Late last year I wrote about making a paddle to keep me occupied and distracted while I waited for paint to dry. That simple project was way more fun than I expected, and it led me down a couple of very deep rabbit holes. The Wooden Canoe Heritage association has a forum for paddle makers. There are some books on the subject, and at least one excellent blog. I spent hours reading that blog…

So I just had to make a few more paddles. There were a couple of different shapes to investigate and a couple of new paddling styles to learn. I was also thinking about correcting a decades-old paddle making mistake.

The first paddle of this lot is long and skinny. As I understand it this shape is suited to solo paddling and underwater recovery strokes (i.e. goofing around). It’s too early to tell if this is going to work as advertised so I guess I’ll have to do more goofing around on the water. Then we’ll see.

The other two paddles are made from cherry and the blades have a more conventional beavertail shape. The grips are elongated to allow for different hand positions and a more relaxed stroke. This is not the kind of paddling that Kim and I normally do but it’s the kind of paddling that our wood canvas canoes like. So we have some more learning to do.

As for that decades-old mistake: one of the first paddles I ever made was for Kim. I tried my best but the resulting paddle was not great. It was too long for her, the grip was too big, the shaft was too thick and the top of the blade was too thin giving it a weird flex. But Kim thought it was fine and would not let go of it. My mission was to produce a paddle that she would prefer over the old one. The second beavertail was made with that single goal in mind.

On a sunny day in early March we took our beautiful Chestnut Chum out on Thetis Lake and tested the new paddles. It took a while for Kim to dial back her usual whitewater stroke and settle into to the new beavertail. But by the end of the trip she had found the groove and declared that she now has two good flatwater paddles. I’ll call that a minor victory.

Eastern Maple, Cherry, Linseed Oil, Spar Varnish