What angle do you feather?

Advice
#1

What angle do you feather your paddles?

Do you feather them different if you have a head wind or a tail wind?

Let’s say the wind is around 10 miles per hour.



Thanks,

Robert G

#2

variable…
Sea kayaking with a greenland paddle - zero degrees

Sea kayaking with a Euro or Wing paddle - 60 degrees

Whitewater with a Euro paddle - zero degrees



I don’t change my feather angle for the wind.

#3

.

– Last Updated: Apr-18-07 10:04 PM EST –

http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=240265

http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=247570

http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=247570

http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=475449

http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=145085

#4

I’m old and stupid. Still use a 75 deg.
paddle, and am fairly comfortable at 90 degrees. It’s all in the wrists.

#5

Depends
Whitewater: 45 degrees

Sea Kayaking: 60 degrees



If I had the money right now: 0-12 degrees for both

#6

feather angle
Slalom competitors use 90 dg feather to minimize contact with gates.



Olympians, who are mostly younger, use 60 dg feather with wing paddles.



Some use 0 dg feather, due to fears best left unspoken.



Those of use who have accepted mortality use 45dg as it helps enough against the wind and minimized carple tunnel issues.


#7

15 Degrees
but I’ve been playing with 30.

#8

Rinse&Repeat
"I’ve already explained this once, but repetition is the very soul of the net."

#9

I use sixty
on my Euro and my wing.

I have experimented, but always come back to sixty.



Cheers,

JackL

#10

no feather
i do cant my blade as i paddle, maybe 5-10 deg, , more when its windy. i use euro and greenland style paddles. the gp has influenced my paddling toward canted and extended strokes with both styles of paddle.

#11

90
And it’s all in the elbow, not the wrist…

#12

0
Unfeathered. Just more comfortable to me, probably simply because that’s what I’m used to.

#13

Varies
But I find 58.8765435436 works very well for me.

#14

Doesn’t that angle
impinge your shoulder?

#15

30
Nice and comfy

#16

Just changed from
58.8765438766 deg. This feels so much better

#17

Feathering
I have struggled with carpel tunnel syndrome for 1 1/2 yrs. & am now recovering from surgery which I had last month. My theory on this subject is to limit any activity or strain anywhere it’s not necessary. The way I eventually set the feathering on my paddle is as follows. I loosened the ferule until it was snug. Then I began paddling as usual, but stopped to adjusted the feathering until I thought I had it at the most comfortable position. Then I locked it in that position.

#18

No Feather
On Euro blade and wing. Just more comfortable for me. And I know where the blades are all the time. (at the ends of the shaft)



Andy

#19

75 degree
75 degree has been pretty much standard for several years now.

#20

Beginner’s Question…
Can the feather (angle) cause the boat to not go straight? Here’s what I’m wondering: depending on the amount of feather, and the paddler’s stroke, could the blade be entering the water at some other angle than perpendicular to the keel, and thus turn a forward stroke into more of a sweep?



Bought a new paddle last fall (bigger blade, shorter shaft), and immediately noticed a tendency to drift to the right. Tried different angles … no feather seems to result in less drift. I’m sure my technique (lack of) is the cause… I’m thinking the bigger blade is making more out of something that’s not right with my stroke.