would a better paddle make me faster?

context
The OP doesn’t have a large sum of money to spend and is looking to move up from what apparently is a $20 wallyworld paddle. Let’s not scare the newcomers away by making things cost prohibitive.



I paddled for almost three years with an aquabound as my spare and play paddle.

thread killer
(best advice here)

A Pamlico 140 would for sure.
JK

Nah, but…
“Gray Thing” will!



FE

Exactly my point
I think paddle prices are unreasonably high. I refuse to pay crazy retail prices. You can get fabulous deals on Craigslist (see my other post on this). My first paddle was a $20 Wallyworld. Four or five Craigslist trades later and I had a full-carbon Werner. You need more knowledge than money to do this, and it works.



I also had the Aquabound Stingray as my spare paddle. A friend used it last weekend and wanted to kill me so it went on Craigslist.




I see

– Last Updated: Jun-16-11 8:40 PM EST –

A bully. Best to ignore you I suppose but those new to kayaking are welcome to ask whatever questions they need answers to. No need to chase them away by demeaning them.

No, not at all…

– Last Updated: Jun-17-11 6:51 AM EST –

Just can't see why people can't figure simple things out for themselves anymore.

Repspect is something to be earned, not given.

But you have taken this boat off course.

Hey if I sat on a porqupine would it hurt?

Paddle easy,

Coffee

respect
Respect is something you lose. Everybody deserves it at first.



I feel like you are extremely bitter about something.



Ryan L.

ok. I guess we have to ask the OP
what the budget is. I agree, there are some good deals used and closeout if you take the time to look.

Coffee had a valid point
and he gave luvtokayak a very useful answer.


Take a cue from Pamlico_140
Get ALL the specs for ALL the paddles made.



Make a spreadsheet matrix. Pester every shop around to demo them. Post a zillion threads here asking about each one.



That will work as well for you as it did for him. Or at least, as far as anybody can tell given that nobody has ever paddled with him or even met him!

"Respect is something to be earned"
I couldn’t agree with you less, especially in this forum. Respect should be automatic, especially toward new kayakers asking innocent questions.



The boat isn’t off course by me. Do you expect others to just stand by and observe when you bully people?


You’re right
I didn’t notice the part about the $20 Walmart paddle in his post. OK then, find a used Aquabound Stingray for $75, use it for a while, and then trade up.


It is fun to watch
just saying

The right paddle helps paddle longer
with less effort.



I wear out quicker if my paddle is too long or too heavy or has too large or heavily loaded blades.



A more efficient boat design that fits me well helps me paddle faster.

well last night
i used my other paddle and i did go faster on my 5 mile trip was still only average of only 4 mph.but it wore me out and wasnt as fun .i think the paddle was to short for my wide kayak and the blades was weird shaped to me

One other thing to consider
I just breezed through the whole thread, too quickly to read everything in detail, but it appears that only radiomix mentioned something related to the important thing I am thinking of. There will be a “practical maximum speed” for your boat. It’s called hull speed. Not all boats behave exactly the same when they reach hull speed, but only boats built for speed can be made to go “at” hull speed or even faster than hull speed without the paddler needing super-human strength. As your boat goes faster, the effort needed to make it go faster increases exponentially (for example, going twice as fast requires MANY times as much effort, NOT simply twice the effort). The best paddle in the world won’t change the fact that a certain speed cannot be exceeded using just the strength that you have available.

is there a way to find
the hull speed of my pelican pursuit 100?

I don’t bully anyone anymore than…
I ever was when I first came on here. You make me laugh so hard I want to piss my pants.



I am a realist… If a question of such low sensibility is asked, I inform them.



Common sense is a gift from God! If you were watching the bunny rabbits play when it was your turn in line to recieve your common sense… You are a liability! Either find some or move to Georgia…



Seriously, if you get bad service from a wait staff, do you still tip them 20%? EVEN THOUGH they didn’t earn it? You must have voted for Obama, giving out all these bailouts??



Don’t fill me up with your “holier than thou” smoke, my @$$ has been burned enough by people like you.



Paddle easy,



Coffee

Yes
Hull Speed in miles per hour = (the square root of the waterline length) x 1.54



The model number “100” makes me think the length is 10 feet. In that case, the waterline length is probably about 9.4 feet at most, in which case the hull speed is 4.7 miles per hour. Also, since getting too little extra speed in proportion to your effort starts happening before you get all the way up to hull speed, you are likely working harder than what makes sense once your speed gets up to four miles per hour or a tad more.