I find a long, relatively thin blade works best - it's 'smooth' in the
water, as opposed to my wife's wider, shorter blade, which seems to
'catch' in the water more often. If you're wanting to experiment,
you can easily make your own paddles - a 8' piece of 2x2 lumberyard spruce
(no knots), round it off with
a plane, then cut out your preferred blade 'scoop' with a jigsaw. Pick out
a blade shape you might like, trace it on to thin marine ply, cut those out.
To try out a blade, just screw the blades to the shaft temporarily (no
glue), go paddle, and decide if you like it. Use thickened
epoxy to attach the blades to the shaft, and epoxy resin to glass the
forward face of the blades. Takes an afternoon and maybe an
evening, costs about $20 CDN. If you are interested, e-mail me, and I'll
send along instructions. I've made three of 'em - slightly different styles,
but all are very light, tough paddles, warm to hold and easy on the
hands, with a little flex in 'em, which I like.
Doubt if I'll ever buy a paddle.

Rick Hayes
Upper Gullies, NL CA
REPLACE vk1nf with rhayes to reply




---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.520 / Virus Database: 318 - Release Date: 18/09/03