Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: Night Wing on March 27, 2018, 05:20:54 PM
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I had a few errands to run this morning and returned home at 11:30 am. Ate an early lunch. Then checked the water temperature at our subdivisions largest private lake. Water temperature was 66 degrees F. Perfect for me. Air temperature was 83 degrees F with 96% humidity so it felt warmer than it actually was.
What wasn't perfect, there is a weather front slowly make its way across Texas. The wind was out of the southeast at a steady 14 mph with gusts up to 22 mph. This wind condition put a damper on myn different fin setups experiment. With this wind, I decided to only use one single fin setup and the logical choice was my 9" fin. I placed the back of the fin about 1" from the tail end of the 10" Futures fin box.
My paddle equipment included my new Type III manual inflatable vest, my 10' sup leash and my new Naish Alana 75, two piece adjustable paddle. Since I had right shoulder surgery on 3-29-2017, almost a year ago, I was anxious to see how my right shoulder would hold up with my new paddle in these wind conditions. This paddle also has a small diameter shaft which is perfect for my small hands. And the Blue Planet Sup Grip made carrying my board, with the left rail under my right armpit, a pleasure.
https://www.naishsurfing.com/product/alana-75-vario-rds/
The lake had lots of big ripples on it and at times, they broke into very small whitecaps. With these wind conditions, I decided to make it easy on myself. Since the wind was coming from the southeast, I decided to launch my board at the northwest part of the lake. I figured going into the wind would give my surgically repaired right shoulder a good test and coming back, I would have the wind at my back with my back acting as a sail. Which means I could rest on the way back to my launch/starting point.
I made six round trip runs. Mainly because I was really enjoying myself and I hadn't been on my Hammer since the last week in November of 2016.
My One World (OW) was very stable when I first got on it. I decided to use a 75" paddle length to start out with. Just a little ways from shore, I went to a 75.5" length. This suited me better.
Going upwind, I was surprised how easy my OW went upwind with less effort than I anticipated in the high wind. Tracking in a straight line was very good since I could paddle 7 strokes on the right side and then paddled 7 strokes on the left side. I made sure to keep the wind in my face going upwind. If the wind speed wouldn't have been as high as it was, I might have had a chance to get 8 paddle strokes on each side. But that will be for another test on a different day when the wind speed should be lower. I'm hoping for this upcoming Friday.
Coming back to my launch/starting point with the wind at my back, I had a lot of fun just gliding along with the wind pushing me. After three round trips, I adjusted the paddle length to 76" and I think I'm going to settle on this length for flat water paddling for right now.
I didn't try to do any flat water paddling with the wind coming broadside at the board at a 90 degree angle. I figured I was just going to keep it simple today and not tempt "Murphy's Law".
Oh! Almost forgot. Badger, you were correct. I didn't fall off the board and I only got wet up to my knees when I first got on my board and then when I got off of my board at the launch/starting point. Absolutely no problems with my right shoulder. The right shoulder felt strong at the start and it felt strong at the end. I guess all those shoulder exercises I did 3 times a week, in 1 hour sessions for 52 weeks paid off. I have no pain or discomfort in my right shoulder. Full range of mobility, but I had that 4 weeks after surgery so I wasn't concerned about shoulder mobility.
And I came away with a small bonus. My cranky lower back was not cranky. I think the new and proper mattress for my shoulders and back I bought in April of 2017 for sleeping on is the root cause of that. I'll explain later in a different forum.
I'm going to take my OW out again and with the weather iffy for Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I'm looking forward to Friday. I want to test out a 2 + 1 setup (2, 5") and (1, 9"). Then the acid test will be a quad +1 setup, (2, 5") (2, 4") and (1, 2.25"). I will report back in this topic thread.
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First paddle on a new board, how sweet is that. And it also clicks, right on.
Personally I would see a board like that as single fin.
Enjoy the new ride.
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Thanks for reporting out on the new board. Congrats on getting it out in the water.
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Hi Nightwing, welcome back to waterworld!
I am glad your shoulder was 100%, that's awesome :)
Nice report, I like that you discuss PFD and paddle length experimenting, because a lot of folks come here looking for that info (even better with your height included)
For flat-water paddling that shape, I like the single fin option as well.
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I also suggest going with a single fin. There is simply no point in having more than one fin for flatwater.
All the side fins will do is add drag when paddling. Side fins are only for surfing.
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Hi Nightwing, welcome back to waterworld!
I am glad your shoulder was 100%, that's awesome :)
Nice report, I like that you discuss PFD and paddle length experimenting, because a lot of folks come here looking for that info (even better with your height included)
For flat-water paddling that shape, I like the single fin option as well.
I put a lot of time in rehabbing my right shoulder. My orthopedic surgeon told me the shoulder surgery I had would need 12 months to heal and would be fully healed without any problems (no mobility problems, no discomfort of any kind) "as long as I did my part by sticking to my shoulder exercising regimen for 12 months". And he was right.
For the lurkers out there reading this, I'm 5'8" tall and I weigh 145 lbs. My Naish Alana 75, two piece adjustable paddle weighs 19 ounces (1 lb, 3 oz). My Mustang DLX 38 Manual Inflatable PFD (Type III) weighs 22 ounces (1 lb, 6 oz).
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Took my OW out this morning. When I started at 8:00 am, the air temperature was 57 degrees F. The wind was dead calm and the lake water was like glass. Since we had a cold front pass through Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and dumped 5.8" of rain, the water temperature in our largest private lake was a chilly (for me) 64 degrees F. I took all of my fins with me this time, along with my fin key since this day was for evaluating different fin configurations.
I still had the large 9" single fin on my OW. The tracking was still good and since I didn't have to contend with any wind, I could paddle a straight line with 8 paddle strokes on the right side of my board and then I had to switch over to my and do 8 paddle strokes on the left side. The glide was very good and I made sure I placed the blade of the paddle in the same place on the right and left sides/rails of my board. I also took the blade out of the water right around the back of both heels of my feet. I did this padding with all of my different fin setups to not create any deviations in my strokes and where my feet were placed on my board.
After about 30 minutes of paddling around for my first session, I went back to my launching spot and installed two, 5" fins to go along with the single 9" fin.
With this 2 +1 (3 fin setup) configuration, straight line tracking was still the same as with the large 9" single fin. The glide was not as good though. I was expecting this since there was more drag on the tail end of the board. After my second 30 minute paddling session with the 2 + 1 (3 fin setup), I again went back to my launching spot to install a quad + 1 (5 fin setup).
My last 30 minute padding session was spent paddling around with a quad + 1 (5 fin setup) which consisted of (2, 5"), (2, 4") and (1, 2.25" nubster). Again, straight line tracking was good, but there was an oddity this time. Even though the glide of the quad + 1 (5 fin setup) wasn't as good as the single, 9" fin setup, the glide was a lot better than the 2 + 1 (3 fin setup) which was (2, 5") and (1, 9").
I'm not an engineer so I don't know if my physical weight had anything to do with this oddity or where my feet were placed on the board while I was padding, the weight of the board or the design of the board.
But, I am going to take a wild guess and I think it has something to do with the 9" fin in the 2 +1 (3 fin setup) which was (2, 5") and (1, 9"). The 9" fin is long in length and it is a lot thicker than either a 4" fin and like wise with a 2.25" nubster fin.
Just an interesting and quite an unexpected observation.
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I always get a kick out of reading your posts. ;) Your unique way of writing is very entertaining.
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@ Badger
When I was employed in the maritime industry, everything had to be written out in "detail" and this is why I write like I do.
This will be off topic but I'll give you an example what a detail means in conjunction with different topics.
I help out at a computer repair shop. Lots of times we deal with these types of phone calls and it goes like this. A person calls up on the phone saying he did a Windows 10 update and now his laptop has no wifi. So I ask the person what version of Windows 10 is he using? The person says back to me, "I told you it was Windows 10". I then tell the person just bring it in and we'll look at it at no charge to.
Windows 10 is a computer operating system and every six months Microsoft comes out with a new version and each version is slightly different when it comes to repairing things which goes wrong in the operating system due to Microsoft adding and deleting things in each version of Windows 10. So we need some details to get us in the general ball park to figure what went wrong and how to fix it.
Windows 10, version 1511 was the Original
Windows 10, version 1607 was the Anniversary
Windows 10, version 1703 was the Creator's Update
Windows 10, version 1709 was the Fall Creator's Update edition
Windows 10, version 1803 (which will be released in April of 2018) will be named the Spring Creator's Update.
Or I get a person who is a little more tech savvy who has a problem and tells me he is using the Fall Creator's Update, version 1709 of Windows 10. But when we get a look at his laptop, we find out he is not using 1709, he is using the Creator's Update which is version 1703.
Getting back on my fin setup experiment. If I would have changed my paddle stroke, lets say, by making it longer on my second session with the 3 fin setup. Instead of my blade coming out of the water at the back of my foot's heel like on the first session with the single fin setup, but this time 6'" farther back from my foot's heel, this is a detail which would introduce a variable which would affect the glide in relation to the 3 fin setup.
In other words, for all three different fin setups, the paddle stroke must be the same at all times and if it is not, then the results/info is worthless since an error has been introduced because of a change.
So details, no matter how small or how they may be seen by others as irrelevant, are important. It just depends on who is looking at the info.
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If you really want to use the Rick Kane method, try paddling around your lake without any fins.
At first you'll feel like you are slipping sideways until you realize that you can paddle in a straight line with just using a correct paddle stroke, one without sweeping out to the side or pulling too far back.
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With my OW being 30" wide at it's widest part; I try to keep the paddle stroke going from forward to backward, in a straight line, as close to the widest width of the board as possible without the paddle blade hitting the rails. And for me, this is harder to do when it is windy.
If I would try the Rick Kane method, padding without fins on either of my Hammer or my One World, I'm 100% certain I wouldn't be able to stay on the board very long and I would probably spend most of my time falling off the board into the water and then re-mounting the board. After 15-20 minutes of this routine, I'd be worn out. Then I'd "limp back to my home to lick my wounds" as they say. ;)
And although I haven't had an episode with my cranky lower back since December of 2017, I don't want to push my luck either with regards to Murphy's Law and my lower back when it comes to paddling a sup without any fins.
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NW, I think if you tried it without fins, you might be surprised how stable the board still is. A 9" fin doesn't add a whole lot of stability. I doubt you would fall.
I would think with all your attention to detail, a test without fins would hold some very valuable information.
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@ Badger
After seeing your comments, I had to ask myself this question. Would I ever paddle, when it comes to flat water padding, paddle my One World or for that matter, my Hammer without any fins? My answer would be, "No". Why? I do not want to tempt fate at this time. I'll explain.
When I first got my Hammer during the last week of June of 2016, I only used it for two weeks because I got bit by a brown recluse spider which I'm sure you remember. As soon as I saw the spider, I knew it was a brown recluse and I was in big trouble. I kept my cool, killed the spider, brought it back to my home and put the spider in a small plastic vial. I then called my soft tissue surgeon's office (since my soft tissue surgeon has operated on me four separate times and I'm on a first name basis with his entire office staff) and told his staff nurse what happened.
She told me my surgeon was at the regional hospital doing outpatient surgery for that day. She then told me to get myself to the Emergency Room, with the dead spider, but do not check in at the ER desk. The nurse told me she would page my surgeon, tell him what happened to me and he would see me between surgical procedures he had scheduled for that morning.
When my surgeon saw the dead spider and the spider bite on my hand, he took me to a side room. There, he opened up the bite and some black stuff started coming out of it and this stuff was the flesh eating kind of stuff. He dressed it and told me to check and re-dress the bite wound three times a day. He also told me this type of spider bite will leave an open hole and it won't scab over. It will take a long time to heal since the tissue has to heal from the bottom to the top.
And he was correct about the healing time. It took 8 weeks for that bite wound to close on my left hand. I didn't get back on the water until the second week in September of 2016.
Fast forward to March 29th of 2017 and this is when I had my right shoulder operated on. My orthopedic surgeon told me to stay off of my sup board for the rest of 2017. From the last week in October of 2016 to this past week, I've been off the water when it comes to using a standup paddle board.
Today is April 1st, 2018. I've just now got back on the water and I don't want to tempt Fate and it's partner, "Murphy's Law". But lets say I try using my One World without any fins. I can think of three things and one of those things would happen. They are:
1) Nothing happens and all goes well.
2) I lose my balance lots of times, fall into the water lots of times and just wear myself out.
3) I lose my balance but instead of falling into the water, I fall onto one (or more) of my ribs.
So lets take a look at option #3 above. I don't clear the board when I'm falling and I fall onto a rail in my ribcage area. And my new Type III PFD is not going to protect my ribs. There are three new things which could happen.
1) I bruise a rib or (two) so I'm just sore in the ribcage area.
2) I hair line fracture a rib (or two) so I'm really sore and my ribcage area is taped 360 degrees around for two (or more) weeks.
3) I break a rib and the rib punctures one of my lungs which is really bad news and I've got an inpatient hospital stay and I'm not on the water again.
So, with all these scenarios which could happen, do I want to tempt Fate and it's partner, "Murphy's Law" by paddling my One World without fins? My answer is; "Not no, but Hell No!" ;)
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You need and impact vest and you need to just do it. I guess it will improve your balance and be fun. For a special session.
And if you can find some waves even more.
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Rick took awhile to get it.... but he did.
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Here's Mike from Idaho paddling his 7'11" Hammer finless and tail first...this last December with snowmelt water temps on the Kern River in the Southern Sierras...
https://youtu.be/ReOVUM5TBIE
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Before a weather front was going to pass through in the early evening yesterday (Wednesday), I took my One World down to the larger lake in a subdivision yesterday afternoon for a little flat water experimentation. The water temperature was 73 degrees F. Very little wind too. Just enough of a steady wind to rustle the leaves in the trees.
To recap my fin setups:
1 fin setup: (1, 9")
3 fin setup: (2, 5") (1, 9")
5 fin setup: (2, 5") (2, 4") (1, 2.25")
My paddle: Naish Alana 75 Adjustable with small diameter shaft.
Since the wind was light in wind speed but steady, this was a perfect day for me. I wanted to see how the glide and tracking would do in these light wind conditions.
The 1 fin setup has the best glide and still oddly enough, the 5 fin setup glides farther than the 3 fin setup.
As for tracking, since I'm playing around with different paddle lengths from 73" to 76", I had to think outside of the box to get a consistent paddle stroke. So I sat down on the board, crossed my legs american indian style and used the same shortened paddle stroke to test the tracking. With the shortened paddle stroke, it looked like I was paddling a canoe.
All three fin setups tracked straight as an arrow with the light, but steady amount of wind speed at my back. But the 5 fin setup tracked like it was on straight rails.
In a light crosswind, the 5 fin setup tracked straighter than either the 1 fin or 3 fin setup. In a crosswind, I think the small 2.25" nubster fin in the 5 fin setup makes a big difference. Nothing scientific, just a gut feeling on my part.
I only wanted to be on the water for 2 hours, but I was really enjoying myself and I was on the water for 4 hours. My legs were a little sore last night. But it was a good kind of sore feeling. No sore feeling in my legs today.
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I took my One World out for another flat water paddling session on our subdivisions largest lake. In this post, I'm including a photo of my One World floating on the water to show it's rocker.
For this session, I stayed with my favorite 5 fin setup ( (2, 5") (2, 4") and (1, 2.25") only. No other fin setup. I wanted this session to narrow down my paddle length for flat water paddling using my Naish Alana 75 adjustable length small diameter shaft paddle.
I paddled for two hours and took small breaks to rest my legs. I seem to be favoring a 75" paddle length although I can do 74.5" and 74" if I have to. I'm thinking the 74" might be good for sup surfing when I take my One World to the upper Texas coast for a sup surfing session.
When I got back home, after cleaning my One World and my Naish 75 paddle, I fired up my computer, went to YouTube and looked for some videos on paddle length. The one below by Jim Terrell using his formula for determing paddle length seems to work for me. Using his formula, since I'm 5' 8", I should be comfortable with a 74.8" paddle length and I'm close at 75".
My One World photo will be below Jim Terrell's video. BTW, you can left click the photo to make it larger if you need to see it larger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN-KP9eNfic
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Thanks for sharing that video. That puts me at a slightly shorter paddle than I’ve been using. I guess board height will be the deciding factor determining an inch more or less. Night Wing, are your boards the same thickness, and do you use the same paddle length?
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That paddle length video was from 2 years ago. The trend is shorter ... way shorter.
But hey, whatever works.
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That paddle length video was from 2 years ago. The trend is shorter ... way shorter.
But hey, whatever works.
For surfing, yes. But for flatwater?
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Thanks for sharing that video. That puts me at a slightly shorter paddle than I’ve been using. I guess board height will be the deciding factor determining an inch more or less. Night Wing, are your boards the same thickness, and do you use the same paddle length?
Both of my boards specifications are in my signature but just in case you missed it. My Hammer, at it's thickest point is 4" thick. My One World, at it's thickest point, is 4.5" thick. So there is only a 1/2" difference in thickness between my two boards.
I'm 5'8" tall, but I've got long arms and small hands. At 146 lbs, I'm small framed in skeletal structure. I'm skinny, but not tooth pick skinny if you get my drift. Since I have had both my right and left shoulders surgically repaired by the same orthopedic surgeon, he told me to ditch my Werner Trance 85 since the 85 square inch paddle blade would place to much stress on both of my shoulders. He also told me, the regular diameter shaft of the Werner was also too big for my small hands. And he was correct. My Alana 75 is very easy on my shoulders and with my small hands, the small diameter shaft of the Alana is easy for me to maneuver around when I paddling with it. BTW, the difference between my old Werner Trance 85 and my new Naish Alana 75 in feel is like "night and day".
I'm different than most people. When I flat water paddle, if the water is like glass or has very small ripples on it, I do not bend my knees when I'm paddling. I stand straight up because I do leisurely type paddling. I do not care how long it takes me to get from Point A to Point B as they say. With the smaller blade of the Alana, it takes very little effort to get my custom built 11'1" x 30" x 4.5" @ 173 liters One World moving quickly. I attribute this to the custom build design of my One World along with my 146 lbs weight working in conjunction with the smaller 75 square inch Alana paddle blade. The is just my "gut feeling".
It was odd that I liked the 75" paddle length. Only after returning home and surfing around on YouTube that I came across Jim Terrell's video. His formula works for me for flat water paddling, but I didn't know that since I went flat water paddling first and saw his video second. I know when I take my One World to the coast for some sup surfing, I'll be bending my knees and I'm already thinking somewhere around a 73"-73.5" paddle length might work for me. I only received my One World on Feb 7th of this year so I haven't taken her sup surfing yet. I'm doing flat water paddling first to get a feel for what my One World can do before I tackle some waves down on the upper Texas coast.
One last thing. I've had a cranky lower back for quite a few years now. Even though I haven't had any lower back issues since last December, I know what my limitations are so this is why I do lots of experimentation when I'm on the water.
The bottom line is this. You can take conventional advice and put that advice to the test, but in the end, it's going to come down to your own experimentation that will decide what works BEST for you even if it goes against conventional advice.
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Since my last post, I've ridden my OW three more times. I've gotten very comfortable riding it on flat water. So comfortable in fact, I began shortening the length of my adjustable paddle. Today's paddling session was 2 1/2 hours with two 15 minutes breaks. In reality, I put in 2 hours of paddling. I was on the water by 9:00 am and there was no wind to speak of.
With no wind, I've shortened my paddle length to 72" and I'm still standing up with no bend in my knees. Keep in mind I'm 5'8" tall. When I take the paddle out of the water, at the top of the handle, before I reach forward to put the paddle blade back into the water, the top of my right hand (or left hand) is about even where my neck meets my chest. I no longer have my hands on the top of the paddle grip, above my shoulders now.
I really like the small diameter of my Alana 75 paddle. There is one oddity though. When I'm paddling with it, both of my pinky fingers on each hand are never wrapped around the paddle shaft. So when using this paddle, on both of my hands, I'm only holding the paddle with 4 fingers which includes switching from side to side when needed.
Around 10:00 am, a 10 mph wind came out of the southwest creating some nice ripples on the lake. Paddling straight into the wind, I had to bend my kness and with that, I shortened my paddle length to 71".
Even with my 5 fin setup, my 11'1"OW has a nice long glide when there is no wind. And it is fast when padding with the wind at my back. Looks like I'm close to taking my OW sup surfing. Just one more flat water paddle session since I want to try out a new foot stance first. I'm basically trying to "modify" a surfing stance and see if it will work on flat water. I came up with this wild hare of an idea when the wind was at my back and my board was moving along at a fast clip.
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Oui oui.
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Oui oui.
Wow, that is new thought on paddle length. I've been using my surf paddle about 5 inches taller than I stand. I see by that chart, it seems that you should have it about the same as your height. Think I'll pull out my old adjustable paddle and try it in the surf.
I wonder if my shoulder will hurt less.
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I have two almost identical Quick Blade Kanaha's that I use pretty much only for surfing these days.
Blade size is 90.
One is 7 inches overhead; the other is 6 inches overhead.
I almost always grab the 7" overhead (eventhough it leaks a bit through the handle)
because it lets me more easily turn the board - do a 180 to catch waves. I can
get it just over and around the nose in the water.
I just can't do that with the other paddle. Of course, I'm surfing pretty big longboards
10'6" and 10'1". Hmmmm, actually, I may not have tried the shorter paddle while
surfing the shorter board. Gotta try it.
I did feel I could get a better take-off stroke with the shorter paddle but it
didn't seem to outweigh the turning around factor.
Funny, when I first started SUP surfing in 2010, a pretty good SUP surfer told
me my 7" overhead paddle was too short. Now, it is considered far too long.
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Cool little 'no fins' video, Warren. I think any sort of practice/exercise variant is beneficial. Check your inner ear without a visit to an Otolaryngologist: paddle with your eyes closed. (But, better in 4' of water than walking down stairs)
Jim
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I've been "fine tuning" my board, where I stand on my board along with choosing the optimum paddle length because of my long wingspan and my wingspan is longer than my height.
With the high pressure dome of air that has been sitting on top of us for almost two months which suppresses wave action on the Texas coast and because of that, I've been doing a lot of flat water paddling. The old, "when presented with lemons, make lemonade" comes to mind.
My new sweet spot when standing on my 11'1" board is straddling the Sup Grip handle where the middle of both of my feet are (in the high point of my arch) above the opening of the grip handle going towards the nose of the board.
Before, I had both of my toes on both feet even with the opening of the sup grip going towards the nose. I'm guessing with my 146 lb physical weight and the 173 liters of volume of the board, I have a larger sweet spot than if I was heavier. Nothing scientific, just a feeling. But it is a very good feeling.
By moving my feet a little closer towards the nose of the board, it seems I can lower the length of my 75 adjustable length paddle too. I've come down from 73" to 70" now. When paddling, the top of my hand on top of the paddle grip is right at my nose. I think my long arms are coming into play here.
Anyhow, with last weeks little tropical disturbance affecting all of the Texas coast, the high pressure dome of air has moved off for a little while but it will return. So I'm going to take advantage of it. Monday's (6-25-2018) weather forecast for Surfside, TX is wind speed of 15 mph gusting to 25 mph with wave heights between 3.9 feet to 4.6 feet. My plan is to be on the water by 6:15 am. With a 117 mile trip, I'm going to leave my home for Surfside at 4:00 am.
I have a sneaking suspicion when I'm down at Surfside, I'll need to lower the paddle length from 70" to 68" and "see how it goes" since I know I'm going to be bending my knees more than when I'm flat water paddling.
I'll be giving my first sup surfing session with my One World probably sometime this upcoming Tuesday because I know I'm going to "over do it" on Monday and I'll probably be quite tired when I return home Monday afternoon. I'll have to take care of my equipment first and then take a shower. After that, I'm pretty sure I'll "crash" when I sit in my very soft La-Z-Boy recliner.
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This post will mainly be for the non registered lurkers on this site.
Since my tanker surfing trip when I was tanker surfing two ship bow waves, I had shortened my paddle from it's usual 70" length paddling out to catch a tanker bow wave, to 66" when actually surfing those two tanker bow waves.
Since my tanker trip, I've been playing around on our main subdivision lake by shortening my paddle length. I got out on the lake this morning at 6:15 am to "beat the summer heat" since it is brutal right now air temperature wise and heat index wise. I paddled for 2 hours and quit at 8:15 am.
I experimented by adjusting my paddle technique while standing on my sup. I decided to start at a 66" paddle length which was the same length as my tanker trip when actually sup surfing. It felt "different" at first on flatwater, but I eventually got used to it. I paddled at the 66" length for one hour.
But my curiosity eventually got to me. I started having thoughts of going shorter in paddle length. So I shortened my adjustable length paddle down to 65". When I started my first paddle session with this new length, it really felt awkward. But just like when I first started at 66", I got used to 65" in about 10 minutes of time.
While paddling, I looked down and the top of the paddle blade was just below the board at the thickest part of the my sup even with my feet on the sup so I knew I was on the right track experimentation wise. I paddled like this for the second hour and when the sun's rays came over the trees onto the lake, I quit and headed for home.
My Naish adjustable paddle is basically advertised as a woman's sup paddle because of it's small diameter paddle shaft, but with my small hands, I really love the small diameter shaft. The 75 paddle blade is also very good for both of my right and left surgically repaired shoulders.
Since my wingspan is longer than my height, I had always thought I would need a longer paddle length, but in reality, I'm going shorter. I think my long arms, small hands with a small diameter paddle shaft is the right combination to allow me to go shorter in paddle length since my paddling technique is also improving.
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For comparison.
My height is 72" and my wing span is 77".
My surf paddle is 73".
The distance your hands are from each other will have a big affect on your stroke. I like to keep my hands about two inches less than half my height appart when going for a wave and I relax that just a bit for casual flatwater. I put a piece of tape on the shaft to mark the spot where my lower hand should be.
Half my height = 36" - 2" = 34". I mark the paddle at 34" and keep my lower hand just below that mark.
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Thought I would give a little update on my paddle length for flat water paddling on the area lakes near where I live. Non-registered lurkers might find this post interesting if they have any shoulder joint limitations from the result of surgery (as well as lower back issues) and would like to get into standup paddling (flat water, coastal cruising, sup surfing). And I am a good example with both of my right and left shoulder joints having been surgically repaired.
When I paddle, I basically stand straight up. I'm more comfortable this way than bending at my waist. This keeps my cranky lower back from talking to me.
Yesterday I had a 3 hour paddling session, with rest breaks inbetween my paddling. I've been flat water paddling with a 75 square inch paddle blade and a adjustable length paddle set at 70" in length. Usually at 6:30 am in the morning, the water is like glass. Normally my paddling sessions are 2 hours long. Yesterday was the exception.
Going past the 2 hour time mark, I found both of my shoulder joints did not like a 70" length with a 3 hour paddling session. When I first noticed both of my shoulder joints were talking to me, I listened to them.
So I took a short rest break to analyze the situation. I figured with a 4.6" thickness to my board at the widest width of the board and at 173 liters of volume, I figured (since I didn't take a 12" ruler with me) I had a little more than (roughly) 2.6" of both rails out of the water at their widest and thickest point since I weigh 146 lbs. The rest of both rails, at the widest and thickest part, were submerged under the water.
Since I'm 5'8" in height, with an adjustable length paddle, I can experiment and what better way to experiment than when both of my shoulder joints were telling me they were in a little bit of discomfort.
So I lowered the length to 69" and paddled for about 25 minutes. My shoulder joints weren't talking to me as loud as they were at 70", but they were still talking, just in a little softer tone to me.
After another break, I lowered the length to 68" and went for a 20 minute paddle. Both of my shoulder joints quit talking to me. I lowered the length to 67", but this length immediately felt too short for me and awkward so I quickly abandoned this length and returned to 68". And at 68" in length, my lower back did not talk to me either. A double bonus for me.
I figure for sup surfing, I will be at 67" or 66" depending on the height of the waves in conjunction with wind speed, wind direction, time period between swells and height of the waves.
In conclusion; for a person "with shoulder joint(s) and/or (lower) back issues", in my opinion based on my observations with my physical limitations, I think an adjustable length paddle is better suited than the more commonly accepted one fixed "do it all" paddle length, when it comes to standup flat water paddling, coastal cruising and sup surfing depending on the length of time for one's sessions. At least it is for me.
The above is just "food for thought".
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I did a flat water full moon moonlight paddling session last week at the link below.
https://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,34054.0.html
For those non registered lurkers out there, you might find it interesting when it comes to paddle lengths since I've finally went with a 71" length paddle for my flat water paddling sessions. No more paddle length changes from here on out.