The Maine Guide Paddle

[Pseudonym]

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[lowangle al]

I've changed my opinion on what constitutes a Maine Guide Paddle. I got back in town about a month ago and measured the blade on mine. I stated earlier in this thread that it was 8.5 inches wide but was mistaken, it is only 7.5", but 32" long. I took it out on my first paddle after getting to the lake. I bring it as a backup paddle to mostly use when needed for specific situations.

I hadn't used it in since last season and was curious if it would paddle as nice as I remembered. Sometimes when you step away from something for a while your opinion changes about it. My opinion hadn't changed, I still loved it and used it for most of the paddle. It was an evening/night paddle with no wind on smooth water and it moved the boat along with slow easy strokes. The next morning I took it out in a little wind for a not so leisurely paddle and quickly switched back to my shorter paddle. This isn't the paddle for making time, unless you are strong enough for it, and I'm not.

Over the course of the next couple weeks I had taken out friends to fish a few times. One time I had two non paddling friends in the boat. I realized that the long paddle with the big blade not only made it easy to maneuver the boat, but it did it in a very smooth manner. It was perfect for this application, which I imagine was a big part of the Maine Guides repetoire.

So my definition of what the MGP is has changed. Now it is obvious to me that it doesn't have to be 8.5 inches wide. I do think that it has to be a beaver tail, for tradition sake. I also think there needs to be some combination of blade size and total length the enables it to "do more" then a standard beavertail at a comfortable paddling length.

It's actually a great paddle for slow easy cruising with a slow cadence. It's also great when you need to turn your boat around into the wind and keep it there, especially from the stern seat or even the bow seat facing backwards. I don't stand much anymore, but a long (MGP) is always with me. This 6 footer weighs 34.85 ounces with a 32" X 7.5" blade. This one is so light feeling (I mentioned earlier that it feels hollow) and bouyant that it takes energy to hold it down doing underwater recoveries. My ash ones have a more nuetral bouyancy for under water recoveries. One weighs 38.55 ounces and the other is 40.53. They are both six feet with blades 30.5" X 6.125"

 

[Tsuga8]

This 6 footer weighs 34.85 ounces with a 32" X 7.5" blade. This one is so light feeling (I mentioned earlier that it feels hollow) and bouyant that it takes energy to hold it down doing underwater recoveries. My ash ones have a more nuetral bouyancy for under water recoveries. One weighs 38.55 ounces and the other is 40.53. They are both six feet with blades 30.5" X 6.125"

What species of wood is that one? Sounds lovely. My S&T Northwoods is 31.5 oz, ash, but only 5'6".

 

[lowangle al]

The guy I got it from thought it was cedar. I was thinking spruce, but he probably knows better than me. Your Northwoods does sound heavy, I hope you still like it.

 

[Tsuga8]

Heavy is in the eye of the beholder?

Of course it's absolute weight is more than, say, my 60in sassafras Badger, so it would feel heavy if I used them immediately next to each other, as the sassafras feels heavy after I try someone else's carbonfiber. But the S&T is lighter than my cherry Fishell, which is 4 in shorter.

More importantly to me, I think S&T got the thickness right on mine - it doesn't feel heavy when I paddle with it, and the blade slices nicely on underwater recoveries. It would have been lighter if made out of a softwood but I wanted the traditional ash. I really enjoy paddling with it, though I don't stand that much to paddle now that I pole so it doesn't come out that often. Maybe today it will though, been a while since I've enjoyed it.

 

[lowangle al]

I misread your earlier post as it being 56", but at 66" it's not too bad for a sturdy tripping paddle. I have a 66" cherry S&T Penobscot that weighs 28oz. I really like it, but it's not rugged. I had it out the other day and needed to use a paddle for balance while walking across a beaver dam and this one has too fine of a blade. I always like to have at least one paddle on me that can take a little abuse.

 

[Tsuga8]

Yeah, I think the 66" would probably wear me out after a few hours, but it does feel beefy enough to trip with while not being a club. It did very nicely this morning pushing a 16ft tandem along with a guide stroke and underwater recovery - I was enjoying the longer length. But I could tell I'd be tuckered if I kept it up more that the hour I had to spare.

Incidentally I tried all 3 seats this morning - I think I'm coming to agree about soloing a tandem the stern seat. Felt easier and more efficient to keep the boat straight from the back with properly stacked hands (even with no ballast and really bad trim), compared to paddling Canadian style heeled over at the center, or backwards from the bow where I still have to lean out to stack my hands, at least for me personally.

 

[lowangle al]

Incidentally I tried all 3 seats this morning - I think I'm coming to agree about soloing a tandem the stern seat. Felt easier and more efficient to keep the boat straight from the back with properly stacked hands (even with no ballast and really bad trim), compared to paddling Canadian style heeled over at the center, or backwards from the bow where I still have to lean out to stack my hands, at least for me personally.

That's great, I think you may be my first convert. I've been doing it for about seven years and rarely go to a more centralized position unless conditions warrant it.

What boat were you in? Ballast really helps with stability, it allows you to get more lean and the more lean you have the more carve you get, and the deeper the stern the more carve you get.

As far as "bad" trim goes, that's a matter of opinion. I think as long as your boat is doing what you want it to do, it's good trim. If it doesn't it could be bad trim.

I think to get the most out of your Northwoods paddle, I would use a stroke similar to what Alexandra teaches. It's probably the most efficient stroke for the long haul.

An S turn under power.

 

[Tsuga8]

I was in a Penobscot. I'd call the trim 'bad' because I had no ballast and if there'd been any sort of wind I would have had a lot of trouble controlling the boat from the stern seat. In other words I agree that 'good trim' is relative to the context, and if the boat is doing what you want it's good enough. It was good enough the other day with no wind, but with wind it would have been a struggle. Boat, paddler, ballast and wind all play a role in which seat works best, and I think it changes day to day.

 

[lowangle al]

A big variable is the direction of the wind in relation to your direction of travel. I can paddle directly into a stiff wind but need to keep the bow tight to the oncoming wind.
If straight ahead is "12 o'clock" sometimes I can't even let the bow get to the 11 and 1 o'clock directions without getting blown around. Even from a more centralized position you can only vear away from the oncoming wind by so much. The trick is to get where you want to go by keeping your bow into the wind. A canoe is surprisingly aerodynamic when facing directly into the wind, but very affected by a broadside wind.

I've been paddling from the stern for about seven years now and have gotten much better at it. Since I started carving with my stern I rarely need to jump forward in the boat or switch to my 6 foot paddle anymore in moderate wind.

 

[Riffle-Raff]

In regards to the venerable Maine Guide paddle, I am quite a fan of the aesthetics but understand the performance concerns of many more efficiency minded paddlers. There are certainly lighter, faster and more efficient designs out there these days. Guide work is at least one part appearance, (adhering to traditional aesthetics, sentimentality and folk wisdoms) and several parts performance (being able to prepare and deliver an experience to the attending audience) from what I've gathered in casual interactions. This paddle style is at least a part of the adherence to tradition I think.

Many so called guide paddles are not a lot of fun to put to use in my own experience. One of the worst offenders by far was a Shaw and Tenney Maine Guide I found at an antique store. The blade was heavy and thick, the shaft oversized and the grip designed similarly. I've seen some with 10" wide and 30"+ long blades that swing like a ball and chain rather than a well balanced tool for maneuvering a canoe. However within this design niche I have found several examples that defy expectations. Specifically paddles made by a man named Ray Porter.

He was a world war 2 veteran, bush pilot, guide and wood worker. For many years Porter's wood working made many of the paddles sold by Old Town back in the day. What I have found with these paddles is that they are refined and thinned in ways that many other guide paddles are not.

The blade and shaft are carefully balanced, he seemed to only pick the straightest grained boards and thinned his paddles to the practical limits of the materials and their eventual use by knowledgeable canoeists. These are not heavy sticks to bear against the rocks but works of practical art by comparison to some examples. I spent a lot of time handling them but didn't have the privilege of paddling a canoe with one. The paddle grip flexes slightly under a load and springs back readily, the blade is wide and thin allowing quiet and smooth in water recovery and the tip is slightly; not dramatically thicker at the end



I did not end up buying any of these paddles when I saw them come up for sale and do regret it a bit in retrospect. However I have been greatly inspired by their form and hope to remember the qualities that made these so special when I go to create my own paddles.

This particular specimen is 60 in long with a 7" wide blade. The balance is right where the shaft begins to transfer the throat, it doesn't favor left or right in the water and cuts quietly through during in water recovery. Not my first pick for whitewater, or pushing off of rocks but a good all round cruiser. The edges of the blade taper to about 3/32" and the very tip is around 1/4". My woodworking skills are amateur at best so my lines were not as accurate as would be required to thin this paddle out more. A far cry from Porter's work but the same principles are on display in this creation I like to think.



Here are some other examples I believe came from Porter's.

Last but not least a 73" maple behemoth with no maker's mark. It is only slightly blade heavy which is remarkable being that it has a 8 1/4" x 30 blade, the edges are around 3/32". It's too long to use under most circumstances, but I'm sure would make a great steering paddle for a war canoe.

 

[lowangle al]

Very informative post and some nice pictures of some authentic Maine Guide Paddles.

I only use my MGPs as my backup paddle. My regular is a standard 60" beaver tail.

I don't think all MGP were the same. If I was guiding, I would want a stout one for rivers and a finer one for lakes.

That maple paddle sure looks nice, is it yours?

 

[Riffle-Raff]

Very informative post and some nice pictures of some authentic Maine Guide Paddles.

I only use my MGPs as my backup paddle. My regular is a standard 60" beaver tail.

I don't think all MGP were the same. If I was guiding, I would want a stout one for rivers and a finer one for lakes.

That maple paddle sure looks nice, is it yours?

It sure is, it was right next to the Shaw and Tenney Maine Guide at the antique store. I don't use it much, but imagine one day I'll bring it along when I have a big square stern in my fleet one day.