colas said..hgrimberg said..
Well, what some other people say is that a big blade on a small board can make the board turn too much with only one stroke,
Sorry, but these people do not know what they are talking about.
What makes the board turn is when you paddle in the wrong direction. Look at the explanations in the post:
www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=43629 It put the picture here too:
If your paddle force is along the green arrow, you will not turn, whatever the force you exert. You will even be able to turn towards the paddle.
If you turn, it is because you paddle along the pink arrow, and the amount of force wont change anything. If your car is heading out of the road, the remedy is to turn the wheel, not use a smaller motor.
The choice between big blade or small blade should be based on the kind of "motor" you want: big torque at low speed or high in the revs?
Humm, I tried last weekend what you said about the ways of paddling straight or with an angle and honestly, it was impossible to realize what I was doing on the water. It looks like I really can't control in what direction I paddle. It is like trying to control how you breathe. You just do it intuitively.
In any case, the point these people that uses small blades have is that on waves, the smaller the blade, the better, the lighter. But yes, if their waves period is longer than us surfing mostly beachbrakes, then their cadence can be higher and they don't need a very powerful stroke to get into the wave as we do. There is always a decisive moment with beachbrakes right when you get into the wave. One powerful stroke decides if you are in or you are out. There is no second chance for a second stroke. It is just that powerful one. And therefore, you need a bigger blade for it.
I looked into Naish wave paddles and the only one model they have, has a big blade.
so I don,t doubt his knowledge but its IMO its just an opinion very location based.
