: hardwood on the paddle shaft is very important. The hardwood must be
: positioned on the shaft so that it is parallel to the blade surface
: orientation. This creates an I-beam like structure that is much stronger
: than a shaft made of one piece of softwood. Making a paddle of laminated
: pieces allows any defects in the wood to be eliminated. By gluing up the

thanks Rob,

I find this quite interesting as I just laminated a blank for a greenland paddle which has somewhat similar structure: two strips running down the middle about half length. They'll make the front and back of the loom and taper down to nothing along the blades. Inside the loom however there is a hollow 1.5x2.0 cms running well into the blades as well. This will give a structure resembling a rectangular box, an "II" with the wider faces against the bending force of the blades. All spruce as this will be an experiment.

But even taking account of all the points that have come up here on KBBB, I may still end up lightening it too much, inquisitive as I am.