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I always carry a spare, and I don’t tie it in either, keep it ready to use. I have broken several paddles, and also have had paddles pulled out of my hands in whitewater, or dropped them at a crucial moment…it’s good to be able to whip the spare out right away.
Difficult to convey tone, humour sometimes become sarcasm, etc. I’m all in favour of increasing efficiency, and that’s why for quite a while I was a switch paddler. I’m not sure why I got tired of that, and I’m not saying that I won’t go back to it someday. I’ll admit that I have a prejudice to single blading, but wouldn’t mind being convinced otherwise. My questions about white water aren’t impertinent, but actual questions…most routes up here are combination routes of flatwater and a fair amount of white water….so the questins still stands…how does double blade technique work in whitewater with a fully loaded tandem canoe? Not looking for a defence of the dark arts, just some comments from experienced users.
Of course, I’m speaking from ignorance, because I didn’t spend any time learning the dark side, but I’m trying to get my head around how a double blade is used with a canoe effectively once one hits the whitewater. Are you able to plant an effective draw or crossbow or pry without an effective grip hand? How bout back ferries? Plus what’s the average lenght of a two blade for a big canoe…215 cm or more? How’s that work with must make eddies and sweepers and stuff? It’s one thing to push a little play boat around with a double blade, but I would have to be convinced you could get the same results with a fully loaded 16 foot plus tripping canoe. I profess my ignorance of the dark arts, but am open to conversion. Got any video of someone running a 16 foot tripping canoe down class 3 with a double blade?
I’m wondering…do you carry a single blade with you on your trips? What happens when you hit whitewater? I will often resort to a switch style of paddling in strong head winds if i really want to make tracks, but i find in a fully loaded large tripping canoe, the switch is often cumbersome. I did play with the darkside for a season, had a small kayak, but traded it for beer. Think it might have been Busch or Miller, can’t rememebr, but even though it was American beer, i still think i got the better deal.
