When I bought my first kayak it came with a Werner paddle. Although others consider me to be strong I never felt "right" while using the Werner. I finally figured out that I was just over geared, blade area too large, so retaining the same tip shape I cut two and a half inches off the end of each blade. Now my cadence was higher putting me at the peak of my power curve, not beyond it as before. Paddling went from work to play.

This got me to examining paddle length and blade area. My Werner went from what their website lists as large to a medium. Checking out Greenland and Aleut paddles I find they also fall into this medium range. This is one of several reasons why they are becoming so popular. They are efficient which translates to more fun, especially when paddling longer distances.

Somehow I ended up with an Aleut paddle and I am very unimpressed by it. The force needed to pull a paddle through the water is determined by the blade area and the length of the lever, the loom, to which it is attached. My Aleut turns out to be 96" long with a 36" loom,probably sized for some of the larger Aleut boats. This factor takes it form the medium range to large. Hence it is not much fun to use.

In the sense that working out with weights is fun the paddle is OK for short sprints using all my power, but in this mode it starts to flutter and cavitates so seriously that a loud squeak occurs. I wonder, if I can hear it out of the water how far does the sound carry under water. In light of Duane's shark encounter could this be a shark attractant? But I digress.

Using a sliding stroke brings it back into the fun range so the plan is to cut a foot or so out of the middle of the loom and try it again. I have seen people on the net enjoying their Aleut paddles, but the paddles appear to be sized to the Greenland length.

And now for a big finish to my entry. How about a challenge for those of you who can crank out a GL paddle in an hour or two? Build one with a GL blade on one end and an Aleut blade, of the same area, on the other. How does it paddle? Does one blade feel/work better than the other? Does one roll better? What else can you tell us? Here it is guys, your chance to really contribute to the knowledge of the traditional kayaking community.

Shark