I have not used teh paddle yet - waiting until the finish dries a bit more. I'll determine then if I can detect the flexibility and if it works to my advantage.

I appreciate all of the advice. I think I will make some test "blades" with different layups to determine the stiffness: carbon fiber with some glass, with solid foam, strips of foam, solid veener, etc. I'll post what I discover.
Dale

: Have you done much paddling with the paddle as it actually is now?
: Some people like to have blades which flex a bit, absorb the
: shock, and give a little kick at the end of the stroke. You
: might be happy with it the way it is.

: if you want to increase the stiffness you wouldn't need to put a
: full piece of foam over the back. A few strips of foam, say, 1/4
: inch wide and as long as you want would make a great base. Cover
: them with glass or carbon and they will stiffen things nicely.
: Like thin ribs, and a fraction the weight of covering the full
: width of the blade. If you didn't want to use foam strips you
: could use plastic soda straws as forms and lay your stiffening
: glass over these. Almost no weight at all to those armatures.
: use a drop of fast setting crazy glue (cyanoacrylate) to hold
: the straws in place before you glass over them.

: If you want something as stiff as wood, use wood. You can laminate
: layers of veneer in a simple mold and make your own molded
: plywood blade blanks. Paint them with epoxy to seal them
: completely, or paint them black if you wish, or glass them with
: a thin piece of glass. Lots of options on how you want to finish
: the blades.

: PGJ