: Thank you for your questions and commentary, but this paddle thing
: has me shooting from the hip.

: I am new to this game, and know a lot more about woodworking than I
: do about kayaking. I figured that the maple would get punky
: pretty quickly if it got wet. I used glass and epoxy because I
: have always thought in terms of "Stiffer is better". I
: wanted the curly grain in the maple to "pop" visually.
: Also, all of the broken paddles I have seen or heard of, broke
: where the loom meets the blade, hence glass.

: Next time I will try it without maple, glass or epoxy.

: In your opinion is it better to use a solid 2x4, or a glued up
: paddle?

I'm relatively new to this stuff as well.

I have not experienced paddling with a glued up paddle yet, so I can't say how it compares in terms of performance. Weight wise, solid wood is always going to weigh less. Strength wise, I will probably always trust quality solid wood more than glue.

I've made several paddles now and my preference so far is for straight grain, clear cedar 2x4 stock. The wood is pricey, but still far less than production paddle and you will feel the performance difference over lessor quality wood immediately. I seal my cedar paddles with linseed oil and call it good, but then cedar is great in the water. I can say that I think it is pretty rare for a well made paddle to break. I can put a lot of power into a paddle and I really can't see my stick breaking. In fact I actually sit on my paddle to get into my boat. I think that normally when you see breakage it is the result of flawed wood.

The beauty of a great Greenland stick is that it doesn't feel like paddling at all. The paddle will tell you when you do it wrong with a very noticeable sandpaper like vibration in the handle. The paddle I currently use the most is actually uncomfortable to paddle incorrectly! Stiffness is overrated IMHO. The stiffer it is, the harder on your joints which is what drives many to the stick in the first place. Also, you want that extra snap at the end of the stroke as it adds a surprising amount of power.

Just a few thoughts!

Eric M.