@Buffalo_Alice yeah, yeah. What is it?
@PaddleDog52 yeah, yeah. Iām having fun run now listing to hippie music from the past. You missed the lucid window of sanity. Check in tomorrow.
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I can tell you what No Such Agency is doing to you!!!
kids canāt even sharpen a 
nowadays.
Iām glad I got my question sort of answered. Iāll continue to use the paddles I have as dictated by the water .
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As I often have more questions than answers, after thinking some about this subject and others about speed and faster, I just started to wonder if we have to be able to run well to walk efficiently?
I realize that this analogy has its caveats, of course, but still.
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i guess in this realm of competition itās a fine line between performance weight and failure by breakage.
So i bought an adjustable length and feather paddle (Leandel). I like the fact that i can decrease the feather and increase the length for low angle paddling. I wanted the same blade shape as my ww paddles for predictability. My roll is likely to suffer with the changing feather angle. As i move from ww to flatter water i find myself low angle paddling a lot more. Paddling lots of days in a row, i try to paddle in a motion that minimizes stress on the elbows and shoulders. Trying to move a boat beyond its cruising speed is a waste of energy. With my long ww boats a water pile builds up in front under the bow. I also lose efficiency low angle paddling due to the nature of the boats i paddle. The more parallel the stroke is, the more likely the boat will go straight. Ww boats are designed to turn, with my low angle paddling some sweeps creep in for correction since the strokes are less parallel. In ww i sit up straighter, the stroke is much more hand over hand, stroke becomes shorter, but actually harder to get good torso rotation.
@kanoniem questions lead to answers, but you do t ever habe to learn to run. Walking is all you need. However, there are reasons to learn how to run, even though you canāt out run bears.
Iāve had this discussion on the forum as well as privately with paddlers I know personally. Speed is more than just going somewhere fast. Primarily, you canāt discuss the merits of a paddle, a boat, or a paddling technique unless you measure them in terms of speed.
If you paddle on a small body of sheltered water and are content to take in the view, speed is nothing. If you paddle in the ocean; paddle against currents in places like Maine, in places where a large basin is channeled through a restricted opening, in large open resevoirs with shear sides that block weather conditions, or places like the great lakes or as
as I do on the Chesapeake Bay, where a modest tide of 3 mph and wind of 20 mph will counter your 5 mph speed potential and it will push you backwards for 6 hrs. Iāve read posts that say, āSpeed is not everything!ā I agree. But what does that mean?
So whatās the value of being able to go faster. It means that youāre paddling more efficiently. Paddling efficiently means you can go further with less pain, less damage on your joints. You can better assess whether a paddle or boat fits your needs. It could save your life if paddling west for two hours and you turn to see a dark sky. How fast youāre able to paddle determines whether you shelter or high tail it to home. Does it matter if you paddle 2 1/2 hours to cover 10 miles or 2 hours, thatās only 1 mph difference
but what will the tide and wind do to your progress. Speed is not critical at all, except for competitive racers, as long as you understand your limitations.
The answer is that learning to paddle fast isnāt necessary to be a satisfied kayaker. Speed is important to me becsuse I donāt have many kayaking skills. When I encounter harsh conditions, I run for home.
yes.
I would agree with what most others will say on this board - paddle unfeathered if you plan on the need of rolling.
Having said that, I paddle feathered. I KNOW when Iām paddling feathered. If I go over, I āfeelā for the blade before rolling - so I know where it is.
You could (and should - if you plan on rolling feathered) practice rolling with it feathered.
I change my feather (Left or Right) depending on wind direction - which complicates āmuscle memoryā for rolling, so, if I get knocked over when paddling feathered - Iāll feel for the blade before rolling.
When in surf or conditions where I feel a roll may be necessary, I donāt paddle feathered.
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Could you elaborate on that?
Because some say that with right hand control a brace on the right side is a bit less trustworthy and vice versa.
So with a wind from the left do you change your feather to left hand control?
Changing feather angle based on the wind is begging to blow a brace, roll, or even a powerful stroke to rapidly accelerate.
If a feathered paddle is what you find most comfortable with, then by all means pick an angle and stick to it. Once in muscle memory it will not hinder bracing, rolling, and accelerating whether feathered or unfeathered.
I donāt know of any highly experienced paddler that recommends constantly changing feather angle according to changing conditions. Wind resistance on a paddle is negligible except in extreme conditions and temporarily using a lower angle paddling style will reduce wind resistance without having to change the feather angle.
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yeah, donāt know (m)any others that do this, but I like to know all āanglesā.
If the wind is from the right side and Iām paddling in the āright-handā orientation, I will get some spray off the paddle, in these occasions will paddle left-handed (and vice-versa).
Again, if I go over, when paddling feathered Iāll always feel for the blade face before rolling.
(I supposed that makes me a ānon experienced paddlerā, though Iāve been doing it for, oh, 37 years or so)
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