently in awe of how well he executes a wing paddle stroke. I could only dream of being so well disciplined. Knut deserves the title of “The Ultimate Technician”, even compared to other olympians. (Some have a relatively crap stroke by my assessment! though still much better than I…)
I race and fitness train almost exclusively. I have found I go considerably faster with small blades and high stoke rates. I burn out quickly and over exert with larger blades and longer strokes, whether canoeing or surfskiing.
In general, speed comes from short, far forward reaching strokes that exit at the hip with a high cadence and excellent torso rotation. The Olympic paddlers prove this (minus the small blade part because they’re extremely strong, world class athletes unlike all of us).
So to everyone, get a smaller paddle and turn it over faster to go faster! Big blades are for those who don’t understand olympic kayaking and why it is the way it is.
Right around 30 seconds in the video the guy in blue is close to how I paddle…when I do all out sprints if I choose to do so to build up endurance and strength…but the original guy is moving that paddle like mad. I never plan on racing I just like to maintain my speed and get to that speed quickly while being able to use a slower cadence and have enough torque in order to help make quick corrections for the larger waves we get with our strong winds which to me is where the fun is at…racing would be boring and again that will never be my agenda as a Kayaker…if I lived up North I would be doing white water kayaking without a doubt.
I am loving the Werner Corryvrecken 210cm…the 220cm was okay too but it had more flutter to it when I would really crank down on it and tire me out quicker than the 210cm
…again I am not a racer I love my Jackson Journey 14 it is perfect for the Lake with the large waves and also great for our swamps and Rivers. I will however buy a longer and lighter Kayak the next time I get one just to have something different with more speed to it but for now I am happy with what I have…I just needed to find a better paddle and I found it.
In Louisiana I am a sight see’er for the most part…unless I decide to hit the Lake when it is nice and windy and tackle on the waves. So again speed is not so much important but more about the Torque and power I have in my Kayak. Once I am up to speed the Corryvrecken holds that speed easily.
Fellow 'Yakers…I absolutely love the Corryvrecken 210cm paddle I have been using…the only thing is I got the fiberglass version. I would have gotten the all carbon but I got a really sweet deal on this one plus at the time I decided to purchase this paddle this person I know had no carbon versions available nor did I have the money at the time to purchase the all carbon version.
My question now…would it be worth it in the future to purchase the all carbon version? The reason I think I would consider an all carbon version is so that I can have a stronger paddle during river runs when we get some pretty strong currents especially during the Winter…such as hitting rocks and logs with the blades(in Louisiana we have mostly logs but we have some huge ones, lol)…also if there is a significant difference in performance that would be a plus as well…although again I am quite happy already with the performance I am getting.
The fiberglass version I have now is awesome do not get me wrong…but I use this mainly in calmer waters and in the Lake where even when it is windy there are no logs are rocks anywhere in sight that would merit a stronger carbon bladed paddle.
I know the carbon blades are going to be stiffer so I probably will have zero flutter (I would imagine anyway) but again my main reason for this all carbon paddle will be for the rivers…and also, is there any significant performance differences between the two?
Also…if I have both versions of the Corryvrecken’s then I could use one as a back up… after all they say it is always a great idea to carry a back up…(although honestly there is no way I am going to lose any of these paddles however if one breaks then I have a spare).
Also…why do some websites call this paddle the “Corryvrecken” with an “e” at the end and others call it the “Corryvreckan” with an “a” at the end?
Thanks again…so far nobody has let me down on suggestions on this awesome forum so far.
The “a” is the correct spelling, I believe. And I agree with big blades for wind and active water boat control.
I can go farther with a faster moving speed average in calm conditions using a carbon bent shaft paddle in my canoe but when the wind whips up and the whitecaps appear I switch to a straight shaft larger blade paddle.
Did the same when I was primarily paddling kayaks. Love the Corryvreckan paddle and its predecessors.
If you want another paddle get an Ikelos no sense in my opinion to have the same paddle in different material. I found carbon corry for 274 shipped. I have 205 & 215 Ikelos now. Was looking to try 210 so may get the corry CF. No clue if I am nuts but I will try it I think.
There again more than a few people refer to a Werner Cyprus as a Cypress!
Paddle flutter is more of a technique issue than a material one. Fiberglass will be more robust but will weigh more. Werner does beef up the edges of their all carbon fiber paddles but the glass ones will still be stronger and better suited for rocky rivers, rock gardening, etc.
@PaddleDog52 said:
If you want another paddle get an Ikelos no sense in my opinion to have the same paddle in different material. I found carbon corry for 274 shipped. I have 205 & 215 Ikelos now. Was looking to try 210 so may get the corry CF. No clue if I am nuts but I will try it I think.
Good point here. I did some reading up and it appears as if the main point of the all carbon is that it is lighter when compared to the fiberglass but not quite as tuff…however I could be wrong but I believe Fiberglass blades will be a little tougher than the carbon but again you loose the benefit of it being lighter like the carbon blades…as if this paddle is heavy… I hardly feel like I am even holding the thing, lol.
There again more than a few people refer to a Werner Cyprus as a Cypress!
Paddle flutter is more of a technique issue than a material one. Fiberglass will be more robust but will weigh more. Werner does beef up the edges of their all carbon fiber paddles but the glass ones will still be stronger and better suited for rocky rivers, rock gardening, etc.
Well then several websites selling these “Corryvreckans” may want to fix their stickers, lol…I see this misspelled all over the place. Here is one example from backcountry:
Spelled with an “e”. Something’s up although I am quite sure I am just being a tad bit paranoid and tedious here…I am sure these are not knockoffs as that would be a pretty hard paddle to clone…or would it?
@PaddleDog52 said:
Flutter is also paddle design, correct?
Not according to Nigel Foster. It’s a techique issue: overloading the paddle.
No disagreement, but various paddle designs will respond differently to this. GP’s seem less forgiving to me. More of a dihedral shape on Euro blades seems to add forgiveness. Large flat blades are the worst, or perhaps just the least forgiving.
@PaddleDog52 said:
Flutter is also paddle design, correct?
I guess it would be morre correct to say that you can design a paddle so it is more forgiving and will flutter less when being used with bad paddle technique. As far as I know, that is the purpose of the dihedral shape that some paddles have - but for that design you pay a penalty on efficiency.
So if one feels flutter, the correct approach would be to change one’s technique. Changing the paddle to a more forgiving design would be symptom treatment, not a cure.
There are paddles that fall into the flutter behavior mentioned by Allen Olesen - they are picky about technique and will flutter if used other than intended. The touring Epic paddles that I and my husband started with fall into that category. I forget which blade (not wings). We met Ken Fink at an early sea kayaking event at Castine Maine, and he loaned his to us to mess with for a few days to see how we liked them. (We were staying in that area and he lived not so far away, so we could return them to his wife at her workplace.) He cautioned us that if we dropped from a high angle, they would immediately tell us and start to flutter. He was correct. The paddle would tolerate a number of technique errors like less forward placement than ideal OK, but the slightest foray into low angle paddling would set up very noticeable flutter.
I have borrowed or used other touring paddles that flutter, but honestly I am not sure it is technique as much as a poorly designed paddle. But then again once you get used to paddling with now $500 (used to cost less) foam core paddles, it is hard to love anything less.
