: After adding a coat to my newest paddle, I was leaning into it in the shop
: tonight, and cracked it.
SNIP
: Needless to say, the replacement will have (just a little) more beef.

Don,

FWIW, In Greenland, I was told that a paddle should be strong enought to support your weight, if used as a chin-up bar. I have not used that test, but I do flex the paddle blanks to test their stiffness and strength before I start carving.

Before you add "more beef", consider if using higher quality wood with better grain will solve the problem. Did it break because of grain run-out, a knot, or because you did not use vertical grain lumber? Did a laminated joint fail? Where did the paddle break? Or, as you suggest, did you simply make the paddle too thin?

Adding more material can result in strength, but uneccessary material will only add weight and dull elusive responsiveness and "spring".

Greg Stamer