> I've been working on building Greenland-style paddle according to the
> dimensions described at http://seacanoe.org/grnpadle.htm and it's almost
> ready for finishing. I have a couple of questions:

> 1. I used what I had on-hand which was a clear piece of Aspen I picked-up
> at Home Depot. It seems like it will work ok. It's pretty flexible, in
> fact maybe a little too flexible. I hate for it to break, so I thought of
> covering the blades with some 2oz glass, but that seemed like overkill. I
> thought I could run an inch wide strip of glass down the center of each
> blade and that would give it a bit more rigidity and reduce the chances of
> it breaking. Any thoughts?

> 2. I could use epoxy to waterproof the paddle, but I understand a less
> slippery surface is more appropriate. What's a good coating for doing
> this?

> Thanks for any suggestions.

> Ross

I built my Greenland paddle out of red cedar. I recomend keeping it light by finishing it with oil (no glass!). I used a 1-1-1 mixture of boiled linseed oil, kerosene, and turpentine. This soaks in faster than straight linseed oil. The added benefit of the oil finish is that it prevents blisters, that are very common with epoxy or varnish finishes. It will probably break eventually, but you will also probably have built another 'better' Greenland paddle by then. I find it fun to play with different ideas for paddles, so I am expecting to end up with several.

Mike