Direction of paddle - concave or convex towards the back?

[cbaywolf]

I just got a Tower inflatable which came with a 3 piece paddle (and I'm a newbie).  The angle of the paddle is a little hard to figure out as it doesn't look completely concave in either direction- it almost has a swale to it, and looks like it could go either direction.  But from their website, their own FAQ seems to be counter-intuitive to what you would think for paddling.  You would think that the concave side should be facing towards the back- but this is from their website:  is this normal technique?  I did a rental at a lake a few weeks prior, and the instructor said the concave side should face backwards (were they wrong)?

From their FAQ:
-Do I paddle with the SUP blade
angle forward or backward?

Answer:

When most people get on a paddle board for the first time, they always seem to grab the paddle backwards. They grab it such that the angle on the blade carves back towards them. The proper way is exactly the opposite. You want the paddle to angle away from you to the front. It has something to do with the bend and recoil that this forward angle creates.

[Subber]

From their FAQ:
-Do I paddle with the SUP blade
angle forward or backward?

Answer:

When most people get on a paddle board for the first time, they always seem to grab the paddle backwards. They grab it such that the angle on the blade carves back towards them. The proper way is exactly the opposite. You want the paddle to angle away from you to the front. It has something to do with the bend and recoil that this forward angle creates.

Yup....and, the reason it angles forward is so that when the paddle is a bit behind you or past you,
you are not scooping water up, which at that point, would slow you down.

It also lets you reach to a point further forward of the board to begin your paddle stroke.

[raf]

The answer is correct, but the reasoning is unhelpful.  Look at a paddler with good posture, arms straight, blade near their feet at the end of a stroke.  Notice the negative angle of the paddle shaft.  If the blade was in the same plane as the shaft, it would be driving the board forwards AND down.  You don't want to drive your board down.  So a blade that has a 10-12 degree angle will still be perpendicular to the water plane (i.e.. efficiently driving your boards FORWARD) until the stroke clears your feet.  At the start of your stroke (the catch), your blade will be pulling the board UP (off the water plane, unweighting it) and FORWARD.  Thats my version anyhow. 

[yugi]

wolf, The FAQ and the above posts refer to the angle of the blade with respect to the shaft.

To answer your question: yes, the side of the blade facing backwards is typically, but not always, slightly concave.

[hbsteve]

I have seen several paddles like that.  I can't tell by looking from the side of the other paddler which way the paddle goes. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Puamana4me]

If you cant determine which way the paddle should be "paddled" (hydrodynamics of each particular paddle)..........IMO it is a piece of junk.


And there is ALOT of junk out there now.

[Zooport]

You can spot a newbie 100 yards away by which way the paddle is facing.  Almost everybody, including me, held the paddle the wrong way at first because it is, as you say, counter intuitive.  Once you understand the principle like has been explained above, it makes sense.   

[Green Water Sports]

Check out my article about holding the paddle: http://greenwatersports.com/3129/how-to-hold-a-sup-paddle

[stoneaxe]

I always hate this topic. I didn't use a paddle backwards the 1st time I went out on a SUP......but that's only because Bill told me the two beautiful wooden ones I had just spent 50 hours building (before I actually ever saw a SUP) were backwards......

[Zooport]

I always hate this topic. I didn't use a paddle backwards the 1st time I went out on a SUP......but that's only because Bill told me the two beautiful wooden ones I had just spent 50 hours building (before I actually ever saw a SUP) were backwards......

That's because you used a left handed saw. 


.

[Puamana4me]

last time I told a guy in west Maui waters that his paddle was backwards, he started arguing with me about how he did not think it was backwards.

now I just laugh , and don't say a word

I also stay as far away as possible from these paddlers, and even my prone surfing buddies (that don't sup) stay away as well, as even they know !!!!!! LOL

[Zooport]

last time I told a guy in west Maui waters that his paddle was backwards, he started arguing with me about how he did not think it was backwards.

now I just laugh , and don't say a word

I also stay as far away as possible from these paddlers, and even my prone surfing buddies (that don't sup) stay away as well, as even they know !!!!!! LOL

Hmmm.  You might be joking, but that's actually an interesting concept.  Proners complain about out of control SUPs, but it's usually those who have no business being in the surf yet that give us a bad name.  It would be interesting to somehow make it known that it may be possible to spot those dangerous ones by looking at their paddles.  Of course, it wouldn't be fool-proof, but it would help to identify the people with little experience.