Inuit Paddles

[Rob H]

Are there any vocal advocates of Inuit paddles here?
Two years ago I made one just to try after seeing them advertised.
I felt rather unsteady using it the first time out and abandoned it for my old favorite, a left hand control, 75deg "Euro" style paddle.
Last week on a whim I tried it again and found, to my surprise, that I liked it better. I used it long enough to get used to not feathering and it felt steadier.
To my mind, the Inuit style should be a better tool for rolling and bracing, though not as efficient for forward propulsion.
(I have not tried rolling with it yet.)

So have other people gone through this stage?
Has anyone used an Inuit paddle for a period and then gone back to Euro-style?
Does anyone use an Inuit paddle for white water kayaking?

[G. Schollmeier]

I use a Greenland style stick and wouldn't go back. It lets me keep a good pace without wearing me out. But I paddle my kayak for enjoyment not raceing.
Gary

[Todd Bradshaw]

I've used them a bit and kind of liked them. After 30 years of 90 degree feathered whitewater and 60 degree feathered touring paddles, I did have some trouble adjusting to unfeathered blades. To really be dependable in bad conditions, the blade angle of your "off" hand needs to be "eyes-closed-automatic" should you need to roll or brace, so it might take a while to make the mental adjustment.

They should be fine for rolling and bracing since the majority of the energy in both comes from the body and hips, rather than water being pushed by the paddle. I can't imagine using one for whitewater though. Just not enough immersed blade area in shallow water situations.

For touring, I liked the low swing-weight of the Inuit-style paddle. Much of it's weight is centered and you are moving it while paddling but not really lifting it, unlike a lot of modern, blade-heavy touring paddles - especially the inexpensive ones.

I must admit that I'm pretty spoiled by the carbon fiber Werner that I use most of the time, but it doesn't have the aesthetic feel of a wooden paddle or the built-in "link to the past feeling" that the Inuit paddle has.

One of these days, I'll build another Inuit-style paddle - but I'll probably break tradition and put in a 60 degree feather so that I don't accidentally lean on it in the surf without considering blade angle and roll right over.

[Stephen]

Have you looked at this link yet:

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/cbrown/pdlemk.htm

[Ron Williamson]

Rob
By Inuit do you mean unfeathered or do you mean a 1x4 8' long that is necked down at the grip?
I currently use three paddles,all unfeathered.One is a wide blade Grey Owl(too short and too stiff).The next is a plastic/glass AMT(not bad but clunky).My favourite paddle is one that I made from white ash.Swmbo hates it because it is too flexible(which is why I like it).
I have never been able to use a feathered paddle with any kind of success because of a physical problem(I'm a unco-ordinated goof, splash, slice, splash,slice AARRRRGGGHHH!!!!)
Have fun
R

[Will]

I've always suspected that the Inuit style of paddle had mostly to do with the traditionally available building material .What's the maximum diameter of the trees or driftwood in those parts ?

[Rob H]

My Inuit paddle is carved from a beautiful 2x4 that I found in a lumberyard years ago. It is 84" long with 4 1/2" wide blades (I scarfed on slivers of poplar for ding resistance.)
The blade cross section is a simple foil shape, no ridges hollows or spoons. The foil seems to produce good "lift" in the water during sweeping brace strokes.
I had looked over some paddles made by friends and then just sort of improvised the design.
Regular spoon bladed paddles are terribly fragile unless their blades are reinforced somehow. My homemade jobs have blades of 4mm okoume ply which I sprung to a lengthwise curve and ******ed on both sides. I really like them, especially the newer, smaller one, but now I want to explore the Inuit style and see what possibilities lie in wait. I thought about building a feathered one, but decided that it was too soon for me to go that far. Have to prove that I can roll with the unfeathered model first. Maybe tomorrow?

[Rob H]

Reality check!
I went out for a short spin on the Merrimack yesterday. Lovely day it was. On my return to the seawall I stopped for a bit of rolling practice with my svelte new Inuit paddle.

Boy, big surprise! Have we gotten a bit rusty?
My bracing was OK, but when I went over and tried to roll up, I couldn't make it.
The little blade just didn't have enough oomph to get me upright. Guess I'm too used to relying on a paddle with big, fat blades.

Finally I popped the skirt and swam the boat over to the ramp. Good thing the skills police weren't watching!
I'd love to blame it on the Inuit paddle, but, frankly, I think the problem was sloppy technique. After all, I've SEEN people roll using their bare hands, for cryin' out loud!
I hereby resolve to get my roll back solid before I venture more than a 100 feet from the beach.

[Todd Bradshaw]

It's not a bad idea to spend some warm, summer afternoon learning one of the extended paddle rolls (holding the paddle by one end, rather than the normal place) to go with your screw roll as a back-up. The layed-back extended rolls, in particular, give you tremendous leverage. You can just about pry yourself upright with no help from your hips at all. Since you don't come up with normal paddling hand positions, they are less desirable than screw rolls as a primary roll, but as a second attempt before bailing out they work pretty well.