: the holst layout has more measurements than the deck at My house
: its also a pain to get all the lines just right if in fact you
: dont do your planing and cutout just right as you lose your
: plumb points.

My first paddle was made using Holst's instructions, but I didn't like the flat, overly flexible blade tips that resulted. Starting with my second paddle, I carried the center ridge right to the tips and have been doing so ever since. It makes it much easier to achieve the shape I like.

: your thoughts please simple straight diamond cross section???

Carving a diamond cross section is one of the steps in the process, but you shouldn't stop there. Once you have the diamond shape (with ~3/8" flats left on the edges of the blades), start knocking off the hard edges and continue until you have a rounded diamond at the shoulders that transitions to smoothly-rounded, lenticular (lens-shaped) tips. The Gail Ferris drawing posted above is what you're shooting for.