: Most of my boats are river boats Bill; I have been told that, due
: to the short length of these boats a GP will create more yawing.
: I don't really understand what the GP is supposed to do for me
: but I haven't tried one. Such a long paddle should be heavier
: which for someone battling polymyalgia rheumatica is a negative.
: I just found out what I have the other day after almost 2 years
: unable to paddle - it can be hard to diagnose apparently. From a
: theoretical point of view the increased slippage of the narrow
: blade and large speed differential across the immersed blade
: length should be wasteful of energy. When/if I get back into the
: water (in a boat) I will make plans to try out a GP to see what
: all the fuss is about.

: In the meantime, i wonder if some of the GP enthusiasts are also
: Druids and just fond of the old ways . . .

: - just kidding (I like to live dangerously once in a while)

: :-)

It actually is much easier on the shoulders.

If weight is an issue, a CF GP should weigh less than any euro-paddle.

The biggest difference that I have been able to discern is this:
With a "wing", there is a lot of force that gets applied to the joints as soon as the pull is begun.
With a GP, the forces are evened out, not sharp, and can be controlled through the stroke.
A first time paddler tried both my freshly-carved GP and the rental Swift paddle, and also stated that it was much easier to cruise along easily with the GP than the wing (a "mid-Swift").

Just my .02 cents

StephenHJ