32 replies to this topic

[Hirilonde]

Here are a few pics of my lattest adventure in paddle making. I am now adding hardwood tips to my paddles. The Inuits used whale bone, but I don't have any, so I made do.
 DSCN2161.JPG   409.08K   22 downloads  DSCN2162.JPG   337.12K   18 downloads

left paddle is Alaskan Yellow Cedar with a Dark Red Meranti tip
right paddle is laminated Western Red Cedar and Alaskan Yellow Cedar with a Maple tip

[P Douglass (WA)]

Those are really nice!

[FloatingBear]

True Art!

Has anyone ever made one from a 2 X 6 for just a little more surface area?

Just scheming!

[Hirilonde]

Thanks guys.

Many people think the Greenland paddle has too little surface area, so I am sure some have made a wider blade. But it defeats the purpose of the design. Everything I find on the subject calls for widths of 3 3/8" to 3 1/2". Hundreds of years ago the width was dictated by the material available. Todays research shows that the traditional width was in fact ideal for a cruising cadence for paddling.

[Kudzu]

Has anyone ever made one from a 2 X 6 for just a little more surface area?

Greenlands are about the shape of the blade. They provide lift, not the just grab the water like a Euro paddle.

[andy00]

Dave: Very nice!

Floating Bear: The thing about homemade paddles is that you can try anything you'd like. Make one, see how it works, then make another one that works better. Some native paddles were wider (and/or different in other ways) than the western Greenland type that Dave whittled. Check out books and material on the web by Dave Zimmerly and others. You'll see interesting paddles from places like arctic Greenland, Aleutians, Mackenzie Delta, North Alaska, as well as western Greenland. My current favorite paddle is an Aleut-western Greenland hybrid, which is 8'-7" long and 3 5/16" wide.

Fair winds, Andy

[FloatingBear]

I was not thinking of anything excessively wide. I was contemplating maybe 5.5" wide by using a cedar 1X6 and gluing a strip of something down the center on each side for more handle depth. Then tapering and rounding the ends to look something like a traditional canoe paddle. So this would be a double ender that could be used in a pirogue or a canoe as well. If I like the finished product I will share pic's.

[Kudzu]

Each to his own, but start with a 'proper' Greenland paddle and learn how they are supposed to work before you go reinventing the wheel. It's hard to compare if you haven't used one and learned the proper way to paddle with it. And yes, they use a different technique.

[woodman]

O

I was not thinking of anything excessively wide. I was contemplating maybe 5.5" wide by using a cedar 1X6 and gluing a strip of something down the center on each side for more handle depth. Then tapering and rounding the ends to look something like a traditional canoe paddle. So this would be a double ender that could be used in a pirogue or a canoe as well. If I like the finished product I will share pic's.

Or you could cut a slot in the 2x4 and sandwitch a pc. of ply for the blade...

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[FloatingBear]

Thanks!

Not reinventing the wheel. I just like to tinker!

[Chris Martin]

I have several Greenland paddles that I made, a Mitchell Horizon Greenland paddle and the Toksook which might be similiar to what you described.

"Derek Hutchinson designed the Toksook paddle. According to Derek the blade is a willow leaf style based on the paddles used by the Nootak and Kotzibue paddlers (Western Alaska). "

http://www.useakayak...nt/toksook.html

Personally if I am going for nice leisure paddle I love the Greenland paddle but if I am in surf zone or in heavy chop I still prefer the wider surface area of the Toksook for braces and stern rudder strokes.

[FloatingBear]

The shape of the Toksook is what I had in mind. Thanks. Now I just need to build a Traditional Greenland and one of those.

[FloatingBear]

How far past shoulder width should I start the taper on the blades for a greenland paddle???

[Chris Martin]

You can find a lot of good information - videos and pdf files here

http://www.carvegp.com/

For length basically stand flat on the floor and reach as high as you can with your right hand and curl the last digits of your fingers - basic length is then from floor to the curl.

Loom length - bend your arms at your elbows 90 degrees outstretched and pin your elbows to your sides. Hold your hands flat in a motorcycle grip. The distance between the center of your palms is roughly the loom length and where the taper starts. Your pinky and right fingers should be able to feel the tapers for proper blade index.

[FloatingBear]

Thanks Chris that's exactly what I needed. I will also make good use of that link.

FloatingBear (Chris)

[Hirilonde]

For length basically stand flat on the floor and reach as high as you can with your right hand and curl the last digits of your fingers - basic length is then from floor to the curl.

I don't like this method at all. It takes into account the length of your legs which has nothing to do with anything about your parameters that effect paddle strokes. A long legged person would end up with a different length paddle even though the rest of his body were the same as a short legged person. I prefer to use my total arm span from finger tip to finger tip and add to this the length from elbow to wrist. This method is described in Chuck Hoists article on "Making a West Greenland Paddle"
http://www.riverswes...land_double.pdf

Loom length - bend your arms at your elbows 90 degrees outstretched and pin your elbows to your sides. Hold your hands flat in a motorcycle grip. The distance between the center of your palms is roughly the loom length and where the taper starts. Your pinky and right fingers should be able to feel the tapers for proper blade index.

Hoist describes determining loom length very much the same way and my experience shows this to be a good way.

[FloatingBear]

Thanks H! Printed and reading.

Good to hear your OK up there in RI. I really feel badly for the folks in NY and NJ.

[andy00]

Formulas for paddle length are useful, but the proof of the pudding is paddling. If it feels like you're in low gear and over-revving, make a longer paddle. If it feels like there is too much resistance, make a shorter paddle. If practical, get someone knowledgeable to watch you paddle and see if some tweeks to your technique could be helpful, as well. Paddle selection also depends on wind and water conditions; calm, smooth conditions favor a longer paddle but wind and waves favor a shorter paddle.
Life here in New Jersey is slowly returning to normal, but much remains to be repaired or sorted out.
Fair winds, Andy

[FloatingBear]

Well wishes to you as well Andy!

I took a vacation day today and will be measuring and cutting both ply and stringers. I have some nice clear cedar 2X4's and may start marking and carving on a paddle by Sunday. I just placed an order with Jeff for skin and twine. Time to get to work!

[Hirilonde]

Formulas for paddle length are useful, but the proof of the pudding is paddling. If it feels like you're in low gear and over-revving, make a longer paddle. If it feels like there is too much resistance, make a shorter paddle. If practical, get someone knowledgeable to watch you paddle and see if some tweeks to your technique could be helpful, as well. Paddle selection also depends on wind and water conditions; calm, smooth conditions favor a longer paddle but wind and waves favor a shorter paddle.
Life here in New Jersey is slowly returning to normal, but much remains to be repaired or sorted out.
Fair winds, Andy

I think that when it comes to conventional paddles your advice is very sound, but not so sure it is completely true for Greenland style paddles. I am sure there is some wiggle room in the formulas, and personal observations may be cause for an expert to tweak the design of his/her own paddle. I still don't know if I have perfected the stroke, never mind critique my paddle. But the primary logic behind the Greenland paddle is to establish a comfortable stroke and cadence that can be kept up for periods of time while travelling at a reasonable cruising speed. Making them longer or wider defeats the effect of the design. To a certain extent the paddler adjusts to the paddle rather than the other way around. Based on what I have read and learned from others I can't imagine the perfect paddle for me varies much from the formula in the article I linked. And I wonder when, or even if I will ever be good enough to tell if a modification in length, loom or blade will be better for me.