I'm planning to add a solo canoe to the fleet and just wondered what type of paddle you solo paddlers prefer. Standard, either straight or bent shaft, or kayak style double?
Thanks for the input.

I'd opt for a DOUBLE paddle and a SINGLE paddle of your choice bent/straight shaft.

I can't speak for everyone here but overall I'd say the "average" paddler in a solo IF they can handle/master the double will be able to go much faster than with a single paddle only ESPECCIALY going INTO the wind and running with it.

Single paddle for cruising/trolling if you fish.
I wouldn't buy a top-line lightweight double paddle unless you've used one before in a kayak and like the way they perform?

People here bought better double paddles, didn't like it and ended up selling them.

Depends on the boat. A canoe designed for hit and switch (center seat well off the floor) will perform best with a competent paddler with a bent shaft. Floor seated boats (Placid boat works etc) will do great with a double blade. I prefer a bent but paddle a slender sleek craft- couldn't be as fast or efficient with a double. Kneeling style hulls work best with a straight.

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a competent paddler with a bent shaft. Floor seated boats (Placid boat works etc) will do great with a double blade.

  Keyword here being competent.  ;) ;D ;D

I use straight shaft paddles - one Zaverel carbon, and one Bending Branches as the spare.  The paddles I use are shorter than those I use for tandem - the seat is closer to the water, so need a shorter shafted paddle.  That's for lakes.

for white water, I use a heavy fiberglass Werner Guide model, I think it is, and an Aqua Bound Odyssey as the spare - need something that will take the beating.

There is naught, nor ought there be anything more functional on the face of god's green earth than a bent shaft paddle.

I tried a double one afternoon. I hated it - for three reasons - in order.

#1 - Not a fan of the waddle.
#2 - Not a fan of all the dripage in my lap and down my forearms.
#3 - IMHO they're noisy.

You know how another canoe in the distance gets noticed - by me at least? Over a long distance it's a flash of light. A little closer and you hear voices. The fastest canoe I've ever seen was introduced by hut - hut - hut. Man, they were flying. I've heard solos with yak paddles from way across a lake.

It seems to me that if two paddlers in a tandem that had the inclination to do the hut - hut - hut thing and really wanted to fly higher, wouldn't they be using yak paddles to be more efficient?

Maybe some folks do?

db wrote on Sep 18^th, 2019 at 5:25pm:

There is naught, nor ought there be anything more functional on the face of god's green earth than a bent shaft paddle. I tried a double one afternoon. I hated it - for three reasons - in order. #1 - Not a fan of the waddle. #2 - Not a fan of all the dripage in my lap and down my forearms. #3 - IMHO they're noisy. You know how another canoe in the distance gets noticed - by me at least? Over a long distance it's a flash of light. A little closer and you hear voices. The fastest canoe I've ever seen was introduced by hut - hut - hut. Man, they were flying. I've heard solos with yak paddles from way across a lake. It seems to me that if two paddlers in a tandem that had the inclination to do the hut - hut - hut thing and really wanted to fly higher, wouldn't they be using yak paddles to be more efficient? Maybe some folks do?

  I've learned to live with the "waddle" because I hate switching side to side with a single.

  First thing you learn/need when you use a double paddle in a canoe is a good pair of DRIP RINGS. Because of the higher sides of the canoe compared to a kayak, some people try and do that high windmill stroke you see kayakers do. What you want in a "flat" stroke, I think they call it a "touring" stroke?

I'm sure they are noisier but since I'm solo and rarely see that many people the times I like to go tripping the noise factor doesn't bother me. If I want to be stealthy for fishing/animal pics, I switch to the single bent shaft.

  I've seen 2 good paddlers doing the hut-hut really fly down the lake BUT the fastest I've ever seen a canoe move was on Jean Lk.

I was on the South shore barely making headway creeping along the shoreline into a stiff East-West wind. Whitecaps in the middle of the lake.

I catch something out of the corner of my eye? It's 2 young guys in a tandem canoe BOTH using double paddles. They must have practiced because they were in perfect rhythm.  That canoe looked like it had a motor on the back.

I think guys with both single bent shafts and double paddles and used to paddling together could really fly in say a 17 ft canoe.

I always advise people who think they might want to get a double paddle to get an entry-level model, make sure it's LONG enough because even a TRUE solo is wider than a kayak. Get some drip rings and watch a video on how to do the TOURING stroke.

If you hate the double, you can buy T-grip adapters and just end up with 2 single spare paddles.

The hut, hut, hut sit and switch is more effective and efficient than twin double blade paddles for competent users of the bent shaft. Couple of reasons the main being the proximity to the gunwale of the bent- the greater the distance your paddle enters and leaves the water from the centerline of the canoe the greater the energy expended in lateral force (yaw)  (or waddle if you prefer)as opposed forward. Bent is very good if used with strokes ending before your lower hand reaches your hip (optimizing the length of stroke in which the blade is near vertical) and along a path that parallels the center line of the hull not the gunwale. Bent also gains efficiency from the relative low mass of the paddle (A ZRE power surge light weighs in at a mere 7.5 oz).

Double blade is good if paddler is poor or slow at switching or lacks the discipline to maintain the shorter stroke, quick cadence and fidelity of force direction required for efficient use of bent.

[quote]Double blade is good if paddler is poor or slow at switching or lacks the discipline to maintain the shorter stroke, quick cadence and fidelity of force direction required for efficient use of bent./quote]

  I agree with everything you say but some people are poor paddlers because like me they only get to go on a canoe trip once maybe 2x a year if they are lucky.

Where I live in SE Mich, a canoe isn't the watercraft you want for the local lakes. Kayak/Fishing kayak will get much more use.

By the time the paddling season rolls around I have virtually NO muscle/paddle memory. With the double and least for me, I can get into a half-way decent rhythm much faster than with a single/bent shaft.

I went to the double because I want to go farther/faster than I could floundering with the single.  The tradeoff is it is much harder on the body
so that' why I do the weighted work-outs I do.

I could have never taken some of my longer trips just using a single paddle. My next major purchase will probably be a carbon-fiber shaft double paddle which will ease the strain on my upper body.

A double paddle isn't for everyone that's for sure.

I agree with Solus and DB on the single bent for the reasons they listed, but will add easier on the wrists.  I have some carpal tunnel and just last year moved from soloing with the J stroke to a hut style.  I can keep the boat just as straight with a 3-5 stroke per side/switch, all the effort goes into propelling the canoe vs. steering and mostly and the straight strokes have given my wrists a break from the extra stress the J adds when rolling them.  I now also paddle tandem and switch vs. J, just not switching as often, depending on the bow paddler, as I often out-paddle them on just one side.  That and a little vitamin-I allow me to sleep better nights.

pd

If the double blade works for you then you should use the double. Do your body a favor and spend for a carbon fiber paddle. Use what works and use it proudly.

I would consider the ZRE Power Surge Light to be the single best gear purchase I've ever made. The load it takes off during the course of a day of travel is immeasurable. The feedback it provides has made me a far more efficient and skilled paddler. Cannot say enough.

I've always paddled solo hit and switch with a bent. With the ZRE I often go 6/7 strokes before switching. When paddling stern with a tandem I switch sides at will  rather than J or rudder. So many years of paddling solo means a switch and stroke takes about the same amount of time as a stroke.

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Use what works and use it proudly.

  That's great advice for all things paddling Solus, Thanks 8-)

I think most people that don’t like the hit and switch style are using a paddle too long and heavy.

All I know for sure is the hut - hut - hut tandem was flying. I can paddle all day on the right, solo. Maybe because I have long arms and a paddle that's a bit too long but it's what I know. I paddle lefty sometimes depending on conditions.

Bottom line, there is mass and force and an optimal speed for the craft and conditions?

Thanks everyone for the input! Lots of solo paddling experience out there and many good ideas. Guess I'll have to try and see what works best for me, but as  an old paddler, am inclined to start with my standard bent shaft.
Alan

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the fastest I've ever seen a canoe move was on Jean Lk. ...  That canoe looked like it had a motor on the back.

My first trip to Q we went in through PP.  After a day of paddling, when we pull into camp, we discover somebody had forgotten to bring along the "kitchen" pack.  I and another were considered to be the strongest paddlers so we set off to retrieve it, hopefully to be able to return before dark.

Well se setoff and were back quickly.  As we rounded a bend to where we could be seen, we switched to a racing rythem, I think 5 strokes per side then switch.  We sped down that last stretch and everyone was amazed at how fast we had covered all that distance. 

And suspicious.  We final revealed the secret.  We had run into a motorboat on the way back and got towed a good portion of the way. Instead of "a motor on the back", we had a motor on the front.