Hi Tim,

Take a look at what Dan Henderson is up to and you may get some ideas. He is the best I know of in that arena. Though it is not his specialty, if there is a good paper on paddle design, Dan will know about it.
Links are to his shop and blogspot.

http://www.canoe-kayak.com/about-us/cascade-s-founder
http://dancanoekayak.blogspot.com/

Reg

: Does anyone have a good technical design paper on paddle blade design?

: I have been through the archives, over the Google-net and past a dozen
: pay-per-view sport science articles.

: This isn't a new science, there must exist a decent design primer for paddle
: blades.

: It seems like the two most common methods for designing a paddle blade are:
: 1. Copy an existing blade by making a mold of you favorite blade,
: 2. Custom make one that looks like what current paddle blades look like in
: the store.

: Maybe I am a bit too concerned, but if I am going to make a paddle and then
: us it for a 1/2 a million strokes (not all at once...) then I would like
: to not wonder during all that seat time "how much further would I be
: if I had designed an efficient blade into this???"

: Thanks, Tim