Tips for a newbie who just got a Greenland paddle

^^ Wow! Perfect, thanks…

A caveat. I have made at least 8 using those or similar plans. I am 6’5" tall and wear 38" sleeves .My first was 240cm and fluttered . I asked bnystrom about that and he explained that Inuits weren’t tall with ape arms. I reduced it to 225 cm and now a normal sized friend really likes it.
The point is, they can be tailored to you. My last couple have been 220 cm and my grandsons like them.

@“Doggy Paddler”
Made a new discovery with my GP today. Went out to practice self-rescues. Have never been able to do a scramble with my Fathom; always log rolled. My latest boat, the CD, has a low and flat back deck with a centered rear day hatch. Thought that design would be easier. Stuck my GP under the bungees across the back deck just to get it out of the way and low and behold, it acted as an outrigger. An A+ for buoyancy! Once I was straddle over the stern and inching up to the cockpit, pulled out the paddle so I could have it in my hands in case I needed to brace. Had I, probably would have gone over as I’m not good at bracing with a GP. Need more practice, but that’s fun to do and more fun when it works.

I read about GP’s as I first got interested in kayaking(only a little over a year ago) and they intrigued me. I’m a carpenter and woodworker so the thought of making my own paddle was very appealing and I was needing a real paddle. Didn’t feel like spending $100’s to experiment with various paddles so I made a GP. Wasn’t too sure at first and felt like I fought with it a bit and when I thought I was in a groove I would loose it. But I just kept paddling and things started to naturally fall into place. I’m keeping up with the experienced paddlers now and don’t feel like I’m working at it. Swapped paddles with another well experienced paddler to try his carbon Werner and it just felt weird and was hard on me. On the flip side, he’s now thinking about a GP! I’m loving the GP and not sure I’ll be able to go to a euro paddle, but everyone is different and each has it’s place. Find what you like and go with it!

Update: 12 days after my first try with it and I can confidently say I LOVE this paddle. It feels so responsive and I am finding paddling with it much easier on my arms and shoulders. I really want some instruction as I’m sure that’ll help a lot, but I’ve also just been having fun trying to do different things with it, since I’m on a nice peaceful flat-water lake now. Each time I go out I only want to use it. It’s so darn cool! My poor Euro paddle is bored.

Learn to scull with it. When you brace with a Euro you push down on the paddle. With a GP you push down AND FORWARD. Feel it bite the water. Feel the purchase. It’s like leaning on a handrail.

(yes, it works if you push down and backward, too, but not as well… the physics is the same but the ergonomics is different)

@PhotoMax touch base with Don Beals https://bealepaddles.com/contact/ he is south of you but an excellent mentor. I carved mine under his direction at Qajaq Training Camp 4 years ago.

@Rookie Try using it as a "kickstand’. Angle the paddle into the water at an angle (30 deg or so). If you deck configuration allows lock it into the deck lines otherwise use your hands. The paddle will provide resistance to roll in both directions.

Rookie! I’m here to goad you. You know that. Please quit with that ‘scramble’ stuff and just get a reliable roll. You can do it.

Rex, since you appear to lack any flesh, rolling should be easy.

It’s either roll or sink to the bottom for me.

Anyone looking for a GP in the Southeast should check out Benjamin Fontenot…

http://bfpaddles.com/

Savannah Canoe & Kayak has some of his paddles in stock, and he offers paddle making classes in the Spring.

I have one of Ben’s paddles and it’s an elegantly simple piece of Western Red Cedar.

@Rookie
One caution using the GP that way - particularly if it is wood rather than CF, I have seen someone snap a GP by putting unexpected pressure on it at full extension. Granted it was a bigger guy, but the idea of using it placed more towards the middle above may be worth considering depending on your GP. I am thinking that you are near height but lighter than me, which in my case means my GPs have a reduced diameter for my hands. Yours may as well.

And by the way what do you mean by log rolling a boat? Have you gotten a roll or re-enter and roll? Or is that some other motion related to getting the boat upright?

A Greenland paddle ls held loose and doesn’t necessarily need a smaller diameter loom for smaller hands. {this isn’t a given} The shoulder area might need a slight dimension change but the thumb and forefinger don’t need to touch around the shaft. The only time the actual shaft is held is walking and carrying the paddle and when doing an Angel roll or modern style Balance Brace. Too small of diameter on the loom can add to hand fatigue. {the hands do however , need to be comfortable with the shoulder area and it’s dimension and shape}

@Celia said:
And by the way what do you mean by log rolling a boat? Have you gotten a roll or re-enter and roll? Or is that some other motion related to getting the boat upright?

Sounds like a decent half-roll…

:smile:

… unfortunately the wrong half

I am pretty sure that “log roll” was referring to the boat rolling like a log when trying to climb it.

Anyway, paddle under deck lines is a bad idea. I have snapped deck lines off the kayak that way. Others have snapped their paddle shafts.

If one absolutely have to put it under deck lines, only put it under the deck line on the far side of the kayak and use a hand to grab the paddle shaft and deck line on the near side of the kayak. That will prevent putting too much force on the paddle, but will still help in controlling the position of the paddle.

@roym said:
A Greenland paddle ls held loose and doesn’t necessarily need a smaller diameter loom for smaller hands. {this isn’t a given} The shoulder area might need a slight dimension change but the thumb and forefinger don’t need to touch around the shaft. The only time the actual shaft is held is walking and carrying the paddle and when doing an Angel roll or modern style Balance Brace. Too small of diameter on the loom can add to hand fatigue. {the hands do however , need to be comfortable with the shoulder area and it’s dimension and shape}

I have to disagree with most of this, other then that a GP is generally held loose while paddling. However, you do need to grip it in rough conditions and when using steering strokes. Properly sized shoulders and loom are important for comfort, particularly for paddlers with small hands.

@Allan Olesen said:
Anyway, paddle under deck lines is a bad idea. I have snapped deck lines off the kayak that way. Others have snapped their paddle shafts.

If either of these things is happening, it’s due to poor technique. If you’re doing it properly, there should be very little pressure on the paddle.

@bnystrom said:

@Allan Olesen said:
Anyway, paddle under deck lines is a bad idea. I have snapped deck lines off the kayak that way. Others have snapped their paddle shafts.

If either of these things is happening, it’s due to poor technique. If you’re doing it properly, there should be very little pressure on the paddle.

Yes, of course it is due to poor technique. It happened to me several years on my beginner’s course.

But that argument is kind of a paradox, because if your technique isn’t poor, you won’t need to put the paddle under the deck lines.

So we are discussing a technique, which can only be used safely by those who don’t need it.

So what’s the right way to do it? That’s how I was taught years ago.

The key is to keep your weight off the paddle; it’s there just for balance, not major support. The same is true when using a Euro paddle with a paddle float. Whether you choose to put the paddle in the deck rigging or just hold it against the cockpit coaming is up to you and depends the situation you’re in. I use whichever method makes the most sense at the time.

I started a new thread on wet entry, don’t want to hijack this one.