I whimped out and bought an Inuit paddle from Eric Shade, Brother of Nick. The shaft is 1 1/2" in diameter and is made of 2 pieces of wood glued together. Very strong. Many of the Inuit paddles I've seen have had rectangular shafts, about 3/4" x 1 1/2", that you hold with the larger flat surfaces parallel to the water. The flat of the shaft is 90-deg from the flat of the blade. Usually these shafts are made of one piece of wood, which to me is a bit scary. I like Eric's laminated method better.

Dean