Paddle Blade Shape

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jg01

VIC

38 posts

jg01

VIC, 38 posts

6 Jul 2010 10:46am

Im interested in anyones thoughts on the paddle blade shapes being used in our sport.

SUP paddles seems to have copied the outrigger blade shapes, yet ignored some of the elite C1 Sprint canoe shape blades.

Paddle techniques and what is happening to the blade in the water is comparable for both Outrigger and C1 sprint racing, so why isnt their more C1 shaped blades, in particular with flat water or down wind design?

The main differences I see with the blades is that the C1 or C2 sprint blades are skinny and deep, whilst the outrigger blades are fat and short. The C1 blades are around 23 cm wide and 55 cm deep. The only technical benefit I can think of with the longer sprint blades is that they are "finding" cleaner water as they go deeper.

Braca make some of the worlds best Kayak and Canoe blades. They invented the Tear drop used by most sprint and marathon Kayakers today. Here is their version of a SUP paddle.

By comparision here is the popular Quick Blade shape

And here is a photo of the Werner Nitro.

Anyone paddle both outriggers and sprint Canoes whom may have some insight here?

CMC

QLD

3954 posts

CMC

QLD, 3954 posts

6 Jul 2010 11:18am

I can give you one reason why the OC blade makes more sense.

The area (wider and shorter) focused in the bottom part of the blade with a shoulder allows the paddle to stay at a shorter length creating less pendulum effect while still clearing and being pulled under the rail. This means a higher cadence while holding the same amount of water.

The shoulder on the paddle also allows the paddle to be pulled under the board rather than beside it. The long C1 style blade would add to the overall paddle length inc blade to clear the rail and would mean that your bottom hand would be a long way back from centre of the shaft.

That's my theory anyway. Never paddled a C1 though. I do hear it is the easiest sport in Australia to get to an olympics though. We contest every year even though there are about 5 paddlers total in the country. If you can get to the other end, you're in......... (that's an attempt at humour) No disrespect to the paddlers though, I am sure they train as hard as any country and are ultimately competitive. It's just a very specialised sport in Aust. Big in other countries.

jg01

VIC

38 posts

jg01

VIC, 38 posts

6 Jul 2010 11:37am

CMC I agree with you on the blade length.

Found some footage of these C1 paddles in action.

mikeman

QLD

692 posts

mikeman

QLD, 692 posts

6 Jul 2010 2:24pm

I will be doing some research into long and thin blades for long distance paddling. The main aspect I am interested in is "gearing". With a short and fat blade there is not much you can do to change gears other than change rating and pressure. With a long and thin blade you can gear up/down by putting more/less blade into the water. The Micronesians and many Polynesians use these blades so I am keen to check it out.

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