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On 13-Jun-2004, (Gene Cosloy) wrote:

I'm quite comfortable with a 60 degree feathered paddle and understand
the advantages in windy situations. However I've recently begun to
learn and practice Braces. would't the learning curve be quicker in
learning to brace quickly either side if you used an unfeathered
paddle?

Maybe, but you'd not necessarily be learning the right thing.

Same goes for learning to roll?

You should learn to roll without any reference to indexing. If you
_need_ to roll, you can't rely on your paddle being perfectly oriented.
In fact, once you learn to roll with any setup, you should immediately
work on learning to roll without setup.

I really don't have to think
about feathering with my index hand since the forward stroke has
become second nature or intuitive due to repetion. Bracing, or rolling
however is not yet intuitive and during practive I forgot to twist my
wrist on the index side and the brace failed by having the paddle dive
into the water with me following. I know the stock answer will be with
practice, the proper indexing will also become intuitive during
bracing /rolling.

No, the stock answer is not to use indexing in rolling and bracing.
The handedness of a paddle is for forward stroke only. When using
a paddle for a forward stroke, you use _one_ hand to control the
blade angle. If the paddle is set to the correct feather for the
type of stroke you're using, the control is almost non-existent.
You only need control if the feather doesn't match your technique.
Note that it is a myth that unfeathered paddles don't need such
control.

When rolling and bracing (or for that matter, sculling, drawing, prying
etc) you use the hand closest to the paddle blade to control that blade.
Hence if you brace on the right, use the right hand for control. If
you brace on the left, use the left hand. That means that it doesn't
matter whether you are using a feathered or unfeathered paddle, the
control is the same. For that matter, it doesn't matter what feather
angle you use (e.g. 30, 45, 60, 75, 90), the control is the same.

What this means though, is you have to develop the ability to use the
off-hand (i.e. the left hand if you use a right hand controlled paddle)
to grip and control the paddle correctly. With practice, it becomes
natural.

I use both feathered and unfeathered paddles and have a variable feather
Euro paddle. I don't have problems with bracing or rolling since getting
away from the idea of one control hand.

Does it not make more sense to switch to an unfeathered
paddle for all strokes and trade off the few times wind becomes a
severe issue

I carry a Greenland-style storm paddle as a spare. Regardless of what
paddle I'd use on a given day, that one is used with a sliding stroke
if the headwinds are really brutal. Since it's short enough to get
out of the wind, feather is not an issue.

Mike

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