Sea Kayaking, The Need for Speed
David Mackintosh
I finally bought my first sea kayak, a used Necky Arluk 1.8 in Kevlar. I come
from a background of competive sailing dinghy (International 14), bicycle, and
8-man shell racing, so it is my nature to want to go as fast as possible. I
am looking for ways of improving my technique and equipment setup for more
speed.
I need to buy my own paddle soon, and just read something at the ACA site
about wing paddle technique (http://www.aca-paddler.org:80/wing.htm). I may
be interested in trying to picking up a used wing but am interested in more
info about them. Are they useful in all sea conditions or just relatively
flat water? Any disadvantages for general use (other than expense)? Are the
same paddles used for sprint and marathon type events? What features should I
look for if I stay with a conventional paddle?
Are there any good resources for improving paddling technique, other than
trying to find a coach? Books, videos, etc.
David Mackintosh Necky Arluk 1.8
mack...@oasys.dt.navy.mil '87 Integra RS, '96 Integra SE
Germantown, MD, USA '82 245 Turbo, '89 Honda Hawk GT RC31
Peter Gordon
In article <5d4u7a...@oasys.dt.navy.mil> mack...@oasys.dt.navy.mil (David Mackintosh) writes:
>From: mack...@oasys.dt.navy.mil (David Mackintosh)
>Subject: Sea Kayaking, The Need for Speed
>Date: Mon, 03 Feb 1997 14:55:06 GMT
There was a review of wing paddles recently in Sea Kayaker magazine which
was pretty negative in terms of their use for general sea kayaking. I bewlieve
they are popular for flatwater racing though. With a conventional paddle
I would go for lightness and reputation for strength. It seems like the
Werner paddles are very popular amongst sea kayakers (about $200).
Sea Kayaking Magazine is a good source of information, there is a video
called "Performance Sea Kayaking" which goes through a lot of the
basics pretty well, also, Derek Hutchinson's book: something like
t"The complete book of Sea Kayaking" is good, although doesn't go
much into speed techniques -- it's aimed more at techniques for rough
water conditions.
These are just some of the things that I have looked at and I'm
sure that there are other things out there
Good luck
Peter
Kevin A. Brink
I have to admit I do not know much about them but if speed is what you are
after you need to look into surf skis. I paddled one in the Tampa area.
It was very interesting. Probably 20' long and 18" wide-maybe these are an
exaggeration of my memory. You sit on top of these and after you get the
hang of keeping them upright they are incredibly fast.
Don't know anything about the paddle.
David Mackintosh <mack...@oasys.dt.navy.mil> wrote in article
<5d4u7a...@oasys.dt.navy.mil>...
LKFJR
I paddle a I.8, have raced it, and use both Wing and Eurostyle paddles. My
recommendation is to look at the Lightning Ultralight graphite paddle. All
owners swear by theirs. Hank Hays (paddlemaker at Lightning) made me a
special order racing blade (I believe they now call it the Texas Safari
Blade). It's blade is a shape and size very much like the traditional
Struer racing paddle-what all racers used before Wings came along. I've
used a wing for recreation paddling and decided those who swear by them
for that are kidding themselves. I use both and have two stroke styles to
fit each blade type. My advice is to get the Lightning and develop your
technique. If you want a faster boat try a West Side Boat Shop WaveSeries
boat, for example the Wave Excel.
Ian Millar MacKenzie
I race surfskis, ocean, marathon, and flatwater, as well as touring in my
sea kayak, and recreational whitewater. The reason people use wing
paddles is that they really are faster. I find they work really well in
sea kayaks, too. I often use mine in my slalom boat while out surfing,
and they're great for that too. I think they take a little longer to get
used to if you're already accustomed to a conventional blade. If you've
already bought a kevlar 1.8, it would seem silly to me to go and slog
about with an old struer. I liked the struer, raced with it before wings
came out, but the new wings (NOT the first wings that came out- miserable
things) are really pleasant to use. But, like anything else, i guess
you try different things and see what you like. But it is bunk that they
are not good for touring, whitewater, manoevering, etc- they just take
some getting used to.
There are videos around, too, that talk about technique- Greg Barton made
one a few years back which was ok. there are coaching manuals and
expertise at the flatwater clubs around, as well.
cheers, happy paddling
ian
ps- i'm not kidding myself, either! :)
LKFJR (lk...@aol.com)
wrote:
: I paddle a I.8, have raced it, and use both Wing and Eurostyle paddles. My