Building Laminated Canoe Paddles

[Pseudonym]

There was some reference in a John Winters article that suggested that a plain cloth paddle face might result in better paddle performance, due to the somewhat rougher texture on the face creating more turbulence during a power stroke. I haven't personally tried that yet, but there is some technical suggestion that there may be an advantage to leaving the face unfilled, as you do.

I wonder if any of this could be analogous to the dimples on a golf ball?

"Function of Dimples​

Dimples on a golf ball are crucial for its performance. They help reduce air resistance, known as drag, and increase lift. This allows the ball to travel farther and more accurately compared to a smooth ball. The dimples create a thin layer of turbulent air around the ball, which clings to its surface and minimizes the wake behind it."​

 

[Woodpuppy]

The same principle has been discussed with respect to boat and canoe hull finishes/surface treatments.

 

[Pseudonym]

Ah, yes, upon further review, the rotation of the ball is critical to the function of the dimples, and absent a stroke with furiously continuous palm rolls... not applicable.

I rescind my earlier comment so as to avoid derailing Marc's wonderful thread!

 

[ABT]

Ah, yes, upon further review, the rotation of the ball is critical to the function of the dimples, and absent a stroke with furiously continuous palm rolls... not applicable.

I rescind my earlier comment so as to avoid derailing Marc's wonderful thread!

Yes, maybe not analogous to golf ball surface turbulence, but at a minimum the rougher weave surface does increase surface area, which should increase drag and therefore decrease some of the inherent slippage in a paddle stroke. At least when just “pulling the boat to a planted paddle” as the common way of explaining the physics of the catch and power stroke is often described. Whether that increased surface area is noticeable would be the question. How comparable is the increased SA to simply increasing the blade width a small amount? That might be an interesting investigation…

 

[Marc Ornstein]

Ah, yes, upon further review, the rotation of the ball is critical to the function of the dimples, and absent a stroke with furiously continuous palm rolls... not applicable.

I rescind my earlier comment so as to avoid derailing Marc's wonderful thread!

Not a derail, at all. In fact, I anticipated this discussion and thought about initiating it my self. My personal take, after having read much of the "dimple theory", quite some time ago is that IF there would be any advantageous effect to leaving the cloth texture, it would be minimal to non-existent. I've tried to see if I could detect any difference between the performance of my River blade as compared to my Freestyle blade and I cannot detect any, except for some minor, additional turbulence when slicing the River blade. I suspect that is due mostly to it's thicker edges, as compared to my freestyle blade. Both blades are the same size and shape and both paddles are the same length.

 

[dutchlennart]

Personally I have not tested the surface comparison. I read that piece numorous times.
I am a firm believer in sharp edges on paddles. And a bit of volume in the middle.

 

[Marc Ornstein]

In response to several questions about the edging around my river and shallow water special blades, it is Dynel cord, saturated with epoxy. Dynel is commonly sold as a thin cloth but it is also available as "cord". The material that I use is very much like a very heavy shoe lace, approximately 1/2" wide and 1/4 inch thick, prior to being saturated and compressed. Used in this manner it makes for a highly abrasion and impact resistant edge. Application is a bit tricky as it must be uniformly saturated and compressed. Being as thick as it is, it does not saturate easily.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

As for the clothespins, they are on the opposite side of the blade as well. Had I taken the photo from a different angle they would have been shown.

Ahh. I misinterpreted the photo. I thought the paddle was flat on the table surface with the clothespins side protruding over the edge. I now can see the entire blade has been elevated off the table surface.

Marc, you have referred to your different paddle models in several posts, and in one picture I see paddles with seemingly different blade shapes hanging by a window. Perhaps at some point you could show us a comparison photo of your shallow water model vs. the others.