The building project for this year became a Greenland paddle. I had been interested in getting one for some time after hearing about their advantages compared with Euro style paddles. But since I’m using my bike to get to the kayak club house a one piece paddle seemed unpractical to carry. I was familiar with Gearlab Paddles carbon fiber paddles that can be split in two, but I wanted to make something myself as well. Forunately for me, Gearlab also sells just the “middle section” of their paddles, or what they call a carbon fiber ferrule. And when another member of the kayak club imports Gearlab products and could sell me a ferrule the choice was easy.
To make the paddle I followed Greenland kayak builder Anders Thygesen’s excellent instructions (in Norwegian), or here (in English with the english button on top). I found a nice piece of almost knot-free wood, and began removing material. First by band saw, then by electric plane, hand plane and finally with sandpaper. Shaving the paddle into the right shape was a more time consuming job than I had expected, but it was a relaxing, meditative and nice job. It made me think of the inuits who came up with such a perfect shape to push water with without getting tired on long hunting trips.
More photos will come of the paddle in use on the water.