Piros said...laceys lane said...Piros said...
I say yes for BOP but no for Downwind , that's where you need a longer paddle.
What's your theory on that one Lacey ?
normal lengh surf about head- 6". that's so when you spread your legs in a surf stance, the short surf paddle is all of a sudden is the right lenght. absolutely useless to paddle with in a normal stance not catching a wave. now add a way thicker bop board. all of a sudden the paddle is just above your head. now on the bop board, put your bottom hand down the shaft the normal width apart- you will be bent over reaching for it(the water) or you will have your hands 1 foot apart which is useless too. if you did the whole bop race in a surfer stance it might help, but you still have the extra thickness of the board to contend with. the reverse applies to a longer bop paddle to surf with- it's going to hinder you catching waves. a trade off lenght is exactly that- a trade off meaning not really good at either
if you are serious enough to do a bop race, just get the right paddle.
cheers
ps disc no ties with any paddle companies
So what are saying +6" for surfing + 10" BOP & Downwind ? understand your point BUT still don't agree though , I'm quiet comfortable with my surfing blade on a 12-6 especially playing in the surf which is what the BOP is.
and with the predicted N.E soup for this weekends race at the Kirra , I reckon Jacko's right you will see people grabbing below the T piece on 10"+ paddles.
i do a lot of ins and outs and surf 12'6's, i think 10' above is fine. dw ing i would go 13'. one time i tried a 10" er on my 8'6 to surf with. fantastic to paddle with and use for stability, but catching waves was a nightmare- my arms weren't long enough
most of the good paddlers seem to be having their hands further apart then usual, so when they pulled down and back their bottom hand is down at there knee's thus giving the appearance they are using shorter paddles. i'm using a marker tape at the moment to keep my hands further apart
i know for a fact when kelly saw the qb chap at the bop, he came away with longer paddles than the one he was using- kelly said he wanted to stay straighter( very interesting stuff kelly was telling us about from his meeting with the head qb chief)
he knows a lot more about paddling than most and that's good enough for me
i think some of you guys think this paddle and paddling stuff is my home spun theories, but most of this stuff comes direct from the best
cheers
