Jul 262010
Finally got the pics taken of the paddles the wife and I worked on this spring.
First up is her beavertail style paddle. I did the rough cutting, she did the carving, and then I did the finishing (she didn’t have time)
The blade is 26″ long and 6.5″ wide, with a total area of 135 sq in. We worked together to design it, based on the designs of others and our goal to make this a good distance touring paddle.
It makes an excellent stern paddle on flat water but is very good for pretty much any purpose outside of whitewater.
It is made of a solid piece of walnut and has a tung oil finish.
The top grip is basically a pear/guide hybrid kind of deal, nice to use with a variety of grips and strokes.
Theres nothing more rewarding than making, then being able to use a paddle you’ve carved yourself. knocked up a couple a few years back while taking part on a wilderness guide course in Hazel & Mountain Ash…..nothing beats a homemade Paddle….nice post Tony.
Thanks!
On your course did you do it the traditional way (axe and crooked knife)? That is something I’ve always wanted to try.
No machine work, all hand tools. Took longer than I expected but was worth it. I eventually gave it to the chap that ran the course for his Birthday who is now one of my very good fiends. Says its probably the best present he’s recieved in the last 20 yrs. The look on his face when I gave it to him was priceless.