Paddleboards

[ProMariner]

We have a couple of paddle boards we use mainly when it's flat calm, for an evening trip around the bay. They are ridiculously poor at efficient propulsion, compared to a kayak or rowing boat, but they are good full body exercise, it's nice not having to sit on a wet arse all the time like kayaking, and the height of eye is nicer for sight seeing. Am guilty of often just picking up stuff by trial and error, but we actually paid for a formal lesson before we bought, partly to try before you buy, and partly to avoid getting into bad habits from the start.

Our key takeaways from the lesson were: 1. Don't try and stand up fully before you get to deeper water, as falling off can hurt you if you fall / step onto something sharp. 2. Smaller boards are fine for smaller people, or those with great balance, but I need a bigger board, a smaller board than you need is just miserable. 3. If going against a good breeze, kneel down, if it's choppy and you keep falling off, kneel down. You can just use the paddle like a kayak paddle if you have to when your kneeling or sitting, the handle provides less drag than the blade, but it's good enough. 4. Expect to fall off, dress appropriately, I try to get falling off out the way early in the session, so I don't have to worry about it. 4. Learn an effective stroke, so you work all your mussels effectively. Making progress makes the board more stable, drifting is more unstable than travelling.

It's not just paddle boards, people attempt to take all manner of boats to sea with zero knowledge, I guess they assume that because they are from the land of Nelson, they have some kind of ancestral nautical instinct. If it wasn't paddle boards, it would be inflatable swans, or pedalos, or speedboats etc, the problem isn't the boats. A Shetland outboard angling boat managed to ground on a well known local hazard at ten last night, the novice skipper complained that there should have been a sign or something to tell sailors about it. He forgot his chart plotter, so was 'doing it by eye', at night, a 20 NM trip he had never made before, in a boat he had never used before. He seemed surprised and upset that the Coastguard didn't rock up with a skyhook and a low loader, it's just like the AA, right? The problem isn't the boats.

 

[Elessar]

The SUPs that either Lidl or Aldi sold came with a convertible paddle and clip on fabric seat. Getting low to reduce wind age helps but a double ended paddle doesn’t really seem to be better. Proper kayaking is more efficient as you use your legs and core to move the boat through the water - but sitting on top of a paddle board it’s all arm power. Kneeling or standing with a single blade you can use your whole body.

I suspect a lot of people who get in problems have had no training so don’t understand wind/tide and have no strategy if they are struggling. Indeed many have not learned basic technique or properly inflated the board so will be exhausted unnecessarily.

Exactly right. With a single paddle and standing you get a stroke about as long as your body height which you just can’t do when sitting.
I use the paddle board as a single person tender, going to dinner fully clothed.
I went to a corporate event in Seaview last year, everyone else was in a hotel and I stayed on their outer moorings. A 20 min paddle from the shore given the shallow water.
No one could quite believe me turning up carrying a paddle they thought I’d come from Portsmouth.

 

[geem]

We have a couple of paddle boards we use mainly when it's flat calm, for an evening trip around the bay. They are ridiculously poor at efficient propulsion, compared to a kayak or rowing boat, but they are good full body exercise, it's nice not having to sit on a wet arse all the time like kayaking, and the height of eye is nicer for sight seeing. Am guilty of often just picking up stuff by trial and error, but we actually paid for a formal lesson before we bought, partly to try before you buy, and partly to avoid risk and injury.

Our key takeaways were: 1. Don't try and stand up fully before you get to deeper water, as falling off can hurt you if you fall / step onto something sharp. 2. Smaller boards are fine for smaller people, or those with great balance, but I need a bigger board, a smaller board than you need is just miserable. 3. If going against a good breeze, kneel down, if it's choppy and you keep falling off, kneel down. 4. Expect to fall off, dress appropriately, I try to get falling off out the way early in the session, so I don't have to worry about it. 4. Learn an effective stroke, so you work all your mussels effectively. Making progress makes the board more stable, drifting is harder than travelling.

It's not just paddle boards, people attempt to take all manner of boats to sea with zero knowledge, I guess they assume that because they are from the land of Nelson, they have some kind of ancestral nautical instinct. If it wasn't paddle boards, it would be inflatable swans, or pedalos, or speedboats etc, the problem isn't the boats. A Shetland outboard angling boat managed to ground on a well known local hazard at ten last night, the novice skipper complained that there should have been a sign or something to tell sailors about it. He forgot his chart plotter, so was 'doing it by eye', at night, a 20 NM trip he had never made before, in a boat he had never used before. He seemed surprised and upset that the Coastguard didn't rock up with a skyhook and a low loader, it's just like the AA, right? The problem isn't the boats.

I have only fallen off once when a serious bit of totty was paddleboarding past in the opposite direction?

 

[Elessar]

While I think they are all as daft as coots

This seal agrees



he came and gave me a little nudge

 

[penfold]

The Seal of Approval.

 

[Iliade]

We mostly PB inland when it is too windy for me to work; thus we are very familiar with bashing to windward.

I find sitting or better yet, kneeling, on the board and holding the paddle with one hand close to the the blade gives the best speed into wind. Laying down will offer less windage, but without webbed hands I cannot get the same level of thrust.

Directional control is easy with a single bladed paddle, but I agree a kayak paddle would help a lot in these conditions... Several Chinese firms offer PBs with such convertible paddles and optional seats, or at least they used to.

 

[fredrussell]

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

 

[TwoFish]

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

?

Ditto the surfboard. I can't see they'll ever catch on.

 

[mjcoon]

Ditto the surfboard. I can't see they'll ever catch on.

With surfboards you don't even get a ski-lift to take you back to your starting point so you can (pointlessly) do it all over again...

 

[dunedin]

We mostly PB inland when it is too windy for me to work; thus we are very familiar with bashing to windward.

I find sitting or better yet, kneeling, on the board and holding the paddle with one hand close to the the blade gives the best speed into wind. Laying down will offer less windage, but without webbed hands I cannot get the same level of thrust.

Directional control is easy with a single bladed paddle, but I agree a kayak paddle would help a lot in these conditions... Several Chinese firms offer PBs with such convertible paddles and optional seats, or at least they used to.

Rather than webbed hands, to make best progress lieing down need to borrow a couple of Praddles from some Oppie sailors - Praddle - One Handed Paddle

 

[penfold]

Rather than webbed hands, to make best progress lieing down need to borrow a couple of Praddles from some Oppie sailors - Praddle - One Handed Paddle

Easy enough to strap a pair to the paddleboard just in case.

 

[ylop]

I think I have paddled a canoe with a single paddle, and while it is very rewarding, it does require a bit of skill to stop you going round in circles. I was just thinking what might be the easiest way of assisting unskilled boarders, if that’s what they are called.

You paddle a Canadian canoe with a single paddle using a j stroke.
You can use this technique on a paddle board.

I'm moderately OK in a canoe with a J-stroke, but I've never managed to get it to work well on a paddle board - perhaps because the blade and shaft are not colinear. To get reasonably directional stability a "C" stroke (the opposite from you would use to intentionally turn) helps a lot. Like I say, if people just took an hour of training they'd find it a lot easier/more efficient.

We've started to see an increase in calls to paddleboarders in recent years. And whilst they have the security of being tethered to their board, that's of little comfort if they keep falling in due to the sea conditions, and are getting cold and frightened.

On three of my calls to paddle boards last year, we undoubtedly saved their lives. It's only a matter of time until someone runs out of luck.

I understand why that is frustrating but you could look at it differently - those people all got off the sofa and did something active that day. Lots of people die in from both physical and mental health effects of inactivity.

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

Have you tried one? I'm not convinced they are a fad at all. Your presumption is that people want to use them as transport (which you are correct there are other similar priced craft around which are more suited). To me they are testament to the idea that sometimes simplicity wins over everything else and I'm generally pleased to see people out on the water.

 

[Juan Twothree]

I understand why that is frustrating but you could look at it differently - those people all got off the sofa and did something active that day. Lots of people die in from both physical and mental health effects of inactivity.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but what will be frustrating is when it all goes badly wrong for someone.

But I absolutely agree that it's good for people to get out on the water, rather than sit indoors.

 

[Laser310]

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

Well, they can be good fun, and good exercise as well.

They are great for exploring shallow water, as the standing position gives better visibility than one gets while seated in a kayak.

Another thing they are quite good for is surfing waves; it is easier to catch the waves on a paddleboard than on a surfboard

Also, it's true that the "All Around" boards that are probably 95% of all paddleboards in existence are kind of slow, and are not that great for going upwind, there are other shapes that are better for those things. For example, a touring board will usually have a finer bow, more parallel sides, narrower beam, and greater length. It will be faster and will go into the wind and chop better than an All Round. A race board takes this a step further, at the expense of being difficult to stay on in some cases.

Then there are foiling paddleboards.., and they are quite fast...

 

[fredrussell]

Have you tried one? I'm not convinced they are a fad at all. Your presumption is that people want to use them as transport (which you are correct there are other similar priced craft around which are more suited). To me they are testament to the idea that sometimes simplicity wins over everything else and I'm generally pleased to see people out on the water.

Fair enough. I have been on one a few times, I go paddling with my mate Joe who has an SUP. I paddle a Canadian canoe and we sometimes swap craft. I find them fun, and can see why they’ve caught the public’s attention, but whoever is paddling the canoe ends up waiting repeatedly whilst the paddle boarder catches up. Your point about getting people out on the water is a good one and always a good thing, obviously.

 

[dunedin]

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

Well I watched a paddle board going through the Torran Rocks SW of Mull at 07:30, the only other “vessel” in sight. It seemed to be making reasonable progress in a nasty confused chop due to tide plus Atlantic swell.
And it must have been reasonably efficient, as I spoke to Stornoway Coastguard and apparently it was on a Round Britain trip, and a proper one as had already come through the Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath.

 

[Hydrozoan]

What I like about paddleboards is that with the obvious exception of a coracle, they are the least efficient form of water transport in all of human history, and yet have a massive following. They are a testament to the amazing power of faddishness.

As one of partially Welsh extraction, I must protest: coracles evolved to meet a specific need, with certain limitations upon their characteristics and resources.

The fact that I imagine I would go round in circles in one should not detract from that assessment, any more than should the fact that my J-stroke in a Canadian was so incompetent that I found it easier to paddle once for every two strokes of my wife's at the bows - except when she was not so intent on making progress as to look aft, of course!

 

[The Q]

I've rescued several canoeists over the years, they hire one up river, paddle down to the pubs, and then can't paddle back against wind and tide. Also them having been to the pub , I've rescued them out of the water after a capsize..

On the Norfolk Broads, A paddle board / canoe / small rowing boat will cost you £37.78 in broads tax a year, stick an electric motor on it and thats £57.55, stick a petrol outboard on and it's £75.
All those figures are going up 13% on April 1st...