Hand paddle
A hand paddle is a variant of a common paddle for kayakers , which is mainly used for training purposes.
As a rule, two hand paddles are always used, one in front of each hand. Practically every palm is enlarged and lengthened by the hand paddles. This allows paddlers to exert more pressure on the water and (while sitting in the boat) reach deeper into the water than when paddling with bare hands. H. without a paddle.
Hand paddles resemble plastic disks about one and a half palm long, usually with small holes, to which tight, elastic straps are attached; the straps are passed through to secure the hand paddles in front of the palm. Many hand paddles have asymmetrical shapes. Unlike conventional paddles, in which the two paddle blades are connected by a shaft, hand paddles are in no way connected to one another.
The hand paddles generally serve the same purpose as the paddle blades of conventional paddles; In other words, they can be pulled through the water, propped up on the water, etc. (see paddle stroke ). Hand paddles are mostly used for practice, for example as a first step in learning to hand roll ( Eskimo roll without paddle) or to learn some canoe odeo figures. Some canoeists also use hand paddles on white water , for example on standing waves in the canoe odeo . Only very occasionally do extreme paddlers use hand paddles, even on extremely demanding stretches, such as when they sailed the Rhine Falls in 2007 .
The range of hand paddling is naturally limited by the arm length of the kayaker. It is therefore significantly smaller than with conventional paddles, and the area of hand paddles does not come close to the area of conventional paddle blades. As a result, hand paddles are unsuitable for paddling longer distances, and techniques such as paddle support are only possible to a limited extent.
Individual proof
- ↑ History of the Rhine Falls visits. on playboaters.de (accessed March 6, 2009)