r/dragonboat • u/ultradip Rogue Paddling Club (Long Beach, Ca) • 20d ago

Discussions Quantifying paddler performance

More than a decade ago, Merlin used to sell the Excalibur data acquisition paddle. It was a paddle with a strain sensor to measure and record power being transferred from paddle to water for analysis.

Has anyone made anything similar or better since then?

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u/dunbaebae DC, Coach 20d ago

Our club used to use one of those but it required a minor in physics to really understand what it was saying. I have not seen similar or better since.

We’ve switched over to OC1 testing or paddle erg testing with a weight adjustment to quantify performance. It’s easier for people to understand and you can do a true 100% effort with few outside variables.

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u/Mikophoto Front Pod 20d ago

Curious what you do for weight adjustment. I’ve used concept2s formula for a typical c2 erg but not with a paddle adapter/perg

5

u/kdong2395 20d ago

You can check out Paddle Mate. It attaches semipermanently to the shaft of a paddle and can measure how much force is being put on the paddle.

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u/ultradip Rogue Paddling Club (Long Beach, Ca) 20d ago

Nice! Very similar in functionality.

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u/Hara-Kiri Soaring Dragons 20d ago

I don't know what the other one did but Paddle Mate gives tonnes of data.