: I worked from the very small illustration on page 103 of the paddle shown
: there. With such small illustrations it is hard to get a real feel for the
: subtle details. I definately made the loom small in refrence to this
: picture, perhaps 12" and find my hands wish to rest on sections well
: along the flattened blade.

: Ah, first try. It looks good. Now who was it that said "it is better to
: look good than to feel good?"

Rob,

I don't have my copy of the book available, but it is possible that you eyeballed the paddle correctly. According to H.C. Petersen in Skinboats of Greenland, "In Disko Bay by Avannarliit where the wind is strong, the paddles are ... notably shorter than those used in kayaks of the surrounding areas". A twelve inch loom is much too short for a crusing stroke but would work just fine for a sliding stroke, where the pulling hand stays on the loom and the pushing hand slides far out onto the blade. After the stroke, the hand on the blade slides back to the loom, the hand previously on the loom slides onto the opposite blade for the next stroke, and so on. It is a "busy" stroke but it cheats the wind since the outboard blade is not hanging out much past your body, presenting very little blade for the wind to grab.

Greg Stamer