So How Much is Paddle And How Much is Board?

[corlot]

To continue with the theme of a similar thread, how much is the paddle and how much is me? I think the paddle may be even more important than the board (other than waterline). My paddle sure felt heavy after my race this evening!

[PonoBill]

It really depends on your stroke. If you have a good stroke then a good paddle is important, if you don't, then it doesn't help much. Doesn't really matter how you get there--Hawaiian, Tahitian, whatever--but a good stroke means a good reach, fully inserting the blade, getting the shaft as vertical as possible in both planes, engaging your core, pulling to your toes or less, and feathering the blade to get it out of the water.

If you're doing that or something like it, then a paddle that catches early (blade gets vertical quickly), doesn't slip much, is stable, and pops when you feather it will help every aspect of that stroke. Your stroke and paddle together is your motor. So you're asking is the motor more important than the boat, and you probably know the answer to that.

[JF808]

certain boards are better in certain conditions, we all know that. All boards can do the same thing, some just a little better than others.

The paddle is an extention of you... so the driving force, stroke technique is everything. Buying a different paddle really isn't going to make you that much faster if you dont know how to use it. Certain attributes of a paddle make the paddle more efficient, but the paddle won't make you faster if you run out of gas, etc. It's all YOU