Paddles

[bigyellowtractor]

Having been paddling about for a bit now, I have come to appreciate that the various shapes and styles of paddles lend themselves to different environments and uses.

I have the cheap wooden paddle I bought when I completed the boat but the blade is stubby and thick. It gets you moving but is splashy and allows no finesse. Great as a spare though.

I bought a Grey Owl "Guide". That's a lovely paddle to use; very fine blade for quiet paddling. The blade is long and slim though so in shallow water you can only use half the surface area. Also, it's a bit delicate for pushing yourself off and over fallen trees and dragging through choking weed.

The Ainsworth C100 is a good bashing paddle. It's like a shovel; will give loads of power and take any abuse. It's not nice to use for long though.

So, I decided to make a paddle that was fine enough to enjoy using but strong enough to take some abuse. I chose a modified otter tail shape from a book but left the blade a bit heavier at the edges and carried the thickness of the shaft further down.

The wide dark wood is cut from some balustrade I rescued from a Victorian house about 20 years ago. And I think is probably African Mahogany. The white wood is just redwood but I found a piece with dead-straight grain where it matters. The lighter dark wood is a bit of beading I found and will be plantation grown, non specific, fluffy hardwood rubbish. All timber ripped by hand with an old spear and jackson, jointed with a Bailey 4 1/2 and shaping was done with a spoke shave.

When it's had some coats of varnish, we'll see if my theories are bollox or not.

[cape man]

Wow! That is gorgeous, and the hand tool build is impressive!

[terrulian]

That's some great craftsmanship right there, and interesting info on the design. Well done!

[Jeff]

Very well done!!! Jeff

[Fair WX Pilot]

Mate, that is a fantastic job. I bet you really turn some heads in a custom canoe with one of a kind accessories like that. If you’re able, can you post pictures and let us know how it performs. I have been enjoying your posts about your mornings out exploring the canals and rivers.

[bigyellowtractor]

Thanks chaps.

I went paddling today (pictures will be on my HC12 thread soon) and one of the guys had a quiver of demo paddles from http://www.downcreekpaddles.com/the-paddles/ for all to try

Now, they make my craftsmanship look like I am splitting sticks for kindling

[pee wee]

Let's see . . . you made a canoe and paddle you can be proud of, enjoyed two building projects, and spent approximately nothing on the paddle. I'd say you did good!

[TomW1]

Outstanding paddle. Nothing better than some beautiful wood work to bring some bling to your boat. And don't feel bad about your paddle against the pro designed paddles, yours is every bit as good. I am very familiar in what it takes to produce these multi-wood pieces. My dad was doing them 20 years ago. I 'm sitting beside a lamp that has 4 woods in it and upstairs is an end table with 14 different woods veneered into the top, not one touching the duplicate of itself. So keep it up that is great paddle properly proportioned and love the woods used.

Tom

[willg]

BYT, that is beautiful! How did you shape the shaft and handle?

[bigyellowtractor]

Thanks for the compliments all

BYT, that is beautiful! How did you shape the shaft and handle?

For the handle shape, I copied the shape of the grip of my other paddle. Cut the bulk off with a coping-saw then refined with a spokeshave, rasp and sandpaper.

The shaft is tapered slightly finer towards the grip, where it is round in section. The lower part it thicker and slightly oval, being thicker front to back (does that make sense ?)

To shape the shaft, I drew a centre-line and two other lines on each face with a pencil and used them as a guide to get it roughly to shape with a spokeshave. The final shaping is done by look and feel. I did use a vernier to check I was round(ish) where I wanted to be. A long trip of sandpaper wrapped over and used like how you'd dry your back after a bath works well. Just make sure you finish in the direction of the grain.

I rarely go above 120 grit paper before paint or 180 for varnish.