paddle dribble

Hello everyone, i just started kayaking and for the life of me i cant seem to keep water from getting all over my lap from the paddle, the paddle has the rubber stopper things. Any suggestions would be great.

practice
Practice. Take lessons, or join a local kayak grooup. Without seeing your technique, hard to give pointers. Maybe your drip rings are not in the right spot. However, you are in a small craft inches off the water, maybe you should figure on getting wet once in a while. Not trying to be a wisea** but it is the nature of the beast so to speak. John

I gave up staying dry long ago
And now have a spray skirt, or two, or three, for every kayak in the collection. That is how you can stay drier in a kayak.

dry
Drip rings only work completely with a fairly slow very low angle stroke. If you have a fast pace stroke or a high angle stroke they don’t do much.



Bill H.

Unfortunately that is one of the things
that happens to a new paddler.

In some people it never stops and others for some reason or other it goes away after a few years of paddling.

Some thoughts:

Take a look at your drip ring placement. They should be at a spot on the shaft that is above where they will be in the water.

Another: perhaps you have a slow stroke, and your paddle shaft on the side that is out of the water is staying high too long allowing the water to go over the drip ring.

Another: Perhaps you are paddling with a very high angle stroke.

Hopefully it will work out, or you will have to wear a spray skirt constantly.



Jack L

How long is the cockpit?
In longer cockpits (open over your shins), there is pretty much nothing you can do but get a skirt or semi-skirt (for the knees/lap only).



Another interesting thing, like JackL mentioned is, that due to technique it might go away. I remember for the first couple of years I used to wear a hat because the paddle spray would get on my head. This year - not a drop gets on my head for some reason (same paddles).



Also, I do not get drips in my lap either, even with a cockpit that extends past my knees. But that’s while paddling. If I do certain corrective strokes with one blade up and hanging there, then I get drips from it.



I use no drip rings, so it’s not that.



I think it is due to the better technique and rotation and moving the paddle away from me at the end of the stroke this year compared to prevous years -:wink:

I’ve gotten used to it
but we had our new dog out yesterday paddling with us and he didn’t like it at all!

I suspect that, as your paddling style
improves, you may find less water in your lap. That has been my experience.

That’s not my experience.
With me, higher angle stroke = more water in the boat, or on the deck or spray skirt.



I don’t like using a paddle long enough to keep the water out of the boat without a spray cover).

Try golf instead.

It’s a wet sport
I’ve been paddling for 30+ years, and dribble off the paddle is inevitable in my eperience. I just wear a sprayskirt and don’t notice. But then again, I’m happiest when I have my decks awash with waves all day long, too.



No advice to give, as I consider it part of the deal.

get a GP
it doesn’t drip.







It pours into your lap.







:slight_smile: Paul

Use a single blade
Dry hands. Dry Lap. Problem solved.

A couple ideas
First make sure the drip rings are far enough up the paddle shaft so they don’t go in the the water and far enough down so they stay away from the cockpit as much as possible.



Second there is another way to get rid of a lot of the water. You put a string at the lower curve of the paddle blade, the part that is lowest when that blade is on the backstroke, you’ll see a lot of water drips from there already. A simple trial for this is to tear a strip of duct tape 1/4" wide so you have a 1/4 x 2" strip. Fold it so the center 1/2" is stuck to itself, then stick the reaining two legs to each side of the paddle blade. Once you choose the best position you can epoxy a string in that pos’n with one end on ea side and the center twisted and glued. Or you can drill a very small hole in a plastic or FG blade, but this is permanent and might weaken the blade.



The conmbination of this and the drip rings will get rid of most of the water and as mentioned you get used to the rest.



SYOTW

Randy

A couple ideas
First make sure the drip rings are far enough up the paddle shaft so they don’t go in the the water and far enough down so they stay away from the cockpit as much as possible.



Second there is another way to get rid of a lot of the water. You put a string at the lower curve of the paddle blade, the part that is lowest when that blade is on the backstroke, you’ll see a lot of water drips from there already. A simple trial for this is to tear a strip of duct tape 1/4" wide so you have a 1/4 x 2" strip. Fold it so the center 1/2" is stuck to itself, then stick the reaining two legs to each side of the paddle blade. Once you choose the best position you can epoxy a string in that pos’n with one end on ea side and the center twisted and glued. Or you can drill a very small hole in a plastic or FG blade, but this is permanent and might weaken the blade.



The conmbination of this and the drip rings will get rid of most of the water and as mentioned you get used to the rest.



SYOTW

Randy

I didn’t say he had to go with high
angle. But when I got my high angle sorted out, the drips decreased.

I’d be interested in which aspect of the
stroke reduces drip if the angle stays the same. Is it a slight pause when the blade clears the water to let it drip off behind you? Or is it something else?

Rain-X
I don’t know if I saw on this forum or another, but sometime in the last week I saw someone suggesting putting Rain-X on the blades. This supposedly allows the water to drip of the blades as soon as they’re removed from the water.

Here it is:
Rain-X on kayak paddle:



http://www.songofthepaddle.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?26659-Rain-X-on-a-double-ended-paddle

Wet sport
Learn to love it.



Use a good skirt. Wear a dry suit.



There is no avoiding contact with the water in a kayak. Dress for it, enjoy the water.