The efficiency of bent vs. straight shaft paddles

[Odyssey]

Ha, I can't wait for the shout out SHIRTS AND SKINS! Tribalism can be fun sometimes. Sometimes.

 

[gumpus]

Well, since we’re talking about folks using the bent shaft paddle incorrectly, I’ll throw out there that my father to this day, knowing full well how a bent shaft is supposed to be used, still says he prefers to use it the wrong way. To hear him tell it, he prefers the stronger “catch” phase he gets with this method, despite the extra losses from “lifting” water in the later portion of the stroke. I imagine there is some benefit to the catch the way he does it, but the rest may be more ingrained stubbornness on his part than anything.

If you look at Fig 7 in the file that Glenn linked below your post the simulations from varying blade angle from -30 degrees to +30 only impacted boat speed by about 3% (!) so maybe using a bent shaft backwards isn't as big a deal.as it seems. Regarding a more firm catch the top of page 3 shows that the paddle drag force that drives the boat is based on the angle of attack of the blade and is highest when the paddle blade is vertical.. so the catch may be somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-15% stronger using a 12 degree bent backwards.

Maybe he just does it because he knows it pisses you off.