: 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

Going to be a trick paddling with that combo paddle, one side (GP) uses a cant, the other doesn't, at least from what I've read here.

Bill H.