: Also, many g-paddlers suggest no finish or an oil finish rather
: than varnish. Thoughts? What about varnished blades and
: an oiled shaft?

There are some old Greenland paddles with bone edge reinforcement in the dusty archives. But it wasn't to pretty up the paddle --- just to make it survive in ice. 'Spose you could do it with high density polyethelene if you wanted. Just make sure you can use it in an extended brace without chewing your hand up.

As to varnish versus oil or nothing --- the argument for nothing is that, if you get a crack in the finish and water gets into the crack, it'll rot the wood. But that'd apply to a varnished deck or a varnished coaming, too, and that doesn't seem to be a major problem. So, the "purist" solution --- to which I subscribe --- may or may not hold water, as it were. Oil is good --- but see above: make sure it doesn't get slick in cold weather. Sex wax is a remedy to slick paddles. Basically, I think a lot of us paddle with naked Greenland paddles is 'cause that's what the Greenlanders did and do. And it feels good in the hand.

Jack