i dont know much about canoe/kayak paddles but i do know a little about high pressure steam and hydro turbines and their blades...
if youre trying to get the most out of an impulse it is usually best to use a curved blade shaped like a bucket...has anyone given any thought to or tried using a curved paddle blade??
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c310/steamroller1/5.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c310/steamroller1/6-1.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c310/steamroller1/1-1.jpg)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c310/steamroller1/2-2.gif)
(http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c310/steamroller1/4-2.png)
No but I have thoght about putting a prop on an old beater weedwhacker. :o
well canoe paddles have to be some of the most primitive* of tools still in use . . .
the good thing is we have a lot of sharp people working on the problem as it relates to stand up paddling
closest thing I can think of to the turbine is the wing paddle used in kayak/surf ski racing but they use a different blade shape for each side
i keep looking at this paddle (with the C4 for comparison)* and thinking it might be a design to try (using the blade shape on the right since I can't envision a single bladed paddle not being symmetric). It has a real dihedral blade, curves top to bottom, and side to side. Great wave ski/kayak surfing paddle, grabs a lot of water, and gets you up on plane quickly
(http://lh5.ggpht.com/RVMushman/SN8wPbuo32I/AAAAAAAAAuo/lK2Anr4KavI/s400/paddle_compare.jpg)
(http://lh4.ggpht.com/RVMushman/SN8wPjNiD-I/AAAAAAAAAuw/JHQztoPgbEQ/s400/paddle_side.jpg)
but i have no talent working with glass much less carbon fiber so I'll keep buying what the guys who do will make . . . when they let me buy one
Aloha - David
* there is a paddle above the fire place at my cousin's house that has to date back to the 1800's and it looks very close to the outline of this paddle
My ZRE has a subtle curve as do several others but I think the trick is getting a clean entry and exit with a spooned blade
The new Werner Carve Surf paddle has a spooned blade. Just picked one up and will try this week. Narrower than my Kialoa so should be interesting.
The Quickblade Peahi is so scooped it made me fall in when I tried to use it. Big blade too. I was much more the newb at the time and couldn't control it...kept shooting off to the side. Grabs water like nothing else I've tried though.
http://www.kenalu.com/forums/ask-how/quickblade-peahi/ (http://www.kenalu.com/forums/ask-how/quickblade-peahi/)
I built a wooden paddle with a more subtle scoop that I really liked ....until I broke it. The scoop also released at the bottom so it acts like a reverse dihedral...no flutter. Not sure if it would catch in surf when skimming though. Never got a chance to get it into anything big.
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa317/stoneaxe/number4-blade002.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa317/stoneaxe/sup-paddle-4004.jpg)
(http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa317/stoneaxe/number4-blade005.jpg)