@roym said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o7lR5E4Oi4You don’t need a Greenland paddle in order to roll. I made this video many years ago and it’s not as crisp and clear as most are now…I was on dial up at the time and it took forever to download anything so I made it short and to the point. mounted the camera on the bow of my kayak {go=pro’s didn’t exist yet}
Just watched your video. Nice rolls!
There is a wide variation in size and shape of Greenland paddles. Before getting my first, I went to a Greenland paddling symposium and borrowed many paddles till I found one I liked. Then I bought 2x4’s and made my own (an evening’s work if you have a band saw and plane). I experimented with different blade shapes and widths until I had a balance of speed (blade width), comfort (loom shape), and endurance (blade length and width) that worked for me.
The kicker with finding your perfect paddle is that it depends on your strength, your height, your boat, and the conditions you like to paddle in. With each new paddle I would use it for a while, tracking speed and distance with the GPS and paying attention to how tired I got. I tried narrow and wide blades, round and flat blades, and a variation of loom cross sections and neck shapes (where the loom blends into the blade).
I find that with a blade tuned to me, I get the same cruising speed as with my lovely (but now unused) carbon fiber Euro paddle. Sprinting off a line is faster with a Euro spoon blade. But with my GP I can cruise at my best speed for hours longer with no shoulder issues. Shallow water is a pain with a GP.
My wife was tolerant of my funny stick until she started to get shoulder issues. She bought a bent-shaft Euro paddle that helped some, but not enough. On one day-trip she got to the far end and wasn’t sure she was going to get back without a tow. I loaned her my spare paddle and by the time we got back her shoulder was fine!
She commissioned me to build her a paddle sized to her and her taller sit-on-top and she has used it ever since. Her shoulder issues are history.
I would encourage you to look into the Aleutian variation of GP. It has a reinforcing rib on the blade that, counterintuitively, sits on the powerface. Virtually no cavitation. I have not put it head-to-head with a GP, but much easier on the shoulders and enables more endurance than my Euro, so much faster since I can paddle much longer.
Thank you all for sharing your experience and giving suggestions. Really appreciate it.
Rutabaga is a great resource, but Chicago paddlers have a much closer store with Paddling Warehouse in Lake Bluff, an hour north of the city. They have all the major kayak and paddle brands (and some boutique brands like GearLab), and are a heckuva lot closer than Madison.
I sure wish this format let me reply to folks the way it used to.
Anyway… my roll improved quickly and bigly when I switched from euro to gp. My brace didn’t. However once I learned to scull with the paddle the brace was there. I also consider myself very lucky to have some Lumpy paddles.
@chicago_paddler said:
Rutabaga is a great resource, but Chicago paddlers have a much closer store with Paddling Warehouse in Lake Bluff, an hour north of the city. They have all the major kayak and paddle brands (and some boutique brands like GearLab), and are a heckuva lot closer than Madison.
I went to the store in Lake Bluff last Wed. It’s only half an hour from my work. It’s a good store, and the staff is very nice.
@Rex said:
I sure wish this format let me reply to folks the way it used to.Anyway… my roll improved quickly and bigly when I switched from euro to gp. My brace didn’t. However once I learned to scull with the paddle the brace was there. I also consider myself very lucky to have some Lumpy paddles.
Very encouraging. One of the reasons I want to buy a GP is to learn to scull. I believe GP is much easier for sculling than euro.
Thanks both.
No matter what style of paddle a person ends up liking and using in the end. Everyone should give each style of paddle a test. They all offer something . The Greenland Paddle is a very good option {IMO} and deserves a visit.
Best Wishes
Roy
@roym said:
No matter what style of paddle a person ends up liking and using in the end. Everyone should give each style of paddle a test. They all offer something . The Greenland Paddle is a very good option {IMO} and deserves a visit.Best Wishes
Roy
Good advice Roy. Thanks.
The 4-day Michigan Greenland Qajaq Training Camp is in August each year near Frankfort, Michigan. I went for the first time last Summer – excellent on-on-one training in rolling and GP skills at a unique “paddle in” rustic camp (with great food). If you went you could drive up to Milwaukee and take the Lake Express high speed ferry across to Muskegon – it’s less than 2 hours drive north from there. I brought my Greenland kayak across on that ferry 10 years ago (much to the amusement of the crew). They only allow GP’s there – but have plenty of loaners and always some for sale. Good opportunity to try a bunch of different ones if you could wait that long.
Qajaq Training Camp registration is delayed until May 1 (usually April 1) while the new web site is set up. I hope to see you there.
An additional option is the WMCKA Symposium Memorial Day weekend. There tends to be a strong Chicago land contingent attending (and also instructing). WMCKA offers both traditional & euro on-water classes and will often have paddles for sale in Neptune’s Treasures: https://wmcka.org/events/symposium/
Thanks @rival51 . I may check these training camp or symposium in the future. Currently, I mainly want to buy a Greenland paddle.
SYOTW,
Jie
We got my wife’s in 2015 from http://www.northpointpaddles.com/p/our-paddles.html?m=1
She really likes it. It’s the least expensive model, the Rosario.
I occasionally use a carbon one piece from Superior that I bought used in 2015. I seldom use it, because I find one piece paddles a pain to transport or store in the car. Also, I like to switch between kayak paddle and short bent shaft canoe paddle, so two piece kayak paddles work best for me. Some day I’ll likely have a two piec GP.
Good point @Yanoer . One piece paddles are less convenient to transport and store. Normally I keep my two piece euro paddle in the trunk all the time. Right now I’m getting a wood GP, which is a one piece one. I will not be able to put it in the trunk any more. Instead, I plan to keep it in my garage when I’m not paddling. You gain something, you lose something. If I really like GP after a year or so, I may also want to buy a two piece one. On the other hand, one piece paddles also have some advantages in some emergency situations, when used as a backup.
@Jie said:
If I really like GP after a year or so, I may also want to buy a two piece one. On the other hand, one piece paddles also have some advantages in some emergency situations, when used as a backup.
Two piece paddles can be put together and carried on the deck …no need to carry it as two separate parts. If you have a well built paddle that uses a solid ferrule system , There really is no advantage to a one piece paddle. {IMO} {speaking strictly about Greenland paddles, not talking Euro’s}
Since I fly (only in airlines, unfortunately) with my folding kayaks, it is far easier to take along breakdown paddles. I have a 4-piece carbon Cannon Euro that nests neatly in a large padded side pocket of the rolling duffel that I haul the Pakboat kayaks in but I miss having a GP along so I bit the bullet and got a two piece carbon Gearlab for myself for Christmas. Looking forward to its maiden voyage as soon as this disgusting weather moves on (snowed yesterday and supposed to get more this weekend.) Dreariest winter ever. I would have preferred heavy snow to the unrelenting greyness, winds and freezing drizzle we have had this year. At least with snow I can get out on my Luddite wooden XC skis.
I got mine from ADANAC paddles (https://www.adanacpaddles.com/), went there in person to measured since they were somewhat local for me, you would typically send in your measurements,… The art work she does is something else (nm the black smudge marks are from my hatch covers, practicing self rescues), got the purpleheart tips for added strength. I think I may try and carve my own storm paddle though
Mitchell Paddles Cedar Horizon $165
Shouldered style, 85” or 90”
Personally carved will be personalized of course but if you want to paddle and not whittle, this is one option.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F254177122473
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F254177124655
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY
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845-242-4731 mobile
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Store: www.the-river-connection.us
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I’m currently carving my first one. I borrowed planes and spokes shaves from my father in law and I have a $3 piece of pine from Home Depot. I’m having a blast. (And yes, I have a $35 piece of clear cedar for the real one, but I figured I’d learn to plane on a cheap piece of wood.)
There a lot of satisfaction in doing it yourself and planing wood is actually fun, very contemplative.
