I am looking to maximize my ability to paddle longer distances on my Kayak to cover more water fishing.   This may sound like a seriously noob question but in terms of body positioning what is ideal to get the most out of every stroke.  To help clarify there are two factors in particular which I am getting mixed information on ...

1 - Paddle length.

2 - My body position in relation to the center of the boat.

 

I run a Wilderness System Ride 115x if that helps.

 

Thanks a ton for the tips.

Felix

Less about position, and more about stroke.  You should only be using core muscles to move the boat, not your arms.  Your arms should only bear the force of guiding the paddle.  Your core handles propulsion.  Whatever position locks your butt and feet into the boat, with your knees bent, back slightly arched, and paddle over your lap should be fine.

I find I'm more efficient if I put the seat so the I'm paddling a couple feet behind the mid point of the boat, essentially putting 2/3 of the boat in front of the paddle. 

On 4/18/2016 at 0:56 PM, Felix77 said:

I am looking to maximize my ability to paddle longer distances on my Kayak to cover more water fishing.  

Maybe this video might help a bit

 

^^^Thank you for sharing that vid. I learned something today.

something that I learned last weekend....I sheepishly admit that I had no idea that the paddle has a 'right-side up'....I was shown that the (brand name) words on my blades were upside down indicating that I had the paddle backwards....and fixing that made a difference....I never knew

To me, that's as painful to watch as someone fising a spinning reel upside down, LOL>

Glad you figured it out, Chop!  If you had an aggressive blade like my AT Oracle, you'd really see the difference.

 

Thanks for all the input.  I have been out this week several times and all the feedback has definitely made a difference ... FWIW here are my observations since the change ...

1 - Length - Based on my height and kayak (Ride 115x) I upgraded to a 240 from a 220 in terms of length.

2 - J Francho's suggestion of locking my butt and feet when paddling was huge.  Combined that with an intentional avoidance of tension in my arms and things starting tracking smoother and my major muscles were paddling vs my arms.  Elbow stress was diminished significantly focusing on this.

3 - Positioning - Did play a factor for me.  Paddling with the paddle just behind the handles of my Ride 115x seemed to level me out a bit better for when I really want to move.  Too far back and I seem to drag so to speak.

4 - Lastly ... that video of high vs low was awesome.  In hindsight I vary between the two but when moving with intent to another spot I tend to be more on the high side.  The solid frame of my lower body + the longer paddle optimized my stroke.

 

As always ... thanks a TON to you all!

22 minutes ago, Felix77 said:

 Elbow stress was diminished significantly focusing on this.

This is HUGE.  Elbow issues with take you off the water, and the rod out of your hand.

Also, I use a high stroke, with quiet catch and release. (see what I did there :P)

you have a Ride so your seat is adjustable forward and backward.  when i had a ride, I'd usually slide my seat all the way forward if i was going to be paddling any distance or wanted more power to paddle upstream.  slide it back if you have waves crashing over the bow as you will raise the bow with your weight further back.  

I also used a 240cm paddle, but I think a 250cm paddle is probably ideal for the Ride as long as you arent really short.  a paddle blade with more surface area is ideal as well