Blade angle to the water at catch entry

Hi there I am struggling to find views on the correct blade angle relative to the water at catch entry. In other words the face of the blade itself - what is the ideal entry angle. Oscar suggests that it should be close to parallel to the water at the catch. Which means "face down"!

This is for a wing paddle btw.

Here's a 1 on 1 lesson on all the essentials of a forward stroke by Sean Rice. The part you're looking for starts at 2:55

Thanks!

gelliott wrote:

Hi there I am struggling to find views on the correct blade angle relative to the water at catch entry. In other words the face of the blade itself - what is the ideal entry angle. Oscar suggests that it should be close to parallel to the water at the catch. Which means "face down"!

Here's Oscar (at 9:37)



Sean mentions the importance of not cavitating. That's why he recommends entering the water with that edge of the blade.

Here's more detail on how not to cavitate, (at 8:00)

I think it also depends a bit on the shape of the paddle blade.

Some blades have a very pronounced spoon shape. Some are flatter.

Best to practise on calm water. If you hear a 'plop' then you are doing it wrong.
If you scarcely make a ripple, then you are doing it right.

The way I understand it is that as the boat is going fast forward, water is flowing past you fast backward. You have to move the paddle backward faster than water is flowing backward. If you are going at 5mph, that is pretty fast. (We understand wing paddle has some lift, so you don't have to move exactly at 5mph. But just for illustration.)
The moment you dip the paddle into the water, is not moving backward yet. That difference in speed will cause cavitation, turbulence etc. One way to solve that is to dip the paddle in at a shallow angle. As the paddle goes into the water, it starts to become vertical. Your stroke speed is also picking up. If is done right, the paddle will dive into the water at the beginning of the stroke. Then the stroke speed will match the water speed just as the paddle gets vertical, and you are generating full power at that point. That would be a good catch.

benmlee wrote:

The way I understand it is that as the boat is going fast forward, water is flowing past you fast backward. You have to move the paddle backward faster than water is flowing backward. If you are going at 5mph, that is pretty fast. (We understand wing paddle has some lift, so you don't have to move exactly at 5mph. But just for illustration.)
The moment you dip the paddle into the water, is not moving backward yet. That difference in speed will cause cavitation, turbulence etc. One way to solve that is to dip the paddle in at a shallow angle. As the paddle goes into the water, it starts to become vertical. Your stroke speed is also picking up. If is done right, the paddle will dive into the water at the beginning of the stroke. Then the stroke speed will match the water speed just as the paddle gets vertical, and you are generating full power at that point. That would be a good catch.

No, you want full power well, well before the paddle gets vertical.
In fact, the paddle should be approaching exit as it becomes vertical.
Going to a 'negative' (power face of blade is angled upwards) is pulling you over.
Full power should be applied in first part of the stroke, immediately after the catch.
This has several effects:
Lifting the boat, reducing friction.
Stability - you are effectively 'leaning' on the paddle blade, so your skinny ski is now something with two points of support.
Power development - power driving from the legs only applies during the first part of the stroke, so you are making the best use of this.
With a good catch and a wing blade, there is remarkably little backward movement of the paddle in the water. Instead, the boat is 'pulled past' the blade, as if you were grasping rigid poles in the water and pulling the boat forwards.

One thing to watch for is the tendency to 'punch forward' with the top hand. The top hand should remain behind the lower hand until close to the completion of the stroke (as viewed through the plane of the chest).

As soon as the blade spears the water, the top arm should lock position relative to the torso. Strong leg/torso rotation, keep lower elbow in, let paddle sweep sideways and up.