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Where should I buy Paddles


GaryMinor

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I have looked at kayak paddles at West Marine and Dick's Sporting Goods. Both look the same, but neither have the diamond shape mentioned by Jeff in a recent post. 

 

I really don't want to build my own paddles. Are the commercial ones any good. This kayak will be used for casual "Messing About"

 

Gary in Wake Forest.

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Diamond shape would only apply to Greenland, those skinny sticks. What you are looking at are European style with the big blades.  

 

As to which one there is a lot of personal preference in which one you like. If you are new to paddling you probably won't notice much difference. But i will say buy the lightest one you can. Swinging that paddle around a few hundred times the weight will really make a difference. Past that you are on you own. I am a sworn Greenland paddler.

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The biggest problem with buying wooden Greenland style paddles is shipping. The average length for most people is 8' or a little longer.  I make Greenland paddles for sale, but have yet to find a reasonable way to ship them.

 

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I use Western Red Cedar and/or Alaskan Yellow Cedar with hardwood tips (Maple, Meranti)  I have done laminated up blanks for effects and solid one piece (except for the tips).  Based on building trials I can make a paddle and finish it (tung oil) for $165.  The problem is getting it to you.  I tried to get a local outfitter to carry them.  But they have no desire to learn about anything except that which sells to people who don't know any better.  I am by no means a great paddler, but I appreciate the Greenland style, never mind that it is wood, which makes it a winner in my book from the start.  My paddles weigh in at  under 2 lbs..

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Just have to find large tubes and send them through UPS. I recently had one made by Jill Ellis of Adanac Paddles in Canada and she shipped that way.

 

Your prices are very reasonable but it is hard field to break into. Lots of makers of GP's but your look good and most don't laminate them. Figure out shipping and I might just buy one.

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A contractor I used to work for did reproduction trim work that he had someone custom make and they shipped 6 inch diameter 8 foot tubes to him all the time UPS, Don't know what it cost, but sure it wasn't cheap.

Hirilonde, Those paddles are quite beautiful! Will see how I like using mine, and I might just have to buy one from you!

Gary, I built just a basic Greenland paddle from a single cedar 2x4 ($6.21) and it was really quite easy and fun to make. It is far from perfect, but perfect for what I wanted which was to try one out before I spent more money on a nicer one or spent alot of time building a nicer one.

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From the UPS Website...(108 inches = 9 ft.)

"Packages can be up to 150 lbs.

Packages can be up to 165 inches in length and girth combined.

Packages can be up to 108 inches in length.

Packages with a large size-to-weight ratio require special pricing and dimensional weight calculations."

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I have talked with the local UPS store and done researrch on tubes.  It turns out that UPS can do the packaging for me using a long narrow box cheaper than I can get the tubes and therefore I qualify for their insurance on the packaging.  Most distances would come to a total of approximately $50-$55.  Locations in my area would be a little less and extremes might become $60 total.  For some reason outside of Chicago is a little more.  We plugged in several locations ranging from FL to CA and most came in within the $50-$55 range.  This would make the total for a paddle shipped to you $215.  How does that stack up against the other paddle makers Jeff?

 

On a related note I may be able to get Sitka Spruce for paddles.  If so, this would be my first choice.  It has a much nicer grain for shaping, even better than the ALC which is quite good and much better than the WRC which can tear out.  The reason I can offer laminated is because what it cost in additilonal labor I save in material as I laminate to a rectangular loom for the blades only, and not create a full 2x4 to shape from.

 

At this point I would have to try the whole process from taking orders to shipping to get a feel for how much work the whole process would be.  I think it would be fun to make this a part time enterprise to subsidize my soon retirement, but that would eventually mean an on line store like Jeff has.

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$215 would be very reasonable. Some of the big names that come to mind are Joe O paddles, Lumpy Paddles. Adanac Paddles (Jill Ellis) and there are others but these are the ones off the top of my head.  I am sure they command more but they have a great reputation and have been in business a good while.  

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Gary,

 

Although I am an inexperienced, recreational kayaker I think Jeff's advice for the lightest sturdy paddle in your price range may be spot on.  In searching the net I have come up with buyer's guides you may find helpful:  http://www.kayakonline.com/choosing_a_paddle.html ; http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/kayak-paddle.html .  You may find them interesting in making your choice. 

 

Two things that come to mind:

 

1.  The GP seems to be a pretty "wet" paddle and you have a big open cockpit for water to run down into.  I think a euro has a tendency to be slightly less wet (I'm referring to water running down the shaft from the blade suspended in the air and flowing over your hands into the cockpit).

 

2.  It appears that euro paddles of the lighter, more exotic materials meet and exceed the price of a GP.  So the lower end euro's are all aluminum shaft with plastic blades and the brand probably doesn't matter much.

 

P.S.  There are experienced kayakers out there who have used the euro and the GP and see advantages in the euro.  Of course, they are talking about the high priced. exotic material versions.

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P.S.  There are experienced kayakers out there who have used the euro and the GP and see advantages in the euro GP

 

 

 

I fixed that for you. :-)

 

On a serious note, it is all about personal preference and what suits you. There is no right and wrong.  But I will say it is extremely rare for a GP user to switch to a Euro but you see the opposite quite a lot. 

 

The comment about GP's being wet is dead on. It is very annoying in an open boat. That is one reason you don't see many casual paddlers with them. Mostly just the hard core paddlers that wear a skirt year round. You can add drip rings but they get in the way if you use your GP for anything other than just paddling a straight line.

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GPs are definitely wetter.  But if you are paddling in cold weather I would not want to go without a skirt no matter what paddle.  No paddle is dry.  And if paddling in summer when you don't care about wet, more wet is not an issue.  If you brace or use a sliding stroke with a GP then a drip ring is in the way.  I think very few touring paddlers, especially those with a few winters under their belts, who really give a GP a chance will go back to anything else.  it is that much kinder on the body.  And my final comment on paddles in general is that anything but wood looks out of place in a SoF kayak IMO.  It's like putting an aluminum mast on a classic wooden sailboat.  In the end, it is your decision, and you can always change your mind later.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The dark paddle, with blonde tips and loom edges that form "darts" down the blade.

Very handsome, to my eye. I find the design striking.

The all look worth 2 bills.

LOL, that is the one Jeff told me he likes.  I had better figure out how to make it faster than that one.  I was trying to figure out how to use up some scraps in the shop and that is what I ended up with.  The Alaskan Yellow Cedar  (blond loom edges that form "darts" down the blades) was the band saw cut offs from making the solid AYC paddle.  Getting the tapered edges true and matching the opposite side was time consuming as was getting the rest of the blade pieces to fit.  But I liked the result and it is now my personal paddle.  Shaping is the same work/time regardless of the glue up, but the fitting and glue up of the pieces can take some time.  Thanks for the kind words.

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At this point I would have to try the whole process from taking orders to shipping to get a feel for how much work the whole process would be.  I think it would be fun to make this a part time enterprise to subsidize my soon retirement, but that would eventually mean an on line store like Jeff has.

 Do a little research for online stores/shopping cart/website. and you might be surprised at how cheaply you can get all setup, I believe paypal still has a very affordable complete package, I had one years ago, also ebay has some too that are integrated with paypal checkout. Or you can use any cheap website package like through godaddy or similar and cheaply add a checkout system. And, alot of the systems are so automated that they even send the emails for you, all you have to do is fullfill the order and ship it.

 

BTW, I love the second one from the front in the pic where they are sitting on the wicker love seat :)

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Well, thanks to this thread I have just received my first order for his and hers Greenland style paddles.  I will take some pictures of the paddles I make for this order and look for comments on the patterns that people like best, or make my paddles unique and of interest to people who might then choose me to make their paddles.  Even if you are not looking to buy a paddle I am looking for the types of comments that can help me choose just what it is I need to offer to get this enterprise going and possibly set me apart from others who make these paddles.  I am quite busy from now until the fall with managing a small local marina.  I have time for this order and a couple more if they should happen.  My goal is to use this time period and the few paddles I make to work out the bugs so that I know what to offer on my site when I put it together in the fall.

 

It seems unanimous on the design people like most. It is my accidental, use up some scraps of AYC and WRC,  laminated pattern paddle.  What is it about the design that people like?  Is it the multi-color loom?  Or the pointed pattern on the blade?  If both, which of the 2 parts of the pattern caught your eye first?  Straight laminations are by far the easiest and fastest to make.  But if something more elaborate really catches people's fancy, like appears to be the case already,  then I will just have to make it work.  My goal is to offer something a little unique at a reasonable price and still make some money.   Personally I think the hardwood tips are mandatory.  Not because it adds to the look, though I think it does, but because Cedars, both WRC and AYC will take a beating pushing off, even in sand.  Inuit paddles use bone for the tips, and also used bone to edge the blades against damage from ice.  I will not do hardwood edges on the blades.  Few if any of us have issues with ice and the added work would make the paddles very expensive.  I suppose if someone was willing to pay a lot of money, I would build almost anything, but I doubt that is most of my potential customers.

 

Thanks again for the comments and encouragement.  I will keep you all updated.

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