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Ok -- if you have any
interest in having this newsletter emailed to you, let me know, by
email: Brad@gillespiepaddles.com
Some random issues: Would you think that by having a new design
paddle, some groovy stick with funky cavities and stuff, that you might go
faster You won't. Even if the whole team uses them. Or the
best team in the state. It isn't wierd design stuff that makes you go fast
in the canoe. Its having the right paddle and the right technique,
combined with the conditioning and strength that increases your speed.
What's a hybrid? Its anything that embodies more than one medium
in its fabrication -- for instance, a wood paddle with fiberglass is a
hybrid. So is carbon fibre and wood.......
Blade
shape
My attitude on the blade shape is this: (and
its really not just an attitude!)-- the actual blade shape is not that
important. The Surge/Zaveral style blade is used heavily by marathon
canoers -- mainly because the marathon canoes have a radical 'chine' that
a fuller shouldered blade will bang into if the paddler tries to keep his
shaft perpendicular to the water. The 'nonshouldered' blades allow
the blade to pass underneath this chine without any banging. It also
reduces the blade area, obviously, but not really all that much; my
paddlemaster/powermaster blades have about the same area, and actually
have the same kind of resistance and paddling 'feel', yet aren't so
radical appearing. There's no logical reason for having most of the
blade 'suddenly' appear about half way down the actual blade plane.
A smoother transition makes more sense (as in Paddlemaster).
There are two major
aspects of a paddle that really influence how difficult it is to pull
thru the water -- its surface area (blade) and the shaft length.
Generally, if you lengthen the shaft, you can reduce the blade area and
still have the same pull. Or, shorten the shaft, and increase the
blade area.
The big things that
influence the way a blade feels in the water, other than size, are
refinements -- how blunt the leading edges are, how 'thick' and heavy
the blade is, a lip, pockets and things of this nature.
As for angle -- straight
shaft or double? Its a matter of comfort. I have noticed
over the past couple of years the double angle is not as popular.
I never regarded it as a speed thing anyway (and I am the guy who
created the double angle). Its a comfort thing. The top
marathoners in the world use ll degree paddles, 8" blades!!!!
SIngle angle. The real message is: if you like it, and it
works for you, then use it.
So, what about blade
type and angle: I don't think either of them matter much.
Use what you are comfortable with. I doubt if I made you two
identical paddles with equal blade area, only different shape, that you
could really tell the difference in how they paddled. A lot of
this just has to do with what one wants to 'feel' is happening.
My own preference?
I think the Paddlemaster blade shape is great. There's no reason
to have a lot of shoulder area. But you don't need the funky 'no
shouldered' paddles to accomplish this -- and yes, I know I make
them!!
Hey, let me know if you have more
questions. Brad
Delicious wooden paddles
My first love of the
wooden paddles (sorry, wooden 'angled' paddles....) was when they first
started out with the bend deal, which connected well with when I first
started canoeing. Back then there was a lot of Western White Spruce
and Eastern WHite Pine going into the local paddlebuilding scene.
These two woods are just simply intoxicating to work with -- sweet, rich,
warm aromas tantalizing the senses during the cutting and sanding
stages. Naturally, good smelling wood isn't the major reason I use
it in a paddle! Its just one of the many benefits. White Ash
is a pretty neat smelling wood also, a little harder odor, sort of a
burnt, smoked aroma; walnut --- kinda bitey, somewhat acrid; Tulip --
again, that burnt thing, but not quite as aggressive as the Ash;
Cottonwood -- I don't use it much, 'cause its hard to find clean stuff,
but its intense and interesting, but not really all that pleasant.
Basswood is fairly boring, but is a great blade wood, or for shaft
laminates -- much like White Pine, only Bass doesn't tend to split,
or compression fracture so easily.
This all sort of leads up
to blending the various, delectable woods into an angled paddle. Its
a sweet experience, that without the angle, wouldn't appear quite so
sexy. And naturally, it isn't like you're making a stew; the overall
odor of a paddle doesn't really matter to many paddlers --especially since
it had better be sealed in!!! So you gotta keep that odor stuff as a
private matter. Its the other attributes of different woods that
make them important to the users of wooden canoe paddles -- though they
might not realize it. The tensile strength, compression strength,
impact resistance, flex capabilities...weight to strength, and so
on.
Its the beauty of
wood. Its so versatile, and so completely individual. No
handmade wooden paddle is really the same as any other, since they are
fashioned, and not molded.
Happy paddling, Brad
G
Newsletter/august
01
The hybrid
craze......so what?
One of the things that I am a little unclear about are the organizational
rules regarding composites in paddles. I know that one of the major
Hawaiian outrigger racing racing organizations had banished any composites from
canoe paddles a couple of years ago. Apparently this has changed?
Feel free to let me know, if you know for sure.
Composites in paddles seem to be gaining some
popularity. I am not sure wh this is. I make some of my blades with
composites. To those of you who don't know what composites are, it
essentially refers to the use of glass or carbon fibre with a wood blade.
It's really a mix of the two. The latest thing is 'hybrid', which could
mean a mix of anything, but I guess it is taken for granted that hybrid in this
instance refers to the mix of carbon fibre and wood. I have already to
some degree addressed this issue, but see no reason to resist addressing it
again. It's going to be around a long time, I am sure. I personally
am not a big fan of carbon fibre and wood, although I do make some paddles from
time to time that use both----har! bet you wouldn't have guessed,
eh? Well, they can work, if done correctly. I just don't really like
them together. I will, however, make them -- so don't be afraid to ask
me! I also don't like huge blades, but I make them also, realizing that no
everyone out there shares my veiwpoint, and that my job as a paddlebuilder is
not to shove my views down a canoer's throat -- only to make my views accessible
to them if they are interested!!
When a blade is made using cf (carbon fibre, so don't
forget!) there can be very uneven stresses from front to back if cf is used only
on the powerface (backside, surface that pushes the water...) and lite cloth is
used on the front -or nothing at all. This unevenness can lead, and will
lead, to warpage. I think some builders are experiencing this now.
It can even lead to cracked wood in the blade if serious enuf. cf soaks up
more resin than fiberglass, so if it is used only on one side of the blade, and
2 ounce cloth, or no cloth, is used on the other, bad things happen. A
good combo is most likely cf on powerface, 4 ounce on the other side. Or,
jsut using 4 ounce Fg on the powerface, and 2 ounce fg on the other. That
works quite well.
But let me tell you this: if a builder uses cf on both faces of the
paddle, most likely the thing will weigh more than a solid wood paddle!
You will have gained nothing, especially if you ever have to repair it -- which
is something you should pray never happens!
It's important to use epoxy also for bonding and
strength. I don't know who or if anyone uses polyester, but some might use
vinylester resin, which isn't as good and stinks to high heaven (cheaper,
composite blades will use this).
The paddles I make that I glass are the
ultralite and the balsa blades. I have started to offer the balsa as a
'hybrid' blade if desired, with the cf on the powerface. It's a few more
bucks but serves the purpose of fullfilling the hybrid fantasy. It's also
quite lite. On a single angle aith 9" blade, 50", I can make one at
about 17-18 ounces. (of course, I can do the same thing with 4 ounce
cloth, but it doesn't fullfill the hybrid fantasy.......)
Here's what I prefer: the balsa/cedar combo, with 2 ounce cloth and
some 4 ounce reinforcement. This keeps it clean, and I have turned out
several this year in the l6 ounce range (2 at l5 oz., but no guarantee)
Ultralites have cedar in the blade, and I use 2 ounce
cloth on these.
My unglassed version of these, which I particularly
like, are the Specials. These are approximately the same weight as the
Ultralites, but have no glass, since there is no cedar in the blade. These
paddles have a nice balanced feel to them without feeling too dense. Too
dense? Yes, some paddles might be lite, but have too dense of a feel to
them, because the woods used are heavy, but they trim out a lot of the wood, so
the paddles aren't really lite feeling or full feeling, but dense feeling.
If you have more questions about composities or cf, feel
free to ask.
More.........
A long time ago I thought it would be neat to mix up carbon fibre with wood
and so I made some paddles this way. Wood shaft, wood blade core, and
carbron fibre sandwiching the wood. Ultimately, it didn't make much sense
to me, since the paddles I made were no lighter and were covered by this black
ugly stuff. When you have to sand the CF, it drags a very fine dust onto
the wood and works it's way into the wood fibre, so it is nearly impossible
to sand out without unnecessarily working away another layer of
wood. With a clean vacuum bagging system, this procedure isn't so
essential, unless of course you are a buyer of a paddle who happens to bang it
up and needs to sand it. What then? Simple repair jobs are
transformed into ugly messes. If you sand thru the CF, you bite into wood;
the wood is exposed, and are you capable of repairing this so it melts nicely
into the other CF? Most people aren't.
Hybrid paddles sound neat. Why not have a
hybrid? Hybrid adds something to the paddle that really isn't there:
imagined value!, and it sounds so cool. But what is it? No one calls
a fiberglass/wood paddle hybrid, but it is every bit as much of one as a CF/wood
paddle -- both are mixes of wood and composites. And frankly, the glass
makes considerably more sense. (hybrid also means artificial, which is one
reason many Hawaiian races do not allow composites -- glass included-- they want
to do away with the trendy and seemingly ubiquitous artificiality that has
become so much a part of sports equipement).
But why would glass make more sense? I use glass (2
ounce) on my cedar and balsa bodied blades. 2 ounce cloth isn't
much. It's really a thin veneer, sandwiching the wood. It's
important function is to provide an element of stiffness to the blade that the
wood cannot, and to protect it's surface from impact. It does this by
being impregnated with epoxy -- which hardens the surface. It's not
indestructible by any means. But considering the nature of what it is
sandwiching, it does a remarkable job. This protection and stiffening can
be increased, simply by increasing the cloth weight to 4 ounce. It still
won't absorb as much epoxy as CF does! Yes, CF absorbs more epoxy than
fiberglass. Therefore, it is heavier, kind of negating the reason for even
using it.
There are these added benefits to CF usage: it's
stiffer. If it is not stiffer, or stiff enuf, it breaks -- which is a real
downside. So when you build a 'hybrid' blade with CF, you have to make
sure it's stiff enuf so the CF won't flex. Once it flexes, it's
worthless. Then you have your ugly work to do!
The translucence of glass if also nice. You can
see right thru it once it's epoxied (some builders of less expensive paddles use
Polyester resin -- which is kind of crappy!). If there is any funny stress
going on, you can see it before it ruins the blade. Not so with CF.
The so called hybrid paddles really offer you
nothing. They don't save weight, and usually are heavier than mere wood
paddles (I can make wood paddles at l7 ounces, covered with 2 ounce
cloth). They cost more. They are harder to fix (you probably don't
want to try it). Their also illegal in many of the Hawaiian races.
You can save weight, save money, fix it yourself, and
still be illegal with a glassed blade!!
Brad G In short, it's not a great time of
year to be canoeing!
But, that said, let me move
on. I am doing the credit card deal, and have set up a shopping cart
on my website. It's pretty easy to navigate, and I personally know
that when I go online and order something, this is the method that I like
the best. It more or less guides you thru and provide the security
of a secured processing site. If you have any questions, just
ask. If you want something that isn't listed in the drop down menus,
just ask. You don't have to use the cart if you want to charge
it. You can just call me and we can work out the order that
way. Or email me the order, and call with the card info. Or
just write a check and send it...........that's still perfectly
acceptable!! I have done some lightening of the ultralites and
balsas. The new versions are nicer and lighter. I made some
balsa blades this year (l0 degree, 50"ers) that were in the l5-l6ounce
range......this represents a possibility, but not an absolute. But
similar balsa blades would be in the l6-l7 ounce range.
The
terrorist activities have affected the economy all over, and I have
seen a decrease in offseason paddle orders. Usually, I get a
lot of paddle orders from larger dealers for offseason, but this year
they are down quite a bit, simpply because they aren't seeing the
cash flow they usually do. What this most likely means is
that whent the season starts to approach, they will be playing
catchup, and I will get blasted with orders. So please keep
this in mind and if you need a paddle for the next season,
realize that by waiting until the season is starting will probably
mean longer waits..... And FYI -- thru
November, I am offering an 8% discount on paddles...
Newsletter
from August/01
I've been building some paddles lately that I call the
'Lite' series and I think I'm going to include them in my paddle
lineup. These paddles have a core Basswood shaft, with double thin
laminates of walnut and tulip. This is a nice combo, because it looks
sweet, is lite, and is very strong. The walnut and tulip really
compliment each other. This shaft is matched to a blade with the same
kind of layup, without the basswood, because basswood is softer and
when exposed on the edges it gets dented too easily. It's an ounce or
two of saved weight over the standard paddle, with a little more
flex, and it really looks super! Cost is around $l5 more than std. I
am also doing this same layup with the Surge -- the 'Surge Lite', and
it comes out very lite weight; along with the radical blade, it looks
sharp.
SOmething else I am messing around with (I do this alot
this time of year, because I have more time for tinkering on my
hands.......) is steering blades. A paddle I dubbed the 'Steer
Devil', has a fuller blade, with a Surge shaped blade laminated into
the fuller bodied standard style blade -- a very dynamic looking bit
of lamination if I must say so myself. On the backface, powerface,
whatever---- the shoulders are reinforced with carbon
fibre/fiberglass (yes, I've succumbed!!)........all of these goodies
add about $25 onto the price of a standard steering paddle, which is
$14o (so the total is $165)
.......................................................
I'm certain the double angle debate is continuing around
the world. Which is better, single or double???????? What is the
truth, and is there such an absolute thing as the truth in this very
subjective situation? Boy, I gotta tell ya, as I have done before, I
made myself a PowerMaster (so named just because I made the paddle
and needed a quick name for it) this Summer and it immediately,
without hesitation, replaced two of my seemingly irreplaceable
standbys -- both of which are wonderful paddles, but single angles.
Whyso? Prior to this situation, which I did not seek to create, I was
convinced that there was no big difference. And I did create the
double angle way back in the late 70s --everyone makes them now of
course. But it had to come from somewhere. It was me. I used the
double angle for a number of years after I created it. I loved it.
Lots of people did. But then I just kind of went back to the single
angle and got very comfortable with it.
So what's the big deal? Why do I suddenly like it? Heck,
it just feels like I'm getting more bite; this thing grabs the water
and makes me feel like I'm doing more work! Am I? No idea. My own
paddling is really intended merely to create feelings of well being
-- I am not too concerned about my top speed, although I like to go
as fast as possible at a comfortable pace.
...........................................................................................
Let's not forget, everyone out there who paddles and has a
coach: coaches are subjective human beings. SOme are very good and
some are just kind of so so. It's not like they know it all, or even
parts of it, according to some of the questions paddlers ask me. They
might dish the double, they might praise the single -- they might be
clinging to some bit of advice that came from someone who really has
no idea what he/she is talking about. If the coach tells you that you
need a double angle, or your stroke would be better with a single
angle -- I'd say the coach is taking quite big step into the unknown.
There really isn't a coach out there who is capable of knowing this
stuff and having anyway of proving it. Sorry. Coaches should stick to
things that are basic and knowable. The arcane science of computing
paddling capabilities based on double angles is nonsense. Things that
matter are blade width, shaft length, do you paddle ahead of your
body or behind it, stroke cadence, fluidity amongst teamates,
maintaining an efficient cadence as well as efficient technique,
conditioning......and so on.
Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to your
clubmates. ALso, for anyone who is interested, I do offer club
discounts on l0 or more paddles, and even better discounts on 20 or
more paddles..........
Some serious things to
ponder regarding blade style: Everyone is in search of the ultimate
blade shape. Recently, the Surge shape (low shoulders, or none, with
sudden widening of blade about halfway down) is becoming somewhat of
a fad. That's fine. I like the paddle. But it isn't going to do
anything magical for you. It's just got less volume. It actually has
about the same volume as the Paddlemaster, just lower down. Is it for
you? It could be. Who knows. I guess if your teamates are using full
blades, you might want to stick with that style. If you go with a
Surge shape blade with the same length shaft you normally use, you
will find your stroke rate quickening. Youu can slow it down by
lengthening the shaft.
I
have recently added the Balsa
blades to my paddle lineup again.
Balsa is a difficult wood to work with, and can be easily overworked,
that is, wrecked, because it is not much different than sanding air.
With highspeed equipement, it can disappear in the blink of an eye.
These blades are very light -- around l8 ounces for a single angle.
Single angles are lighter than doubles, since you can taper the shaft
sooner. Doubles require that you maintain the heftiness up to the
upper angle, hence they are beefier higher up the shaft.
What are the
Super
Steers? These are lightweight
steering paddles. They are also very striking to look at, not overly
cumbersome to handle at all, very wieldy, very
responsive......
Kayuks
Here's an activity that makes no sense to
me. Unless you are an eskimo perhaps. I was trapped at an
on the water 'expo' last weekend (June l0th ish) given by the
Adirondack Mt. CLub and PMS, or is it EMS? I don't know. But
either way, it was about all I could endure to hang around for an
hour and not suddenly collapse with revulsion. EMS -- do you
know of it? It's like some mall outdoor chain. And here
they were with all their kayuks strewn all over the shore allowing
people who had just been baked half to death to try them out for a
half hour or some proximate time frame. A line of waiting,
baking people who must not understand what a waste of time kayuking
is stood in thier narrow roped off fake ems corridor until some ems
monitor squawked his horrible sounding air horn and they could go
paddle around for their half hour. Gosh what fun! This is
what I call a real outdoorsy experience.
WHat's the point of kayaking anyway?
You are trapped in this odious smelling, uncomfortable thing that
bees build nests in, and survive, when they are hardy, the horrid
odors of smelly feet and other grungy stuff. So you go out and
get in it after not having used it for a couple of weeks, and
ouch! You squiggle and squirm and try to get out, and finally
do, falling into the water, as you are stung repeatedly by mad
yellows.
A canoe of course you could have seen the
things and avoided them, plus the odor wouldn't be trapped inside the
hot hull, along with you, and them mad bees. Plus your back
wouldn't be killing you from that stupid on the floor sitting
position. Yuk! Who wants to paddle with their legs out
straight in front like that?
Eeiiish. Get a life. Get a
canoe.
More stuff on
Kayuks..........
You might think that being a
fairly serious canoer, and paddle builder, I would share some
favorable attitudes towards kayaks. But I don't. I don't like them.
Ha! How's that for an obnoxious opinion? Well I regard kayaks as
obnoxious boats. For the very same reason I wouldn't like paddling a
canoe while sitting on the bottom I wouldn't like doing it in a kayak
-- so the hull surrounds you? Big deal.
Kayaks, I read in an ad by
an Adirondacker who claims to have always made canoes that were
really kayaks, are now outselling canoes. This is great news for him,
it seems, because he has always made canoes that you paddled without
a seat, I guess, anyway. You sat on the bottom and paddled them! WHo
could do that, or would want to, or would even think about it? Like
when you sit on the bottom of a canoe and paddle over the sides, it
really isn't maximum comfort or leverage you will experience.
You will naturally
experience your greatest stability in a canoe while laying on the
bottom . But few people want to use the canoe that way. The fact that
in a kayak you sit on the bottom in a seat does provide more
stability. But not more comfort. For the same reason I don't like low
slung sports cars for comfort, I don't like kayaks: your legs are
right out in front of your, stretched out, putting funny pressure on
your back. If you have a funny back, kayaking ain't for you. Try
sitting in a truck, and then a corvette, and discern which is more
comfortable to your back and legs (of course, the vet is a helluva
lot more sexy and fun to drive, but not because your ass is almost on
the ground!)
The security of the
surrounding hull and the wonderful stability of sitting on the
bottom, make the kayak a less risky proposition. If that's all you
look for in paddling, then go for the kayak.
I
like being in the open, above my work, having leverage over it, being
comfortable, and having to balance, to some degree, my canoe. I guess
if I was out in a hurricane, I'd lay on the bottom and hope for the
best. But I generally don;t paddle in those conditions.
But the popularity of these
overpriced pigs continues to grow. Hopefully this trend, no doubt
hurried along by the drivers of mammoth SUVs, will some day abate,
and the sensibility of an open canoe will once again prevail.
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