Can somebody please explain to me about the new (you beaut) Elite Quick Blade Racer with the dimple back that looks like a golf ball. the Hawaiian are raving about this new dimple elite back blade?
Question
How does it work?
What does it do?
I’m so curious & am looking for a answer what’s so good about it

Legendary Aussie paddler Mike Mills Thom manufactures a paddle called the slingshot. This paddle features a smaller blade but with a deep concave almost like a spoon. Idea being to hold water in concave. People rave about this paddle and the Coffs teams do pretty well using it.

I would imagine the theory in the dimples is to allow the dimples to catch and hold additional Water in the dimples. Kind of like a far less extreme version and with multiple concave sections. By gripping water in these dimples would also reduce flutter.

I haven't seen these paddles but in my own paddles I have made I have experimented with the same blade with a scoop and without. Having a dihedral and scoop fro
what I learnt allows cleaner entry, better hold and reduced flutter also.

Would love to try or see this new paddle, when are they due in Oz?

boofy said...

I am thinking it wouldnt make much difference at all with the millions of dollars that have gone into hull design of watercraft over the years I think we would have seen it on hulls by now if it gave any advantage
Boof

Kind of respectfully disagree here. Boat hulls slip parallel to the water or laminar flow. A paddle is designed to trap or hold water on it's face so that you can effectively pull yourself past the point where you have planted the blade. Know what I mean?

hey guys, i was over in southern CAL in feb and i dropped into see jimmy, his mates with a good mate of mine over there and we spoke about this paddle. its about getting better grip on the water and release from the water his been working on them for awhile. he was saying he was going to send some over for jamie, mick and shack so maybe have a chat to them and see if they have them.

Thanks everyone for getting back to me. Yes I do have one of these Elite Races with the dimple head I just got it on Friday for when I go to Maui on Thursday. This is my opinion I'm not very impressed with the times I'm recording on it I know I have done heaps better as my GPS Garmin 305 Forerunner dosn't lie.

Yes the blade did feel like this (To the paddler, the blade should feel like it’s planted in concrete when it goes in the water). But I felt really fatigued at 10k's

Good luck in Hawaii Phil.. Don't forget your camera..

DJ

Downwinder said....
I'll tell you all about it when I get back home in about 10 weeks
DW

Haha, rub it in !! Have fun too !

CMC - it says dimple back, not dimple front.... I thought you were talking about front.... can't see the dimples doing too much though (on either face!).

I remember Morey Boogie Boards (Body Boards) playing around with dimple bottoms on the slick skins, but the general consensus was it didn't do too much, and it fell by the way side. Rider experience, timing, wave quality, etc, was probably a much bigger influence.

Dimples on either face: My $5 note is firmly planted on "fad" not "faster" !!

If Danny Ching or similar quality athlete wins using one, I'd put it down to the athlete, not the paddle.

(edit: I have not tried the new paddle yet)

well, i was lucky enough to have a go of one. this paddle didn't have the u beaut shaft of a normal er paddle. i thought entry into the water was smooth and fast, which from my understanding is what they where aiming for. the exit was nice to, but jacko felt it held to much water coming out. he might post on this !!!!. also this paddle had a plastic handle that had a pattern for grip in-layed which was terrible and i'm sure would rip your hands to bits, hope that's not going to be on the more expensive qb's. i like it, but it's not going to replace my qb er unless i snap mine or something. i would look at it in the future
cheers

Simondo said...

Downwinder said....
I'll tell you all about it when I get back home in about 10 weeks
DW

Haha, rub it in !! Have fun too !

CMC - it says dimple back, not dimple front.... I thought you were talking about front.... can't see the dimples doing too much though (on either face!).

I remember Morey Boogie Boards (Body Boards) playing around with dimple bottoms on the slick skins, but the general consensus was it didn't do too much, and it fell by the way side. Rider experience, timing, wave quality, etc, was probably a much bigger influence.

Dimples on either face: My $5 note is firmly planted on "fad" not "faster" !!

If Danny Ching or similar quality athlete wins using one, I'd put it down to the athlete, not the paddle.

(edit: I have not tried the new paddle yet)

Thanks Simondo
I agree with your comment

Like LSD and the guy that actually made the paddle said a paddle is meant to hold in te water, DW said he felt fatigued after 10ks with it when he normally paddles 50. My comment was that the dimples would increase surface area and trap extra water. From what DW says I'd say it worked at doing that. Did DW get the same 12" blade that he normally uses as well as dimples? If so it probably held as much water as a 12 1/2 or whatever hence the added fatigue.I don't know that he usually uses a 12 but I know it's big.

Like surfboard fins if you can increase the efficiency and hold of the fin with better design you can reduce area with the same hold.

PS Simondo my assumption is that by back DW means the power face of the paddle.

worrier said...

I can remember having a sailboard with the dimples on the bottom way back in my glory days, 1980's I think.
Local shaper (Geoff Hillwood, scalpel windsurfers) was making some of the best boards around at that time and was puttin em on some of the asymetrical boards we were riding in this area. From memory they were about 5-10mm deep, octagonal shape and about 90mm diameter.Think there was about 10 of em altogether on the bottom.
Sort of just died out and then the asymetrical boards died out as well.
W

Ed Angulo was also doing them on the bottom of their windsurfer boards.. They seemed to work ok.

Mark Angulo used them and he told me what a pain it was for the glassers and sanders.

btw.. I'd love to see asym boards come back in SUP boards..

DJ

America 2 applied dimples to the hull,america 3 didn't,iguess that sort of answers the performance question.

CMC said...

boofy said...

I am thinking it wouldnt make much difference at all with the millions of dollars that have gone into hull design of watercraft over the years I think we would have seen it on hulls by now if it gave any advantage
Boof

Kind of respectfully disagree here. Boat hulls slip parallel to the water or laminar flow. A paddle is designed to trap or hold water on it's face so that you can effectively pull yourself past the point where you have planted the blade. Know what I mean?

I’d like to thank everybody who replied to this topic very interesting quotes
My opinion this Dimple Blade sound great in theory but goes like s##t when used that’s just my experience
DW