Paddling a solo canoe with a Greenland style paddle?

I am a staunch single blade guide stroke paddler, I paddle my tandems solo with my dog and our kit. As I can no longer kneel, I needed a way to paddle more powerfully in river current or against a wicked wind crossing large lakes.
Although I hate to admit it, the Greenland is very light, easy to swing in high wind, gives my loaded canoe significant oomph and I can SCREAM across the water empty. I just got back from (yesterday) from a 9 day solo with my dog and needed the paddle crossing open water in 20 plus mph winds with driving rain. Will not trip without one anymore.

I have neoprine drip catchers and they work outstanding! My paddle is extra long, had it made special so as not to need a high angle stroke, will measure for you if you would like. I still prefer my single blade, but will always have my double blade with me. It is amazing


I am still learning to resist the urge to kneel while tripping, sitting just feels wrong. However, I can still day paddle and trip when sitting so it has become a necessary adjustment to make. As such, using the Greenland paddle significantly improves my ability to paddle in conditions where a single blade would just be too taxing. Weighing in around a pound, it is not unreasonable on a portage either.

Bob.

Glenn MacGrady said:

You don't have to go anywhere else to learn how to make a so-called Greenland paddle. Here's how to make one for two dollars in two hours:

Clark Bowlen used a balsa wood 2x4 to get the lightest weight GP possible.

Here are the correct historical dimensions for GP paddles and also how to paddle GP style, per the research of the late Inuit expert John Heath, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a lecture years ago:

Making a West Greenland Paddle

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I hadn't heard of Clark Bowlen. Wow his skin on fram canoe builds look very interesting! Are there other threads here where folks discuss the his builds?

BirchBeer said:

I hadn't heard of Clark Bowlen. Wow his skin on fram canoe builds look very interesting! Are there other threads here where folks discuss the his builds?

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Clark is not the fellow in the video I posted and he never made SOF's. Clark was a paddling friend who I used as example of someone who hand-carved a GP from a hunk of wood. In his case, he chose balsa solely because he wanted the lightest weight possible. I assume varnish kept the water out of that paddle.

@Bob B. I'd be curious as to the length of your GP, and what the deal with the neoprene drip catchers is, since my kayak paddle drip rings don't help that much in the canoe.

Like many here I'm smitten with the grace of single-blade canoeing, and have a hard time leaving the dog at home, so my kayaks sit unused most of the time these days. I carved a GP last year but have only used it once, the one day I took the kayak out instead of the canoe. Hadn't thought to try the GP with the canoe, not sure it's long enough. I nearly always carry a collapsible Euro kayak paddle in the canoe for fighting upwind. It really is more efficient, but it lacks the grace and I do have drip issues. I also use the kayak paddle when standing for both paddling and punting (it's adjustable 240-250cm). Works well for punting, but j-stroking standing up with a Euro kayak paddle stinks. I end up switching sides often - it's very inefficient (I mostly do it to stretch after being in the boat a long time). A GP might be way better for standing paddling, allowing for a smoother J or C stroke or even in-water recovery. Might even be interesting to have a wooden pole with ends shaped like a GP paddle (with an epoxy tip). When paddling with a pole to cross deep spots or do sweep strokes, there's a lot of cavitation on the end of a pole. Shaping it like a GP would fix that...tho it might introduce other issues (like sinking in mud more).

Tsuga8,

I believe my paddle is 111 inches long, ( so like 282 cm ) I will measure and if incorrect will repost. With this length I can low angle paddle and not sling drips forward on to the head of my dog and with neoprene drip catchers my thighs, hands and canoe stay dry as well. I will repost with the name of them, I will have to go out and have a look.

I bungee the paddle to bow and stern thwarts when portaging, place one blade in the stern an one just outside port gunnel forward of the yoke when paddling. I paddle mostly on my right ( starboard ) and paddle tandem canoes set up as solo so the length of this long paddle has not been an issue for me.

If I could kneel when paddling, I would have no need for it. However, I can not kneel anymore so I have to adjust if I want continue to wilderness trip.

If I hunch over when standing, it makes a passable poling tool. Mine is made of cedar. I like how light it is and enjoy the slight flex in it while paddling, it is easier on my joints.

the above link is the company that sells the neoprene drip catchers if anyone is interested.

Bob.

(Glenn, if this is too much of a non canoe type post let me know and I will delete)

Bob B. said:

Although I hate to admit it, the Greenland is very light, easy to swing in high wind, gives my loaded canoe significant oomph and I can SCREAM across the water empty.

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Bob, I'm curious as to why, after your knees went, you decided on a GP instead of a more common EP . . . or did you try an EP first and find it lacking in some respect?
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Tangent: I like words and am fascinated by the now-universal double blade terminology of Greenland paddle vs. Euro paddle—as if no place in the Americas or anywhere else in the world historically used or made double bladed paddles other than Greenland and Europe. Besides, Greenland has been politically and culturally part of Europe for over 1,000 years, so GP vs. EP is sort of geographically ambiguous if not tautologous. I wonder about the etymology of those names.

Hey Glenn,

as to why a GP … well I like to say because of lower resistance to strong winds when paddling. The truth is, I really hate
… deep sorrow … that I can longer kneel. That means my coveted wood canvas canoe does get paddled as well as I know I can make her move. Canvas packs and wood ribs just do it for me. Having to succumb to the realization of having to sit …I really had to learn how to paddle again, I was so terribly weak when sitting. The thought of having to use a paddle made of plastic and or carbon ( while totally acceptable to many ) was just too bitter a pill for me. Therefore, my concession was to find an all wood paddle …. That lead me down a path to the GP.

I have since gotten much better at paddling, having to use a back rest and foot rest. I can once again effectively paddle with a guide stroke ( just returned from a 10 day trip to BWCA with my side kick canoe dog Jake ). I seldom use the GP, but when I need it I am glad to have it. Being made of dark cedar wood, it looks nice also … so much more pleasing to me than a Euro paddle. I guess my mind tries to tell me if it is hand carved it is not as much of a defeat resorting to its use.

Bob.

Bob, I've never been a kneeler, but always been a single sticker. Sounds like a country song, lol. What problems do you have when paddling from a sitting position?

Hey Mem,

When kneeling, my torso is straight and being long in torso I can paddle with so much power in long easy slow strokes. Sitting, my lower back ( history of issues ) bothers me, I have a hard time keeping my torso straight, not hunched, I have less reach on the paddle stroke and I work harder for less power in stroke, much less rotation in my trunk so paddle with my arms more than my body.

For day paddling it is annoying but for a trip, especially with open water, it was not possible. With foot brace and back rest I can maintain better paddle posture. This allows me to get back to more efficient paddling with a tripping load over larger bodies of water.

Bob.

Bob B. said:

I believe my paddle is 111 inches long, ( so like 282 cm )

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Wowza, I bet it'd be tough to find a clear length of straight-grained maple that long these days! Cedar might be a good alternative. I measured mine and it's only 220cm - way too short for a canoe I'd guess. Still, I'll probably bring it out to try stand up paddling with it for kicks. Thanks for checking that length, and for the drip guard link, Bob!

Glenn - I think you know this, but it seems to me that GP and Euro are just the linguistic shorthand these days. I imagine many paddlers know the history, and know that there are other cultures with similar paddle shapes in both cases (e.g. especially Aleut paddles vs GPs), just like the person who asks for a Kleenex knows they might get a different brand of tissue that has similar form and function. But, to nerd out on your tangent for a moment, it's an interesting point that Greenland's been in Europe's sphere for 1,000 yrs, but the Greenland paddle style predates that, and I don't know that the design of either the kayak or the GP were well known or popular in Europe until the last tenth or so of that 1,000 yrs. I think (source needed) that the term 'Euro' blade originates not from Europe per se, but as a distinction between paddle design post-European colonization of the Americas as compared to pre-Euro-colonization designs, e.g. the GP (and others).

memaquay said:

Bob, I've never been a kneeler

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Who's this fellow in a John Winters Raven, and is he kneeling?



To each her own in mixed water paddling, but in the whitewater clubs I've belonged to in the western and northeastern USA, everyone always kneeled in whitewater. That's how it has been taught and that's how whitewater canoes have been outfitted: with thigh straps or thigh machines for kneeling paddlers and with knee pads on the floors.

Flatwater freestyle paddlers all kneel, too.

So do many flatwater paddlers who usually sit, when wind and waves get big, as did Bill Mason and native paddlers.

Maybe some paddlers never kneel, such as sit & switch racers and other sit & switch aficionados. Or paddlers who use very large, stable canoes. Or paddlers who only paddle in calm waters.

To me, kneeling allows the single-sided correction stroke canoeist more power and leverage in each of the four paddling quadrants of the canoe, for both on-side and off-side/cross strokes, and also more heeling control, than does the sitting posture. It also lowers the center of gravity for more stability in rough conditions and more confidence with aggressive maneuvers.

Sitters can increase power and boat control by using foot bars/pedals, back rests and thigh braces.

Some of it is also subjective, probably. I just feel much more connected and "one" with the canoe when I am kneeling.

I do sit periodically in calm, flat waters just for a restful change of posture, to use different muscle groups, to reduce pain in old bones and muscles, or to increase blood circulation to my ankles and feet.

Perhaps there's a sort of canoe culture difference, too, as between Canadian and American solo paddlers over the past half century or so. Canadians still seem to prefer soloing in larger, wider, longer tandem canoes for both white and flat water, whereas American solo canoeists began gravitating more so than Canadians to narrow solo canoes in both white and flat water about 50 years ago. I think that still is the case in very broad generality. However, the Canadian paddlers in dedicated whitewater canoes I've met during that period have been kneelers.

I don't personally know any full-time kneelers. I used to go onto my knees in whitewater, but I don't even do that anymore. I'll sometimes fold one leg half under the seat, and the knee might touch the hull, but its accidental if it happens. I guess if conditions are such that I would be forced to kneel, I'd probably just portage or wait the wind out.

I do remember one hairy day crossing Ara Lake with five and six foot swells in an Osprey, fully loaded, sitting in the seat. I did get on my knees when I got to shore, and I prayed and gave thanks to the mystical entity in the sky who allowed a fool like me to survive a ridiculous crossing that never should have been attempted, seated or kneeling.

Tsuga8,

Many Greenland and Aleut paddles were similar, long and thin. The euro name came about because of the wide canoe like blades on kayak paddles that were also feathered (up to 90 degree offset) from white water paddling. As Brits, Scots, Europeans started taking up sea kayaking in greater numbers that style of paddle was the ONLY way to paddle. Gp paddles for sea kayaking didn't really take off in the states until the late 1990's. I want allowed to use my gp when training for my ACA area kayaking cert in 1995 but they do allow it now.

Idiot Savant said:

I'm not afraid to break with tradition.
I started paddling my solo canoe, with a double bladed paddle, long before it became mainstream.
There is a local seakayak club, that I've paddled with a few times, and Greenland style kayak paddles seem to be very popular.
What I keep hearing from Greenland paddlers is that once they tried the Greenland, they never looked back.
They absolutely love them.
I've tried "European style" low angle paddles and didn't really like them. I go for a high angle model.
So maybe I'm crazy for wanting to try a Greenland, in my canoe, but I do.
My biggest complaint, with paddling a canoe with a double bladed paddle, is all the water that ends up in the boat.
I hear that there is a lot less dripping off a Greenland paddle. That alone might make it worth the switch.
Anyone else tried paddling their canoe with a Greenland paddle?

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I paddle a 14.5' solo canoe on my knees 80% of the time using a 230cm double-blade paddle about 80% of the time--often on rocky rivers. To manage dripping water inside my canoe, I use rubber O-rings at the ends of my paddle shaft plus an innovation I saw posted by a a fishing kayaker. He placed a 2" long length of black tape (doubled against itself, up/down/up 45 degrees on the under side of each blade as it tapers towards the shaft. This directs water down off the paddle before it reaches the shaft, where the O-rings act as secondary water diversions.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Clark is not the fellow in the video I posted and he never made SOF's. Clark was a paddling friend who I used as example of someone who hand-carved a GP from a hunk of wood. In his case, he chose balsa solely because he wanted the lightest weight possible. I assume varnish kept the water out of that paddle.

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I used to paddle often with him in ConnYak in the early 90's .Then there was a cadre of GP lovers. Clark had some trouble loading his craft at Cobscook. When he finished packing ( and had devoted ALL his attention to packing )the 24 foot tide ebbing had produced a few hundred yards of mud flats.. He was some chagrined.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Clark is not the fellow in the video I posted and he never made SOF's. Clark was a paddling friend who I used as example of someone who hand-carved a GP from a hunk of wood. In his case, he chose balsa solely because he wanted the lightest weight possible. I assume varnish kept the water out of that paddle.

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yellowcanoe said:

I used to paddle often with him in ConnYak in the early 90's .Then there was a cadre of GP lovers. Clark had some trouble loading his craft at Cobscook. When he finished packing ( and had devoted ALL his attention to packing )the 24 foot tide ebbing had produced a few hundred yards of mud flats.. He was some chagrined.

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Yes, Clark Bowlen would recite his adventures in the tidal mud flats of Cobscook Bay to those of us who paddled with him there in the 1998-2005 era. He ran annual trips in that area for many years. One year we went all the way to Prince Edward Island.

Here he is on July 18, 2005, at the Cobscook Bay state boat launch area as the tidal mud flats are beginning to be exposed. We were far enough up in the rockier part of the inclined shore not to be in the pure muck area. That's my outrigger canoe on the right of the picture as Clark is staring at the hatched gear in his Necky Tornak.

BobB could add some incite but that would mean admitting he was using a double blade! Maybe he can do it if it is referred to as a GP.

Dave Redmon said:

I paddle a 14.5' solo canoe on my knees 80% of the time using a 230cm double-blade paddle about 80% of the time--often on rocky rivers. To manage dripping water inside my canoe, I use rubber O-rings at the ends of my paddle shaft plus an innovation I saw posted by a a fishing kayaker. He placed a 2" long length of black tape (doubled against itself, up/down/up 45 degrees on the under side of each blade as it tapers towards the shaft. This directs water down off the paddle before it reaches the shaft, where the O-rings act as secondary water diversions.

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Most (All?) kayak paddles come with drip rings. I've found them to be a long way from 100% effective.
I tried the tape thing, a couple summers ago, and didn't find it helpful.
I have a friend that made a cover to catch drips.
I'm currently just using a large block of open cell foam to catch and soak up drips.
I'm wondering if a strategically placed dish pan would work.

Good morning Marten. Yup, the truth is out … I am one who ( on occasion) uses a GP while on a trip. I posted this back in September …

“as to why a GP … well I like to say because of lower resistance to strong winds when paddling. The truth is, I really hate
… deep sorrow … that I can longer kneel. That means my coveted wood canvas canoe does get paddled as well as I know I can make her move. Canvas packs and wood ribs just do it for me. Having to succumb to the realization of having to sit …I really had to learn how to paddle again, I was so terribly weak when sitting. The thought of having to use a paddle made of plastic and or carbon ( while totally acceptable to many ) was just too bitter a pill for me. Therefore, my concession was to find an all wood paddle …. That lead me down a path to the GP.

I have since gotten much better at paddling, having to use a back rest and foot rest. I can once again effectively paddle with a guide stroke ( just returned from a 10 day trip to BWCA with my side kick canoe dog Jake ). I seldom use the GP, but when I need it I am glad to have it. Being made of dark cedar wood, it looks nice also … so much more pleasing to me than a Euro paddle. I guess my mind tries to tell me if it is hand carved it is not as much of a defeat resorting to its use.”

The truth is there are times I am glad to have it as I can paddle faster in nasty stuff, or against winds and current when I have to … and it is light enough when on a port to not really be noticed any more than any other paddle I trip with.

Lately my go to paddle is a Shaw and Tinney guide paddle made of Sassafras ( light and nice flex ) with a real long GP in dark cedar as a back up. On long trips, heavy wind and up current river trips this combo keeps me paddling where without the GP I would likely not be able to go anymore.

Bob.