Brian Nystrom wrote in
news:JGmth.2879$qN1.2764@trndny02:



"Dihedral" refers to a blade with a ridge down the center and faces
that slope away from it toward the edges of the blade. Your Camano is a
perfect example. I assume a "flat" blade would be one that's flat
across its width, but not necessarily along its length. Nigel Foster's
paddles are like that, with a smooth back for good water flow when used
for turns, rudders, sweeps, etc.

The Lightning Std. also has a flat blade and is much more affordable than
Nigels Paddles. Up until a few months ago when I bought a Werner Cyprus I
used one for many years and loved it especially for ruddering strokes and
sculling.