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?