: Thanks Bill. I guess its not a good idea, glad I asked as you guys
: probably saved me some frustration especially as I would have
: built two paddles. I guess I will just wait until I have built a
: kayak.

: Thanks again

: Nate

Nate,

Go ahead and build a paddle! It will take you a couple of days tops, and you'll always have it around for whatever boat you want to try it with.

One of the tricks I've learned with a GP is that the right stroke and cadence can reduce the amount of water that runs into the boat. You should keep a low angle anyway with a GP - the motion is more sliding the paddle into the water as you rotate your torso using core muscles. If you pick one side of the paddle way up and have a bunch of water running down it you're maybe not stroking right.

The process of carving a GP out of a good blank is just so much fun that I don't think you should miss out on it. I recommend a jigsaw, a bench or smoothing plane, and a spokeshave as the most satisfying tools for this job.