Not much if you are bare in Patten Maine.
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Dri Ki Paddles
- Thread starter Robin
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Not much if you are bare in Patten Maine.
Glenn,
Ha Ha! Mea culpa! I take my cues from a couple of Greenland Inuit I know who still hunt seals from their kayaks (with a rifle but they still have to harpoon the seal before it sinks) . They are not wedded to tradition but are wedded to what works. 50 years ago a Greenlander cut up a couple of plastic buckets to use as ribs in a kayak he was building. It was easier forming ribs out of straight pieces of wood. When it got cold the ribs became brittle and started breaking. Back to wood! They also use canvas and nylon in lieu of sealskin now. Someone donated some composite kayaks to a community as a gesture to help the hunters. They were used once and abandoned. Too noisy to stalk seals.
Ha Ha! Mea culpa! I take my cues from a couple of Greenland Inuit I know who still hunt seals from their kayaks (with a rifle but they still have to harpoon the seal before it sinks) . They are not wedded to tradition but are wedded to what works. 50 years ago a Greenlander cut up a couple of plastic buckets to use as ribs in a kayak he was building. It was easier forming ribs out of straight pieces of wood. When it got cold the ribs became brittle and started breaking. Back to wood! They also use canvas and nylon in lieu of sealskin now. Someone donated some composite kayaks to a community as a gesture to help the hunters. They were used once and abandoned. Too noisy to stalk seals.
Apparently Rick is down at the mill much of the time where there is no phone. It took a few days to get a response to my email, but I did find out that the 60 inch long beavertail has a shaft length of 35" and the 63 inch long beavertail a shaft length of 37".
Is it usual for the length of a paddle blade to change with shaft length? It seems odd to me, but maybe there are different customs and design theories for an animal tail paddle, with which I don't have a lot of experience or interest any more. I did begin with Old Town beaver tails.
I was told that blade sizes for these paddles are "proportionate" to overall length.
An interesting concept.. proportionality.. Probably keeps the paddles better balanced. Larger paddlers may have the horsepower to deal with bigger blade area too.
I have 2 beavertail paddles, one is a Porter and the other is so similar that I believe it is also a Porter. Porter was the man who taught Rick at Dri Ki how to make paddles.
The paddle I know is a Porter is 57", the other is 63". Both have exactly the same grip, shaft, throat and flare shapes. The blades have the same shapes, only different dimensions. Both grips are six inches from top to where the flare ends at the shaft. The 57" has a noticeably thinner flare at the bottom of the grip if you look at it from the side. From the face side, both grips are exactly the same.
The 57" has a 27" shaft, measured from end of the flare on top to where the flare at the throat begins, which gives it a 24" blade from where the throat begins to the tip.
The 63" has a 30" shaft and a 27" blade.
Here are the two blades with both paddles matched at the throat.
Here are the grips.
The bigger paddle is directly under the smaller paddle both throats are a perfect match.
The paddle I know is a Porter is 57", the other is 63". Both have exactly the same grip, shaft, throat and flare shapes. The blades have the same shapes, only different dimensions. Both grips are six inches from top to where the flare ends at the shaft. The 57" has a noticeably thinner flare at the bottom of the grip if you look at it from the side. From the face side, both grips are exactly the same.
The 57" has a 27" shaft, measured from end of the flare on top to where the flare at the throat begins, which gives it a 24" blade from where the throat begins to the tip.
The 63" has a 30" shaft and a 27" blade.
Here are the two blades with both paddles matched at the throat.
Here are the grips.
The bigger paddle is directly under the smaller paddle both throats are a perfect match.
I've sent an e mail to Dri-Ki and I've called and left a voice mail message but I have not had a reply to either attempt. Bummer. I discovered that out in my pile of paddles is a beavertail I purchased years ago that is identical to the Dri-Ki paddles depicted on the web site. Its a nice paddle.
Wish I could make contact somehow.
Wish I could make contact somehow.
He runs the shop, she runs the office and family, might be some issue keeping them from responding quickly, maybe they went to Disneyworld...or maybe it's just a northern Maine thing.
Or maybe he received so many orders from this thread that the whole family is out there making new Beavertails for the BLONA (Beavertail Lovers of North America)
Or maybe he received so many orders from this thread that the whole family is out there making new Beavertails for the BLONA (Beavertail Lovers of North America)
If it was Feb/Mar, and I lived in Maine, I think I'd probably try to be somewhere warmer for awhile...
Its going up to the mid 20's tomorrow. Seriously I would not be too impatient. Undoubtedly the folks have another job as do many Mainers and winter is logging season. There is a lot going on in mid winter..not including just keeping the roads clear(it snowed again..yet).
Or yes they could be off seeking some sun.. Or more pressing matters might loom aka frozen septic tank or replenishing the woodpiles or some other nasty winter emergency...
Its great fun to have your septic tank freeze.
Or yes they could be off seeking some sun.. Or more pressing matters might loom aka frozen septic tank or replenishing the woodpiles or some other nasty winter emergency...
Its great fun to have your septic tank freeze.
Yes, we are no strangers to such difficulties here in Vermont. But, you do grow used to it over the years. There is nothing like springtime here in the north. Winter is the price we have to pay to have such a glorious spring - and it is just around the corner!
Well, its been more than a week now. I called twice and left voice mails. I e mailed from the web site. No response. Anyone have any other ideas? Seems like if he was away on vacation or something he would have left a message on his voice mail. I guess I am going to give up and look elsewhere. Anyone have other ideas for good beavertail paddles?
Shaw and Tenney.
$30? How is this company can make a paddle for $30 and all the other "small" retailers are selling their handmade paddles for $200+
While a nice paddle is...well....nice, I am hesitant to drop $250 on a paddle because it has an aura of trendiness about it and a fancy design burned into it. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to dropping coin on quality material. I have Ostrom packs, and fancy foreign axes. But $30 compared to $200 for a piece of wood shaved into a pleasing shape I don't understand. I have 2 animal tail cherry paddles that bears Archie Belaney's alias on them that the guy on Maintoulin's Wind and Wave threw in with the purchase of the canoe. I love them. Sanded them down and refinished them twice over the 12 years since I have had them. To replace them I think it would cost me $100 or thereabouts depending on which retailer I get them from.
I use my paddles for more than gliding through the water. Sometimes it is to hold up the tarp, sometimes it is prying on rocks and sometimes I have stepped on them. To have a $250 paddle on a trip that is not sturdy enough to tolerate the abuses of my style of canoe tripping would petrify me.
So I like the price of these paddles but here is the question I pose to you who carry those ultra expensive paddles....Is the extra money worth it?
While a nice paddle is...well....nice, I am hesitant to drop $250 on a paddle because it has an aura of trendiness about it and a fancy design burned into it. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to dropping coin on quality material. I have Ostrom packs, and fancy foreign axes. But $30 compared to $200 for a piece of wood shaved into a pleasing shape I don't understand. I have 2 animal tail cherry paddles that bears Archie Belaney's alias on them that the guy on Maintoulin's Wind and Wave threw in with the purchase of the canoe. I love them. Sanded them down and refinished them twice over the 12 years since I have had them. To replace them I think it would cost me $100 or thereabouts depending on which retailer I get them from.
I use my paddles for more than gliding through the water. Sometimes it is to hold up the tarp, sometimes it is prying on rocks and sometimes I have stepped on them. To have a $250 paddle on a trip that is not sturdy enough to tolerate the abuses of my style of canoe tripping would petrify me.
So I like the price of these paddles but here is the question I pose to you who carry those ultra expensive paddles....Is the extra money worth it?
Sri Ki a paddles are made from local wood and they do not have a distribution network. Nor do they need dealer space. The question of the cost of a paddle has so many variables that it needs it's own thread I don't know but the owner may actuAlly be at Shaw and Tenney
G
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YC, what do you do about a frozen septic tank? Build a fire on top of it?
Why are you asking me? ??? Try a more appropriate public forum
Shaw and Tenney makes nice paddles. I own one. Not cheap. Might have to go that route but it will be more than $200 for what I am looking for. Badger might be an option. I have to be in Ottawa in late April to pick up a canoe I am having built, (Headwaters Canoes). Trailhead is in Ottawa and I believe they carry Badger paddles. Maybe I'll take a look. I believe they are more in the $120 range.
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