I recently construced an Inuit paddle based on Chuck Holsts article. I have barely paddled with it but did do so last week in an Inuit paddling class at sea kayak symposium. Anyhow, here are my uninformed comments. Bending isn't bad so long as it doesn't break and the more it can bend, potentially the less it is likely to break (to a point). Secondly, the pic looked like the blade was really thin and that that thinness was carried throught the length of the blade...so yours probably bends a fair amount more than mine, which is more tapered up to the loom. I am glassing the ends of my blades to prevent abrasion from pushing off and such but wanted to keep most of it just as an oiled wood surface since that seems to be what most experienced paddlers have reccomended (I have read that most coatings are too slick and you can lose your grip). Now more than ever, it is a wise idea to carry a spare paddle. Time will tell how durable these things are. I very much like mine though, even though I anticipated that it would feel to tractionless and I would bag it after my first paddle. Also, cedar (which is what mine is also made out of), is about the lightest wood you can get and this is probably of some benefit in an Inuit paddle for a couple of reasons. First, lighter is just better if you are doing distance and want to go easy on the arms (although for exercise maybe heavier is better). Second, I imagine that for tricky and uniquely inuit techniques liketh like the balance brace you need all the flotation your paddle can give you, and the lighter than water your paddle is the better. BTW, for strength, I briefly considered roouting out a channel down the middle of most of the paddle and setting in one of those hollow aluminum tubes you can buy at home depot and then covering it up with epoxy, but I think I will just see how durable this paddle is and go from there.

Dave

> I just spent the last 2 hours making an Inuit Paddle. I followed the
> instructions by Gerry David, and made the paddle out of cedar. I used my
> circular saw to cut it out so that saved a lot of time. My question is,
> how is this thing suppose to paddle my boat without breaking, it seams so
> flimsy. It only weights about a pound, I think, and it dents so easily.
> What can I do to strengthen this thing or is this how it should be? I have
> some picks below of the finished product. I thought it was kind of funny
> how one web page said it would take 20 hours, did they make a typo with
> the 0?

> Gerry David's page is http://seacanoe.org/grnpadle.htm #THE GREENLAND
> PADDLE