Kayak... the paddle
 

I decided to make my own paddle for the kayak. I thought I would try a
greenland style rather than the euro-lollipop.

In the interest of strength I used ash for the center laminations . The
outer laminations are all white cedar. The tips (painted white) are coated
in fiberglass and epoxy to add split and abrasion resistance.

I used a bandsaw for the rough shape, followed a spoksave, rasp, file and
sandpaper.

The finish is BLO. The word is that most greenland paddlers prefer just oil
rather than a slippery film finish.

I hollowed out all but the outermost laminations to save weight.
Unfortunately I was only able to get it down to 35oz.

If I make another, I'll use just thin ash laminations perpendicular to the
face of the paddle. That shoudl keep the weight of ash only where it does
the most good.

Thanks for looking,

Steve

Kayak... the paddle
 

On 05/02/2010 05:47 PM, C & S wrote:
I decided to make my own paddle for the kayak. I thought I would try a
greenland style rather than the euro-lollipop.

I've never used a greenland style paddle, but those look like pretty
thick blades. It's probably where the weight is coming from.

Chris

Kayak... the paddle
 

"Chris Friesen" wrote in message
I've never used a greenland style paddle, but those look like pretty
thick blades. It's probably where the weight is coming from.

Chris

To some degree yes, but using too much ash whose density is twice that of
white cedar is also a major culprit. particularly at the tip of the blade,
it is not offering me much benefit. I thought that I could make up for the
density difference with the hollowing, but not as much as I'd hoped.

This being my first paddle I did not want to deviate too far from a tried
and true plan

http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/makegreen2.pdf

As far as thickness is concerned, it is driven by ergonomic factors. The
profile of the grip (oval, 1-3/8 front to back and 1-1/8 tall) is intended
to be properly sized to the hand, comfy and oriented by touch.

The 1-3/8" dimmension is the thickest part of the blade, and there is a
linear taper from there to the tip of the blade. Next time, I will make that
taper somewhat concave. I don't want to flatten it too much as that some
folks complain that too flat a blade tends to induce "flutter" in the
performance of the blade.

I could also eliminate the shoulder in the blade, although I might miss
having that tactile registration point.

-Steve