Not Lumpy Rutherford from “Leave it to Beaver” but with my new Lumpy GP paddle.
I had only used a GP for a few moments last year when CD1 let me try his Mitchell.
Today I paddled approximately seven miles with my Lumpy that Bill had shipped in December but everything here was frozen.
This is one sweet paddle.
It is 85" long with a 20" loom and a 3" blade. I didn’t weigh it but it feels like it is in the mid 20 ounce range.
Bill from Lumpy was extremely helpful throughout the whole process. Even subsequent to the purchase, he kept sending me links on GP paddling which almost constituted lessons via e-mail.
Learning to use the GP is somewhat intuitive. Fortunately, this paddle can be used at many different angles. Although I have a high-angle Euro stroke, I was most comfortable with 45 degrees for the Lumpy.
A few things to refine are:
Find the correct cant angle.
Planting the blade deeper and quicker all the time (I got that scratching sound at times which I was informed is air drawn behind the blade).
The GP takes longer than the Euro to get up to cruising speed but once attained, it felt effortless. I do not own a GPS but I felt I cruised at a very respectable pace.
It was a windy day and it didn’t feel as if the skinny stick was affected nearly as much as my Euro.
I could ramble on but in general, after 20 minutes I was very comfortable and confident with this paddle. It is extremely well-made and I will use it very often.
Legal Disclaimer- I have no business relationship or other affiliation with Lumpy.
Thank also to Qajaq USA for the informative website.
Practical advice, for those going in the
GP direction. My main attraction to GP is that I have quality cedar and sitka spruce lying around, and it would be fun to make one. But I’m an old WW high angle paddler, so the GP would probably just become wall decoration.
I Think…
you’ll really like rolling and sculling with your new Lumpy.
don’t mean to be indelicate
but on the Lumpy site, I didn’t notice a price …
Hey Bohemia
If you scroll down about halfway on the below link you’ll see the price:
http://www.lumpypaddles.com/index.php?page=about
I think it is a steal at this price.
I have not done whitewater g2d
but I was able to achieve a fairly high-angle stroke with this paddle. With CD1s Mitchell I felt I was committed to a low-angle stroke but the Lumpy offers many angle options.
Agree Kudzu- thanks.
Glad that you like it, bruce.
I haven’t tried a GP yet, but may be convinced to try yours or CD1’s the next time we paddle together.
I’m a current high angle WW paddler…
and I love my GP. I use a very vertical stroke with a really wide grip for playboating and I don’t have any problems with the narrower hand position of the GP or the stroke. I tend to use a high angle ab crunching stroke or a wing stroke of sorts with the GP with good success.
Never occurred to me
to use one of these kind of paddles in whitewater…But taking Lumpy Rutherford along as a paddling partner --Well now you’re talking Wally!
– Err, Bruce.
thanks Bruce
got it
(I hope you included a tip!)
no one uses these in whitewater…
We were just speaking about whitewater paddlers who are used to a certain style of paddle stroke and how easily it was to adapt to the GP for touring.
Okay, Brian Schulz does some whitewater with a GP but its lower level stuff and he’s a pretty wacky dude.
Thought that was kinda wacky.
I see now, you were just referencing
stroke style. (Still, might be fun to
try it.)
Hey Bruce
You’ll be happy with the GP and with the Lumpy. Bill’s a good friend of mine and I have several of his paddles, including the second or third he ever made. Last year at Delmarva I carved my first GP using the Lumpy as a teaching tool. While I like my own paddle a lot, I still can’t reproduce anything as good as my fleet of Lumpy paddles. Actually am having bill make me a Spruce Lumpy, his first I believe. With respect to learning, you’ll find in the GP world that there’s no right or wrong way to do things. It is perfectly reasonable to paddle Euro with a GP. There are however differences in skills. If you work with the paddle to master a more classical Greenland technique, you may find that the GP is even more rewarding that if you just replicate what you’re doing with your Euro blade.
Thank you jsmarch
What are the main differences between spruce and cedar?
spruce v WRC
Spruce is heavier and stronger–you could do a chin up with a spruce paddle. With a WRC paddle you could do do one too, but with some temerity depending on how it was constructed. Thus, for surfing, rock gardening, some of the more difficult rolls, some folks prefer Spruce over WRC.
New Lumpy in the woods of WI
Our water is too hard to use, but I am sure looking forward to putting my new Lumpy paddle in. Looking forward to reading others thoughts about these great paddles. Bill became a friend through the process of getting the paddle. The paddle itself is just beautiful.
Next task it to sew up a bag (case) for it.
Enjoy it and keep in touch.
For the price and craftsmanship
you can’t go wrong with a Lumpy paddle.
I am still amazed at how much thought Bill puts into his paddles. He could probably make them in his sleep, but he wouldn’t dare do that because of the attention he likes to give each paddle.
WW and Lumpy - Yes
Ofcourse I use the lumpy on WW. Class III runs … infact I was planning on running a slalom race with it in June at FIBark just for the heck of it. Surprisingly the lumpy is lovely in the swirly stuff. Looking forward to a Sitka Spruce lumpy so I don’t have to worry about it breaking.
-assad
Lumpy
"It is 85" long with a 20" loom and a 3" blade," says original poster. I agree, bruce, those dimensions sound ideal for us.
Sounds like there are more Lumpy mavens out there than meet the eye. I am sure they are very sweet paddles, and I look forward to a Pnet review from each of you after logging miles with the new twigs.
I have a one piece cedar paddle (bought from eBay), and although it's nice (not as nice as a Lump, I am confident), I personally do not like the one piece aspect of a very fragile and soft wood like cedar. It seems that anyone that has used a one piece cedar twig ends up getting dings, cracks, and eventual fatal splits in the wood.
Laminated wood, for all purposes, not just paddles, is truly the way to go for strength, methinks. I personally have a Mitchell laminated paddle (as does Alun, and Chuck and a few others online), and it is hardwood (thus made thin to reduce weight) and is laminated and has a very reasonable cost (low cost actually, for what you get), and I love its sturdiness. I'm not sure I cold break it if I tried (well, okay, maybe I could with a bench vice, a maul and a steel-toed work boot, for those of you playing the home version).
Anyhow just another consideration in paddles. I bet Bill (creator of Lumpy, just as Charles Schutz created Snoopy, but that's another tale) creates a laminated paddle--and that would be more rugged, if so.
Heck, I really look forward to bruce coming down to central IL (or me to camp at IL State BEach Park, or you can show me the new lake MI put-in you located) and working on skills with the GPs.
C Ya, paddlers.