| The Sawyer
Cedar Sea Feather is unusual in both appearance and
length. The shaft is vertically laminated from five layers of
western red cedar, with ash reinforcements scarfed into the end
of each shaft where it meets the ferrule. The shafts are shaped
rather irregularly, with ridges that fall against different parts
of each hand, even when unfeathered. The blade is cedar veneer
glued to the shaft and covered with a very loosely woven fiberglass
cloth. The blade is flat, and the shaft joins the blade without
the smooth transition of the other, more sculpted, blades. While
the cloth is well saturated, the spaces in the weave form small,
but noticeable, pits. The full perimeter of the blade is edged
in Dynel. The back of the blade has strips of carbon fiber under
the cloth, and is painted black to hide them from sight. The stainless-steel
ferrule has little wobble and assembles easily. The finish is
a semi-glossy varnish with little imbedded dust, and a better
grip for the hand than most. The flexibility of both the blade
and shaft are above average, so the paddle is better suited to
relaxed cruising than to more aggressive paddling. When in use,
the dark blades made this the least visible paddle of those reviewed. |
|
The Cedar
Sea Feather paddle was a moderate weight, and the swing
weight was moderately light. Gunwale clearance was adequate.
The entry was the loudest of the paddles tested. By using a
very long entry, I could avoid ventilating the blade. The blade
fluttered just a little during hard starts. Low-angle strokes
were adequate, but not inspiring. Drip rings deflected a great
deal of water running off the blades, and more spray than average
was tossed into the air.
This
paddle gave adequate support for sculling and sweep rolling.
When sculling, even if I slashed carelessly at the water surface,
the blade seemed to automatically find a good angle. At the
beginning of sweep rolls, the paddle felt heavy, as if it were
dragging a lot of water along behind the blade. C-to-C rolls,
however, felt good.
Sawyer
manufactures a one-piece Cedar Sea Feather
that is 225 g. (8 oz.) lighter than the two-piece version tested
here. At that weight, I would expect that paddlers of doubles
or very wide singles would be the most satisfied with this unusually
long paddle. An optional 254 cm version is the longest commercially
available wooden paddle I know of.
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