I think a wing stroke is more natural
than a euro paddle stroke - wing stroke benefits from the blade drifting away from the keel line - euro benefits from the blade being parallel to the keel line. I find the euro stroke less natural.
I tried a wing for the 1st time this spring.
I’ve only used a greenland paddle once a couple years ago and thought it felt quite natural.
Size of wing matters, just as size of
any other paddle style blade size matters.
My experience is that the Epic Small Mid size wing is easier on my body than my Epic Relaxed Tour and moves the boats along with less effort.
I still don’t see how to carve them
symmetrical with hand tools.
Only a day and only 40 bucks? Don’t you need to buy some tools and have a decent place to work?
I figure…
…most people have a garage to work in… and some tools - saw, plane, sand paper and a knife… Sure if you don’t have it, it’s way more expensive, but if you do, paddling with a paddle you made yourself is something quite different from paddling with any other paddle. I’ve tried making one after reading this - http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/makegreen2.pdf (I had a GP to compare with when I started).
Took me three tries to make one I was happy with, but I kid you not, the planning takes a day if you are handy with tools and I’ve never paid more than equivalent of about 30 bucks for the wood. Finishing of course takes much longer, as it needs to dry and all. I’ve not tried lamination and all that, but probably will at some point.
did you read?
What I wrote. In no way did I say the wing was better. I said I like they way it feels better. My paddling revolves around training for races, and rarely involves maneuvering, bracing, rolling, etc. So in my case it is the perfect paddle. Plus a wing can be had at a price less than or equal to a high quality euro.
Ryan L.
Greenland paddles are really a
totally different existential “thing” compared to European or wing paddles. It’s almost like you’re saying, “Give up kayaking and try canoeing.”
The original poster wants to explore how many types of open water paddling can be efficiently and comfortably done with a wing paddle. Suggesting a GP puts you outside the boundaries of the discussion. We understand that you love Greenland paddles, and you should. And clearly the OP loves wing paddles. You say tomayto, and he says tomato. Let’s call the whole thing off.
no love
As the OP, let me emphatically state that I do not love wing paddles. I just think that even with a slow boat they are more efficient, when used with the correct technique, than either a gp or a conventional. And this is true even for moderate cruising in a normal sea kayak. I still prefer either my gp or my conventional.
The boat does NOT have to be a fast or racing kayak to get this efficiency.
are euros really used that way?
I plant the blade as far forward and as close to the sea kayak as I can. As I pull the kayak past, the blade slides out away from the kayak. If the paddle blade remained in a parallel line alongside the kayak, I would have to do a combination of shortening the shaft (shortening the stroke), and burying the blade significantly beneath the surface. I still have to move it all the way out to the side as I slip it out of the water, so I can’t avoid the paddle traveling out that way anyway.
I guess it’s just different schools of thought. I hear a lot and see demonstrated a lot a euro forward stroke maintaining fairly straight arms. This by default has the blade slicing outward throughout the stroke. I imagine the whole wing concept was conceived based upon this slicing outwards during the stroke. It made the slicing motion part of the power instead of just ergonomic.
I suppose keeping the arms straight is a good way to teach torso rotation, as you have to rotate to pull past the blade. You can certainly bend your elbow and still use torso rotation, just to keep the paddle blade closer to the hull. Not sure if there is benefit to this while considering ergonomics, is there? It seems this would create an inefficiency switching blades side to side.
I always figured the difference in paddle lengths for whitewater & waveskis vs. sea kayaks and surf skis, is that slightly indirect force spins the boat using the former, and it’s converted to forward motion using the latter. You ergonomically are actually able to take advantage of the extra leverage in one, and you cannot in the other. The longer the lever, the further out to the side the slice while pulling the kayak past, and the longer the stroke.
If you simply associate paddle length with boat width alone, which is often done, you have to figure the wider whitewater kayaks and waveskis use shorter lengths than the narrower sea kayaks and surf skis.
Interestingly, throughout my years kayaking, when I’m going for speed, training, and a few races I’ve done, I find myself cadence crazy at some point. What I mean by that is that I have to switch focus back to a more carefully executed stroke. I’ll slow my cadence, feel a more powerful stroke, and see and hear my bow wake increase, the perfect evidence of increasing speed. So I increase my speed, while at the same time decreasing my cadence. I honestly don’t ever remember finding that by keeping my blade right alongside my kayak. But now that I’m thinking about it, I’ll give it a shot again.