Paddles #3 and #4
Nov 29th, 2007 by Bob
Edited Nov 30th - Added Paddle #4
I’ve got 5 paddles in the works at the moment but #3 is different from my earlier ones. Straight shaft, teardrop, no laminations, dovetail. I added some geometric woodburning, somewhat primitive looking. It also has a channel, kind of the reverse of a dihedral feeding into the dovetail.
Paddle #3
I put in 8 3/8″ dowels for strength along the blades.
Glued and clamped with mahogany banding.
Handle glued up
Primitive shaft grip
Blade graphic
Channel and dovetail
I need to shape the handle and I plan on glassing the shaft. The blade will just get epoxy. Then the whole thing a marine varnish for UV protection..
Paddle # 4
Paddle #4 is a 5 strip cedar and 1 strip mahogany laminated shaft with a 12 deg bend at the blade. The teardrop blade is poplar. I’ve removed a lot more material from this one and it’s the lightest by far. This one is intended to be my surfing paddle. I’ve built in a slight concave to the face of the blade to catch the water more (at least that’s the idea). I’m testing a lot of blade face shapes. I want this light, fast and able to accelerate the board quickly for catching waves.
It has a nice flex but is still plenty strong. I pulled and pushed on it very hard to see how it will stand up. Well beyond what it will normally be pushed to on the waves. I figured it would be better to know how tough it is before I bother doing any epoxy and glassing.
I still have the handle to do and the finishing work but I think I’m really going to like this one. Not only the performance but looks as well. I haven’t decided on any woodburning yet.
It would be even lighter done all in cedar. That’s the plan for my wifes which will be #6
Slightly concave blade face
I put a coat of epoxy on the back of the blade since I had some left over from gluing the handle.
Wow, that one looks really super. What’s it going to weigh?
I like the look. What type of wood are you using? Are the end results pretty heavy?
#3 is going to come in around 3-4 lbs when it’s glassed. I left the blade and the base of the shaft thicker than it would normally need to be. I plan to use this on the days when my head isn’t cooperating and my balance is off. The extra volume should give me a little more something to lean on.
#3 is all cedar except for the mahogany bands. I’m going to be getting some basswood and balsa to try on some future ones. I’m also looking for a decent source of paulownia.
# 4 should be around 2 lbs when done. These are all just guesses. I need to get them on a good scale to be sure.
I really like the look of #4. You can see the progress you’re making with each paddle. Good job. What’s the handle looking like?
#4’s handle is much more slender. I cut the shaft to length and then use the offcuts as the sides of the handle. Similar to #2’s but much lighter. The shaft at the handle is 1-1/4″ round then tapers down to 1-1/4″ x 1″ at 6″ from the handle then tapers up to 1-1/2″ x 1-1/4″ at the hand area. then tapers quickly back down to 1-1/4″ round and stays at that to the blade.
I still haven’t had a chance to get in the water with them yet. Definitely this weekend.
A report on the paddles performance. Big bust on #3, big success with #4.
#3 didn’t function at all in the manner I was hoping. Felt awkward and heavy. It was floaty but I didn’t like it. I’m going to completely reshape it.
#4 is light, fast, and moves a lot of water. The biggest improvement…I paddled for two hours today and my shoulders feel fine. I still have some improvements in mind and most will get put into Bill’s next paddle, #5.
#5 is going to be all cedar. More slender and lighter. A slightly different blade shape and edged to accept two layers of mastic.