Solo Tripping Paddles

[Robin]

I use ash beavertails, 57", I buy them used from my local wood canvas canoe guy Schuyler Thomson. Nice narrow shaft and some flex which I like.

I don't care if some people say flex effects the performance of your stroke, I don't care if ash is heavy, I like the look, the durability, the price and the history. I think I'm tired at the end of the day because I'm not used to so much activity and I'm old, not because I use a heavy paddle.

I also think it's great that there are so many other paddle options, it's all good.

 

[Rippy]

I solo trip in a NC Pal tandem canoe. Bending Branches 56" Explorer Plus and a BB Arrow for a spare. I like the feel of wooden things in my hand, paddles, axe handles, knife handles etc.
I see that the Explorer Plus has been discontinued.

 

[Guest]

I use ash beavertails, 57", I buy them used from my local wood canvas canoe guy Schuyler Thomson. Nice narrow shaft and some flex which I like.

I don't care if some people say flex effects the performance of your stroke, I don't care if ash is heavy, I like the look, the durability, the price and the history. I think I'm tired at the end of the day because I'm not used to so much activity and I'm old, not because I use a heavy paddle.

I also think it's great that there are so many other paddle options, it's all good.

When I started paddling I used my dad’s 58” and 60” monsters. Maybe I can blame my crappy technique on that.

My singles have gotten shorter, my doubles longer and all of them have gotten lighter.

, extended remote trips on rocky rivers has me usually packing my old Norse paddle.

It is heavy, but it is one tough stick. The aluminum bar riveted in as a blade tip leaves me with no worries when I use it to push or pole off the bottom of a rocky, gravel strewn stream bed.

Willie, there is an old Norse on the paddle racks in Cooterville. You should try it sometime.

It is the only Norse I have seen with a broken shaft. Badly (and heavily) repaired by inserting a thick wood dowel in the shaft covered with epoxy resin. It is colloquially known as “The Punishment Stick”. I can guarantee there is zero flex in that paddle and it would make a dandy battle axe.

If you lost that one on the South River we wouldn’t even bother looking for it.

 

[Canotrouge]

The cherry Chieftain (opening post on page 1) that I have been using for many years is about to get a sibling-- a Beavertail in Sitka Spruce.

I like the Chieftain a lot, and I find it to be a predictable and dedicated deep-water blade-- it feathers beautifully, draws respectably, rudders adequately, and once underway it delivers the right amount of thrust per effort. Also, it rolls effortlessly in the hand for in-water recoveries.

The cherry is a little stiff in this paddle-- not dead like my carbon shaft, but it has minimal feedback. Sitka paddle shafts are my favourite for their delightfully springy feedback-- livelier than basswood, and not as stiff as cherry. I like the spring you can get out of ash, but the shaft has to be shaved to less than an inch to get the flex I like, and that's just too thin for my hands.

I have a couple of Beavertails, but not in Sitka. A Beavertail is different from a Chieftain or Ottertail, and of course the perceived advantages are subjective. As you know, the Beavertail is wider near the tip and this delivers good authority on the initial catch on power strokes. This style of blade has good effectiveness in shallow water, it yields a strong and wide sweep, and it firmly pushes back in a last-ditch low brace.

I'll post some photos as I put this new Sitka Spruce Beavertail together.

Sitka is also one of my favorite wood for paddle, super light, stiff, easy to carve and work with. Not as durable as harder wood, but not to bad. the last one I made is under a pound with the ash reinforcing tip and the finish!! That said it is a smaller paddle, 56", 26"x5" blade!!

I'm working on a birch paddle now, that is my first time using birch, I think it will be a good compromise in terms of durability and weight!!

 

[Guest]

Sitka is also one of my favorite wood for paddle, super light, stiff, easy to carve and work with. Not as durable as harder wood, but not to bad. the last one I made is under a pound with the ash reinforcing tip and the finish!! That said it is a smaller paddle, 56", 26"x5" blade!!

I have never worked with Sitka. I like the sound of light, stiff and easy to carve and work with, but Sitka isn’t an especially common board on the east coast.

Wait.. . . 56” is a smaller paddle? How long is a big paddle? I feel the sudden urge to sing a little person’s helium enhanced Wizard of Oz version of the Yellow Brick Road while wearing ruby mukluks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cwCIkKFFR4

Other than pricey specialty shops it is a tough to locate a piece of wood I’d spend the time and effort to turn into a paddle in the mid-Atlantic area. That being the case I’ll go the route of resurrecting antique sticks to functionality. Hereabouts in is much easier to find an in-need-of refurbishment stick than a decent piece of wood.

http://www.canoetripping.net/forums/forum/paddlecraft-construction/20631-paddle-work-in-progress

By far the coolest DIY paddle I have ever seen was a piece of walnut, passed from Canoe Tripping friend Chip, to me, to more deserving paddle maker friend NT. That was a near center slice of a walnut log that had the ( ) shape of a blade in the wood grain. The finished paddle had a Cat’s Eye chatoyance on the blade when tilted from side to side.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatoyancy

I will leave it to Chip to tell you what his son did with the rest of his pile of rough sawn walnut.

The horror. . . . the horror. . . .

 

[yellowcanoe]

Sitka is also one of my favorite wood for paddle, super light, stiff, easy to carve and work with. Not as durable as harder wood, but not to bad. the last one I made is under a pound with the ash reinforcing tip and the finish!! That said it is a smaller paddle, 56", 26"x5" blade!!

Same dimensions pretty much as my Algonquin Guide paddle. Short shaft, long blade. I think my blade is about an inch longer and shaft shorter. Nice narrow blade for deepwater solo control!
However mine is of cherry and Jodie-Marc LaLonde used to make hefty paddles. I haven't weighed it but believe it to be around 24 oz

 

[Canotrouge]

Wait.. . . 56” is a smaller paddle? How long is a big paddle? I feel the sudden urge to sing a little person’s helium enhanced Wizard of Oz version of the Yellow Brick Road while wearing ruby mukluks.

I'm 6'2" and I like my tripping/deep water/traditional paddle to be around 64", but the one I'm working on now will be just under 66" with blades at 6"X28". As for my ww paddles, they all rune around 58"...

If I was out east, I would probably try to find soft maple or birch for a paddle, not as light at sitka spruce, but more durable for sure and lighter that the harder wood out there like ash walnut maple and cherry. AN other wood to consider is Alder, light and nice to work with. I guess one could use any Spruce for a paddle and it would yield some thing similar to Sitka maybe not as light and stiff, but good none the less!!

 

[yellowcanoe]

We all have to remember LOA is meaningless in paddles. What matters is the length of the shaft. a 28 inch shaft is not long but its sufficient in the Canadian Style position.

 

[Canotrouge]

We all have to remember LOA is meaningless in paddles. What matters is the length of the shaft. a 28 inch shaft is not long but its sufficient in the Canadian Style position.

I know that and I'm sure most here do to, but every body still talk about LOA when we talk paddle. That is why my ww paddles are shorter over all than my traditional paddles!!

 

[Peach Canoe]

I work with two shaft lengths (grip to throat): 32" for cruising paddles (Chieftain, Ottertail, Beavertail etc), and 35" for reaching paddles (moving water, FreeStyle, and most 2-seaters). I'm about 5'-11".

 

[yellowcanoe]

I know that and I'm sure most here do to, but every body still talk about LOA when we talk paddle. That is why my ww paddles are shorter over all than my traditional paddles!!

We talk that way because mass market paddles are sold that way. You sir, know we need to change the way paddles are marketed.

 

[Canotrouge]

But really it doesn't matter how it is marketed as long as people know that if you have a paddle with a 30" blade vs one with a 19" blade, the LOA will be longer on the paddle with the 30" blade... And that is what matter.

 

[yellowcanoe]

But really it doesn't matter how it is marketed as long as people know that if you have a paddle with a 30" blade vs one with a 19" blade, the LOA will be longer on the paddle with the 30" blade... And that is what matter.

I dont agree with that at all. I have too many paddles. The long bladed ones are not longer overall with a short shaft. You can't tell a darn thing from LOA. I have several 56 LOA paddles . All are very different shaft lengths . What length of paddle in the water does not matter re biomechanics and body stress.

 

[Peach Canoe]

My 32" 'cruising' shaft-length equates to the distance between my shoulder and the water. With my torso erect and the paddle planted vertically, the blade is fully in the water to the throat, and my grip hand is straight out in front, parallel to the water. That's how I size it. As it turns out, I can sit on a bench with the paddle upside-down with the grip on the bench at my crotch-- and the throat of the paddle is at my nose.

For my 'reaching' paddle, I add 3 inches to the 'cruising' paddle. Sitting on the bench, with the grip on the bench at my crotch-- the throat of the paddle is at the middle of my forehead.

With some variations, this methodology is fairly common I think. And you know, I can go an inch or so around these numbers and still be comfortable-- it's not in stone, but it's my benchmark-- and most of my paddles fit these shaft dimensions.

 

[Canotrouge]

If you use the same shaft length on all your paddles but one as a 30" blade and the other a 19" blade, one paddle will be longer than the other one.
If you use the same LOA on all your paddle w/o taking in consideration the blade length, you will end up with paddle that have really short shaft and some with really long shaft. So the one with the really short shaft long blade, will end up with only part of the blade in the water during the stroke... So what is the purpose of having a long blade if it is to have only part of it in the water?

I'm sure you are right. So we can stop it here right now.

 

[Peach Canoe]

Hi Canotrouge. All of my paddles have different overall lengths-- the variation is in the blades. I buy strictly by shaft length, and of course that's how I make them.

 

[Canotrouge]

Hi Canotrouge. All of my paddles have different overall lengths-- the variation is in the blades. I buy strictly by shaft length, and of course that's how I make them.

Same here, that is the only way you can end up with a fully submerged blade wile keeping your hands position the same on the paddle shaft. BTW, I use the same sizing method as you do, I've been sizing paddle for years for racers of the Yukon River Quest, and I never had one come back to tell me that the paddle was too long or too short. Of course you need to have a bit of a clue of what you like to start with... That only come with experience and time on the water with different length paddles!!

 

[Peach Canoe]

Here's an interesting article on paddle selection by John Winters.

http://www.greenval.com/buy_paddle.html

 

[Peach Canoe]

Here's how I select my benchmark shaft length for my 'reaching' paddles-- moving water and FreeStyle: From kneeling with max spread I plant a comfortable on-side duffek with the blade forward about 30 degrees, open 30 about degrees, grip hand on my forehead, and blade fully immersed. For me, the on-side duffek with grip hand on my forehead requires more shaft length than an off-side duffek and a chicken-wing-- so I go with the slightly longer shaft.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Here's how I select my benchmark shaft length for my 'reaching' paddles-- moving water and FreeStyle: From kneeling with max spread I plant a comfortable on-side duffek with the blade forward about 30 degrees, open 30 about degrees, grip hand on my forehead, and blade fully immersed. For me, the on-side duffek with grip hand on my forehead requires more shaft length than an off-side duffek and a chicken-wing-- so I go with the slightly longer shaft.

Thats way long for me.. I do all my FS boating with the blade no farther forward than my knees with nose over navel and right next to the boat opening from a ten to a 45 degree pitch, hand no higher than chin. I use longer shafts on moving water where the surface might not give much blade grip. Several years ago we found body balance much more easily attained by paddle placements closer to the body. The Detroit axle is plain ugly solo

That said its better to be a couple of inches too long than way too short. There is a bit of fiddling with this sizing.. you have to understand your stance in the boat and your seat or kneeling position. Its OK to experiment.. A curtain rod is sometimes helpful and yes you can paddle with it. Nothing dogmatic about this.